Kizaemon Saiga Out of Rizin 16, Replaced by Ryuji Horio against Kunitaka

Additional fight announcement for RIZIN.16 on June 2 was announced.

Kunitaka vs Horio Ryuji

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Rizin Fighting Federation has suffered a shakeup just days before their Rizin 16 event.

Kizaemon Saiga has been forced to withdraw from his kickboxing clash with Kunitaka Fujiwara, according to an official Rizin press release. Saiga was deemed medically unfit to fight after apparently suffering vision issues resulting from a previous break of his orbital bone. On just a few days' notice, veteran kickboxer Ryuji Horio of Japan's Tryhard Gym is stepping in to face Kunitaka.

A six-time competitor in the Rizin ring, Saiga was set to return in an attempt to right his record. In those six bouts, including five in MMA and one in mixed-rules, he has lost five. His only Rizin victory came in 2016, and he holds the unfortunate distinction of being tied with the most MMA losses inside the promotion with four, along with Erson Yamamoto and Satoru Kitaoka.

Horio most recently competed in Deep 89 Impact earlier this month, taking Ryouta Naito to a draw. Competing in other kickboxing promotions including K-1 and Krush throughout his career, the former Krush champ holds a record of 19-11-3.

The 39-year-old Kunitaka is approaching his 19th year of active competition, having made his kickboxing debut in July 2000. Over the years, Kunitaka has picked up a slew of championships including the World Kickboxing Association, International Sport Karate Association and World Boxing Association Muay Thai titles, as well as belts in New Japan Kickboxing Federation and NKB in his nearly 90 contests.

Rizin 16 will take place on June 2 at the World Memorial Hall in Kobe, Japan. The event will be headlined by an ISKA featherweight world title match between Tenshin Nasukawa and Martin Blanco. In the MMA main event, Ayaka Hamasaki will defend her super atomweight strap against Invicta Fighting Championships atomweight queen Jinh Yu Frey.