Akihiro Gono Joins Real FC Lightweight Tourney; Opening-Round Matchups Set for June 12

Real Fighting Championship has completed the bracket for its upcoming 155-pound title tournament with the addition of Japanese MMA mainstay Akihiro Gono.

Gono was announced on Wednesday as the final entrant in the eight-man grand prix, which launches June 12 at Real 5. The card at Tokyo Dome City Hall will see 62-fight veteran Gono (34-20-8) take on Kyrgyzstani unknown Akhmat Akhmedov (0-0) in a bout scheduled for two five-minute rounds.

Following a winless stretch of nearly four years, Gono got his career back on track in 2014 while training and competing in Brazil. After notching a pair of wins in South America, however, the 41-year-old Pride vet missed weight by four pounds for a February bout and was knocked out by Miroslav Strbak. A former member of Sanae Kikuta’s Grabaka squad, Gono currently trains under Andre Benkei and represents Rio Extreme Fight in Rio de Janeiro.

Other opening-round matchups in the Real FC lightweight tournament will see Naoyuki Kotani (33-13-7) square off against Dmitriy Parubchenko (9-0), Daisuke Hoshino (11-10-1) tangle with Robert Wusstig (5-9), and Ryuki Ueyama (12-17-5) oppose Sho Kogane (9-3).