It’s (almost) New Years Eve, and you know what that means: all kinds of combat sports shenanigans courtesy of the Rizin Fighting Federation. Viewers will enjoy the promotion’s bantamweight Grand Prix final, a lightweight title defense and a mixed-rule fight between one of Japan’s best young fighters and an MMA CE legend. EVENING (Wednesday, December 30, 2021).

Three months after the quarter-finals, Hiromasa Ogikubo against Naoki Inoue and Kai Asakura against Kenta Takizawa determine the finalist of the GP bantamweight. In another notable action, Souza’s Roberto “Satoshi” defends his lightweight belt against Yusuke Yachi, Mikuru Asakura seeks revenge on Yutaka Saito and Tenshin Nasukawa takes on Takanori Gomi in a “Special Rules of Standing Fighting” clash.

MMAmania.com will offer LIVE coverage of RIZIN 33 below, starting with the LIVEnow broadcast at 11:30 p.m. ET. We’ll have quick results throughout, as well as turn-based coverage that includes the GP semi-finals and picks up with Nasukawa against Gomi.

Quick results “RIZIN 33”:

RIZIN Bantamweight Grand Prix Final (to be determined)
Roberto Satoshi Souza vs. Yusuke Yachi
Mikuru Asakura vs. Yutaka Saito
Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Takanori Gomi
RENA vs. Si Woo Park
Ayaka Hamasaki vs. Seika Izawa
Koji Takeda vs. Beynoah
Kyohei Hagiwara vs. Hiroaki Suzuki
Shoma Shibisai vs. Hideki Sekine
KOUZI vs. YA-MAN
SHIBATAR vs. Yuta Kubo
Shinobu Ota vs. Kazuma Sone
Yuki Motoya vs. Kintaro – Motoya beat. Kintaro by unanimous decision
Hiromasa Ogikubo vs. Naoki Inoue – Ogikubo beat. Inoue by unanimous decision
Kai Asakura vs. Kenta Takizawa – Asakura beat. Takizawa by unanimous decision
Kota Miura beat. YUSHI by TKO (punch) at 3:00 of the first round

“RIZIN 33” coverage turn by turn:

RIZIN Bantamweight Grand Prix Final: TBD against TBA

First round :

Second round:

Third round:

Final result:

RIZIN Lightweight Championship: Roberto Satoshi Souza vs. Yusuke Yachi

First round :

Second round:

Third round:

Final result:

Bantamweight: Mikuru Asakura vs. Yutaka Saito

First round :

Second round:

Third round:

Final result:

“Special rules” weight fight: Tenshin Nasukawa against Takanori Gomi

First round :

Second round:

Third round:

Final result:

TURN BY TURN WILL RESUME

RIZIN Bantamweight Grand Prix Semi-Final Reserve Fight: Yuki Motoya vs. Kintaro

First round: Motoya on the front foot. The low blow connects. Kintaro with a heavy left hand in combination. The body was hit for a minute. Knees. Solid low kick inside, then head kick and combination. Motoya lands a kick in the leg and the two breathe in gusts. Counter left by Kintaro. Check right hook shakes Motoya, who returns with three consecutive kicks and shots. Only two more minutes.

Motoya manages to push Kintaro away from the corner and take the back. Not a wide angle, a single hook. Kintaro rushes into the top half of the guard. The footballer comes out of a shoulder blade, then lets Motoya get up with a minute to go. Motoya’s body kick. Kintaro is looking for a counter. Kintaro in the lead.

Round two: Kintaro is moving forward now. Hard lead left, eats one knee inside. Heavy knee in return. Motoya with a solid combo per minute. The low kick lands. Kintaro two piece, Motoya left hook. Motoya rushes forward and shoots, grabbing a body lock. Two minutes later. Kintaro stuck on his butt. Slick back taken by Motoya with two minutes remaining.

The two hooks for Motoya. Hand combat. Kintaro frees himself quickly. More than a minute. Motoya’s low blow, Kintaro looks for a header. Kintaro’s knee attempt, then a clean counter to the left. Right hook soon after. Kintaro still comfortably in the lead.

Round three: Motoya opens with low kicks. Body kick encountered by the counters. No more kicks from Motoya. Kintaro with a big right hook a minute later. Motoya takes a low blow. Motoya kicks, Kintaro kicks. The counter-hook lands for Kintaro. Two minutes later. Headbutt attempt. Jab connects. Only two more minutes.

Kintaro always shoots heads. Right lands to the left. Clean jab. Motoya sticks to his own kicks but just doesn’t do it well. He tries a loop hook with one minute left. All right connects. More Motoya kicks, decent left hook. Kintaro swaying back, lands a heavy left in a flurry. Kintaro deserves the victory.

