Cruickshank vs. Kitaoka, Miyata vs. Souwer Added to Rizin FF’s Dec. 29 Event

A pair of lightweight contests have been added to Rizin Fighting Federation’s Dec. 29 card.

The Japanese promotion recently announced that Daron Cruickshank will meet Satoru Kitaoka and Kazuyuki Miyata will face Andy Souwer at the event, which takes place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Rizin 3 features the quarterfinals of the organization’s open-weight grand prix, which will conclude with semifinal and championship bouts at Rizin 4 on New Year’s Eve.

A 13-time UFC veteran, Cruickshank has posted back-to-back first-round stoppages of Shinji Sasaki and Souwer under the Rizin banner. Kitoaka, who has competed for the likes of Pancrase, Deep, Sengoku and Dream over the course of his 62-bout tenure, has won seven of his last eight, including a first-round submission of ex-UFC talent Leonardo Mafra Texeira in October.

The 40-year-old Miyata has won three straight contests and is 14-9 since beginning his MMA tenure in 2004. Souwer debuted with Rizin on the 2015 New Year’s Eve bill, stopping Yuichiro Nagashima via punches in the opening frame of their encounter.