The iconic Buakaw Banchamek will return to RIZIN FF against Minoru Kimura on Mar. 23 in a kickboxing match. This fight will be hosted at the World Memorial Hall live from Kobe, Japan part of RIZIN LANDMARK 9.
Buakaw vs. Minoru Kimura
The kickboxing match was announced on the morning of the Mar. 18 by RIZIN on social media. Buakaw and Minoru “Philip” Kimura will throw down on Mar. 23. The 30-year-old Kimura is looking to get back in the win column after his most recent two victories were overturned due to testing positive for banned substances.
“Philip” Kimura is known for his thunderous knockout power. He has earned a knockout victory in 29 matches giving him a knockout win rate of over 80 percent. Additionally, he captured K-1 World Grand Prix gold in 2020 by defeating three opponents in one night all by first-round KO.
The Thai-born Buakaw is a legendary figure in Muay Thai and kickboxing. The 41-year-old athlete rose to international fame during the 2004 K-1 MAX World Grand Prix. He would later go on to capture the title again in 2006.
The 41-year-old Buakaw has faced multiple kickboxing legends such as Johnn Wayne Parr, Nieky Holzken, Masato Kobayashi, Andy Souwer, and Giorgio Petrosyan. More recently, he has kept busy with various matches in BKFC Asia, RIZIN, and RWS Muay Thai.
Manny Pacquiao was announced to be boxing Buakaw sometime in April in Bangkok, Thailand. But, for the foreseeable future, this match is on the shelf. Multiple managers and fighters who were on the card, including Chadd Collins, said that the promoter dropped out.
RIZIN LANDMARK 9 on Mar. 23 will also host Roberto Satoshi Souza against Keita Nakamura in an MMA non-title match, Naoki Inoue vs. Shoko Sato, plus more MMA. Additionally, the event is set to host five kickboxing matches including Yuya vs. Masaya Jaki, Aoi Noda vs. Yuto Uemura, Shun Matsuyama vs. Japan Shin Sakurai, Daichi Akahira vs. Yuki Yoshioka, and Buakaw vs. Minoru Kimura.