Final result: Motoya beat. Kintaro by unanimous decision

RIZIN Bantamweight Grand Prix Semi-Final: Hiromasa Ogikubo vs. Naoki Inoue

First round: Inoue advances early. Low blow exchange. Ogikubo changes position, eats a jab. Strong right hand of Inoue. 1-2 per minute. He takes a low blow soon after. Keeping very busy with his hands as Ogikubo tries to hit with kicks. Nice kick cut by Inoue after two minutes. Kick behind. Solid rights of Inoue, who against a withdrawal in mount. Good punches as Ogikubo tries to threaten a leg. Now half-guard, heavy elbows. Ogikubo trying to get a deep half guard. Only two more minutes.

Inoue continuing to lower his elbows. Ogikubo finally manages to push him away and get up. He attempts reactive fire, denies a trip. More than a minute. Ogikubo’s long-reach double bare leg allows Inoue to move directly behind his back. The two hang on, chasing the RNC. Big lead at the start of the match for Inoue.

Round Two: They exchange punches on the ropes about 20 seconds later. Ogikubo still relies on low kicks as Inoue pushes forward with punches. Knee smoothed by Inoue in a takedown, lands on top in half guard. A minute later. Lateral control shortly after. You are looking for a frame, I have it. Quick reset to keep them away from the ropes. Strong stampede and Ogikubo ends up at the head of the guard. Inoue sports a cut above his left eye. Ogikubo unable to pass so far. Only two more minutes.

Now Ogikubo moves to half the guard. Looking for an arm triangle setup. Inoue takes back guard. Solid punches from Ogikubo and a knee uphill, then it’s straight to Inoue’s back from the front headlock with a minute to work. No dice on the crank. Big rebound for Ogikubo; whoever excels in the third should take it.

Round three: the left hook lands for Ogikubo. Low blow exchange. Ogikubo tries a combo. Sharp 1-2 lands for Inoue. One minute later. Ogikubo shoots a double leg, then re-shoot. Jockey for the position. Inoue manages to defend himself and to separate. Ogikubo really urgent. Two minutes later. He manages to tip Inoue into lateral control. You are looking for the triangle of arms. Only two more minutes.

A stampede ensues and Ogikubo jumps onto his back. The two hang on as Inoue fails to get him out. Ogikubo threatens a knee when Inoue gets some space, then comes straight back into the rear mount. He tries to close the RNC within seconds. It should be an Ogikubo victory.

Final result: Ogikubo beat. Inoue by unanimous decision

RIZIN Bantamweight Grand Prix Semi-Final: Kai Asakura vs. Kenta Takizawa

Round 1: Asakura slowly advancing as Takizawa circles around. Counter left hook to respond to a low kick from Takizawa. One minute later. Both throw kicks, neither of them engage. Asakura digs a right towards the body while throwing them upstairs. Two minutes. 1-2 blocked. Takizawa’s leg kick. Asakura attempts a combo with an uppercut. Only two more minutes.

Same dynamic of stalking / circling. Asakura low-top left hooks. Headbutt from Takizawa, wheel failure. Asakura returns with a spinning fist. More than a minute. Takizawa misses another kick. Low blow exchange. Asakura in the lead.

Round two: Solid 1-2 lands for Takizawa. Asakura tries a 2-3, eats a kick. One minute later. Takizawa attempts a spinning kick. Very active with the kicks this round. Asakura right hand around the guard. Two minutes later. Looking for a 3-2 and an uppercut. The two shots fired, Asakura landed a solid one. Kick returned by Takizawa two minutes from time.

Asakura digs left at the bottom. Continue to advance. Cross on the right upstairs. More than a minute. He checks a kick, lands a right cross behind a kick to the body. Bottom-up left hooks. Takizawa narrowly misses with a heavy right, then Asakura does the same. Strong combo from Takizawa, his best work in a short time. Tower closer, still leaning Asakura overall.

Round three: Heavy kicks from Takizawa to start. Asakura’s left hook splits the guard. Takizawa circling for the most part. One minute later. Takizawa just isn’t doing enough right now. Asakura searches for the body again, cracks it with a left hook and dodges retaliation. Two minutes later. Takizawa’s low blow. The sly body takes a step back. Headbutt from the head leg. Only two more minutes.

Another kick to Takizawa’s body, fires a spinning kick behind him. Asakura with a straight cross to the body. Takizawa 2-3, big business in the pocket. Asakura’s heavy left hook sits Takizawa down, though he gets up and starts to chase. No more left hooks by Asakura as Takizawa goes. More than a minute. Nice photo of Takizawa’s body. Takizawa throwing everything, enters a 1-2 which almost drops him again. They end the fight by negotiating in the corner. Asakura should take it.

End result: Asakura beat. Takizawa by unanimous decision