Ren Hiramoto Outclasses Satoshi Yamasu, Chihiro Suzuki Nullifies Masakazu Imanari at Rizin Landmark Vol. 4

and an eighth knockdown for hiramoto. that was a beating #RIZIN_LANDMARK4 pic.twitter.com/asGonxo1tT

— jake (@jakeshreds420) November 6, 2022

The youngsters are taking over Rizin Fighting Federation.

The Rizin Landmark Vol. 4 headliner featured an intriguing striker vs. grappler matchup as Ren Hiramoto and Satoshi Yamasu collided at featherweight. Even though Hiramoto (2-2, 2-2 Rizin) was the underdog going into the clash, he proved to be a world-class striker against Yamasu (12-7, 2-2 Rizin) en route to a unanimous decision. 24-year-old Hiramoto adopted a karate-style guard out of the gate, waiting to counterstrike every time his opponent closed the distance. The game plan was simple yet effective. Throughout the 15 minutes of the clash, Hiramoto effortlessly nullified Yamasu’s offensive, dropping his opponent on the canvas a plethora of times. While it appeared that some of those knockdowns were almost welcomed by “Dominator,” who wanted to move the action on the canvas, they indicated that the man standing tall at the center of the cage was ahead on the scorecards. Yamasu dove for a desperate last-minute takedown, but it was too late to change the fight’s course. At the end of the regulation time, the announcer declared Hiramoto the winner by unanimous decision.

imanari nearly submits suzuki off of a failed soccer kick, but suzuki defends with axe kicks to the face #RIZIN_LANDMARK4 pic.twitter.com/xt6zHfrV5s

— jake (@jakeshreds420) November 6, 2022

In the co-main event, 23-year-old Chihiro Suzuki stepped up on short notice to face respected veteran Masakazu Imanari in a featherweight contest. Imanari (39-22-2, 1-2 Rizin) showcased his traditional game plan, waiting for the right moment to attack with his notorious namesake rolling leglock attack and submit his foe, but found an unpleasant obstacle in Suzuki (9-3, 4-1 Rizin). In spite of his young age, Suzuki fought a smart battle and didn’t rise to Imanari’s bait, avoiding following his opponent on the mat and attacking with soccer and axe kicks on occasion. In the second frame, Suzuki overcommitted with an axe kick, allowing Imanari to go near to secure a kneebar submission. Ultimately, Suzuki survived his foe’s submission attempts and controlled the fight's pace as it dragged to the judges' scorecards. When the dust settled, Suzuki took home a well-deserved unanimous decision victory.

samurai markhunt vs minowaman z #RIZIN_LANDMARK4 pic.twitter.com/iSntMKtlvd

— jake (@jakeshreds420) November 6, 2022

Elsewhere, Yuki Motoya (32-9, 1NC; 9-5, 1NC Rizin) scored his fourth consecutive victory after defeating Kazuma Kuramoto (9-3, 3-2 Rizin) thanks to a unanimous decision in a 135-pound clash; and heavyweight Kiyoshi Kuwabara (16-13, 1-1 Rizin) battered Ikuhisa Minowa (63-45-8, 0-2 Rizin) until the referee stopped the contest at 2:24 of Round 1.

callyu gibrainn smashes takakenshin in the first round with ground and pound #RIZIN_LANDMARK4 pic.twitter.com/7ru1ksB9z9

— jake (@jakeshreds420) November 6, 2022

Before the intermission, Callyugibrainn Marinho Borges (6-2, 1-1 Rizin) smashed Satoshi Kamiyama (0-2, 0-2 Rizin) with punches at heavyweight; Satomi Takano (17-13, 1-1 Rizin) outpointed Maria Laura Alves Fontoura (7-2, 0-2 Rizin) on all scorecards via at super atomweight; 125-pounder Yusaku Nakamura (17-9-1, 5-4 Rizin) edged Takaki Soya (12-5-1, 3-1 Rizin) thanks to a narrow split decision; Jin Aoi (10-5-1, 1-1 Rizin) upended former Shoot boxing champion Hiroaki Suzuki (2-3, 2-3 Rizin) on all scorecards at featherweight; Alan Yamaniha (19-10-4, 2-2 Rizin) overcame Yasuhiro Kawamura (12-8-1, 0-1 Rizin) thanks to a unanimous decision in a 135-pound affair; highly-touted South Korean bantamweight prospect Ji Yong Yang (4-0, 2-0 Rizin) clobbered Mamoru Uoi (24-13-4, 2-4 Rizin) in the second period; Glory kickboxing and K-1 alum Yuta Kubo (1-1, 1-1 Rizin) scored his first MMA victory after smashing Keisuke Okuda (0-5, 0-3 Rizin) with elbows and punches on the mat at 4:43 of Round 1; 135-pounder Junya Hibino (5-2, 1-0 Rizin) stopped Riku Yoshida (5-1, 0-1 Rizin) with punches in the second frame; Kenta Kubo (7-2, 1-0 Rizin) crushed Hideyoshi Okamoto (3-3, 0-1 Rizin) with punches an a soccer kick to force the end of the their flyweight affair at 2:52 of Round 2; Shuto Sato wrecked Kazunori in the opening round of their 117-pound kickboxing clash.