Full Card Revealed for March 23’s Rizin Landmark 9

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Which of the 4⃣marquee fights are you looking forward to most...❔

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Rizin Landmark 9 will take place on March 23 at World Memorial Hall in Kobe, Japan.

The Landmark series card replaced Rizn 46, which was the originally planned card for the date and venue.

Reigning lightweight champ Roberto Satoshi de Souza (15-3) will take on Keita Nakamura (36-11) in a non-title affair in the main event. The bout is scheduled for three five-minute rounds under Rizin mixed martial arts rules, which allow knees and kicks to the head of a grounded opponent.

De Souza’s five-fight winning streak, which included three title fights, was snapped by a decision loss to A.J. McKee in a non-title bout at the first Rizin vs. Bellator event in 2022. The Japanese Brazilian bounced back with a decision win over Spike Carlyle, but went on to suffer a stoppage loss via leg kicks against Patricky Freire in another non-title Bellator vs. Rizin tilt in his last outing in July 2023.

Meanwhile, Nakamura scored a first-round stoppage win over Marcos Yoshio Souza in his Rizin debut in 2019 after being released from the Ultimate Fighting Championship. “K-Taro” then went on to suffer a unanimous decision loss against Lorenz Larkin, which was followed by a long hiatus. The 39-year-old returned to action after more than three years in April 2023, scoring a Round 2 knockout win over Kiichi Kunimoto.

Koji Takeda (15-6) will face Kyohei Hagiwara (7-8) in a featherweight bout on the main card. Takeda is on a three-fight slump and Hagiwara has dropped four of his last five.

Another UFC veteran, Naoki Inoue (16-4), will face former Shooto champion Shoko Sato (35-15) in a bantamweight matchup. Inoue started his Rizin career on a five-fight winning streak but has since dropped two of his last three. Meanwhile, Sato is on a two-fight winning streak that includes a split-decision victory over Shinobu Ota in his Rizin debut last October.

The card also features a women’s 108-pound catchweight clash between Rena Kubota (13-5) and Yu Ri Shim (6-3). Kubota is 1-2 in her last three and will return to action following a kneebar submission loss to Claire Lopez in April 2023. Meanwhile, Shim will be making her Rizin debut after winning the Road FC atomweight title with a split decision victory over Jeong Eun Park in September 2021. The card will also feature four kickboxing contests.