In a champion-vs.-champion fight at the top of the Rizin 16 card, Ayaka Hamasaki topped Jinh Yu Frey for a second time.
Hamasaki (18-2), Rizin’s champion at super atomweight (108 pounds), took a unanimous decision from Frey (8-4), who is Invicta FC’s atomweight champ. The bout was the MMA main event at World Memorial Hall in Kobe, Japan.
Hamasaki ran her winning streak to four fights, all under the Rizin banner. She first fought Frey in 2016 at Invicta FC 16 and won with a second-round TKO when doctors stopped the fight due to a cut.
Frey had her two-fight winning streak snapped with the loss, though her Invicta title wasn’t on the line. She won two fights in 2018, both against Minna Grusander in Invicta title fights. The first saw her capture the vacant atomweight belt with a unanimous decision at Invicta FC 30. The two rematched at Invicta FC 33, and Frey again won – but with a split decision.
This fight was the latest in Rizin’s move to feature champ-vs.-champ fights. This past December, Bellator bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell lost to Kyoji Horiguchi in a fight for the inaugural Rizin bantamweight belt. Those two are set to rematch at Bellator 222 at Madison Square Garden on June 14.
Also on the card, PFL/WSOF veteran and “TUF 19” product Jake Heun (13-9) took a split decision from Roque Martinez (13-5-2) to get back in the win column. And UFC vet Daron Cruickshank (22-12) lost for the second straight time when he was outpointed by Tofiq Musaev (15-3).
Rizin 16 results included:
- Champ Ayaka Hamasaki def. Jinh Yu Frey via unanimous decision
- Miyuu Yamamoto def. Kanna Asakura via unanimous decision
- Jake Heun def. Roque Martinez via split decision
- Yusaku Nakamura def. Thanongsaklek Tiger Muay Thai via unanimous decision
- Tofiq Musaev def. Daron Cruickshank via unanimous decision
- Mamoru Uoi def. Kana Hyatt via TKO (strikes) – Round 3
- Erson Yamamoto def. Tim Eschtruth via knockout (punch, soccer kick) – Round 1
For more on Rizin FF 16, check out the MMA Events section of the website.
