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MIAMI – June 16, 2023 – RIZIN today announced that COMBATE GLOBAL women’s Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) star Claire Lopez (8-4) will return to Japan to challenge undefeated, reigning RIZIN Super Atomweight (108 pounds) Champion Seika Izawa (10-0) for Izawa’s coveted title at the RIZIN live television event at Saitama Super Arena on Sunday, July 30.
The RIZIN championship fight will take place on the heels of Lopez’s career-best victory to date – a third round (4:21) knee bar submission of famed Japanese Shootboxing champion Rena Kubota, after an epic, catchweight (112.6 pounds) battle between the Lopez and Kubota at RIZIN’s ‘LANDMARK 5’ event in Tokyo on April 29.
“We are really proud of Claire to have earned this shot at RIZIN’s super atomweight title, and will be cheering her on to bring home the belt,” said Mike Afromowitz, COMBATE GLOBAL’s Senior Vice President, Operations and Communications.
The championship fight will take place in RIZIN’s customary ring, and will be contested as a three-round bout, with five minutes per round.
Lopez is a 34-year-old native of Beziers, France, and a member of Brad Pickett’s Great Britain Top Team in London, where she resides. She is seeking her third consecutive win since placing as the runner-up in COMBATE GLOBAL’s first-ever, one-night, eight-woman tournament in 2021.
Fighting out of Tokyo, the 25-year-old Izawa is a top 10 world-ranked fighter, and a five-time veteran of RIZIN MMA action.
Izawa is a former Judo champion and competitive wrestler, who transitioned to MMA and who has since earned 5 of her 10 professional wins by way of submission.
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About Combate Global
Combate Global is the premier Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise that is rapidly becoming the number two sport after soccer for Spanish speaking fans worldwide, and that consistently garners television ratings that are superior to those of other major, longer established sports television properties. It is the only MMA property regularly airing on broadcast television in the U.S. (Univision) and the only MMA property owned, in part, by a major Hispanic media company, as a result of TelevisaUnivision purchasing a significant equity stake in Combate Global in 2021. In 2021, the company also partnered with CBS Sports to distribute Combate Global’s live shows in English in the U.S. on Paramount+. In 2022, the company partnered with Eurosport for live distribution in Spain, as well as with RMC Sport in France and, in 2023, Combate Global entered into a multi-year partnership with global entertainment powerhouse, IMG, for media rights representation worldwide. The company’s programming is available in over 70 countries in Europe, Africa and elsewhere globally.
Nielsen research indicates that an astounding 91 percent of Combate Global viewers in the U.S. are not regular viewers of other MMA content, demonstrating that Combate Global has garnered a new MMA audience with its World Cup-style, country vs. country-style competition.
Combate Global CEO Campbell McLaren, also the co-founder and creator of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), has been described by New York Magazine as "the marketing genius behind the UFC,” while Yahoo Sports has said he "knows more about the sport than just about anyone in it today." Under his direction, the growth of Combate Americas’ television footprint and worldwide audience triggered a re-branding in 2021 to Combate Global.
