RFC 7: NAKAMURA VS REES RECAP
Venue: Tokyo International Forum
Capacity: 1,500
Location: Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
Date: October 9, 2026
QUICK RECAP
Zhou Wenhao def. Timur Allev by TKO (Punches) at 2:57 Round 2
Shunsuke Futaki def. Youssef Al-Najjar by Split Decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)
Tahlia Morgan def. Aiko Matsuda by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x2, 30-27)
Koa Bokeo def. Shunpei Okada by TKO (Punches) at 1:21 Round 3
Shintaro Okano def. Daigo Moriyama by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)
Xiong Yan def. Han Seo-yeon by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)
Ryo Mitsunari def. Hiroto Sakai by Split Decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)
Arman Rustamian def. Hideo Sasaki by TKO (GnP) at 3:02 Round 1
MINORI IGE def. Ivan Kovalenko by Split Decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)
Kazuo Nakamura def. Callum Rees by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)
STORYLINE DEVELOPMENTS
The quarterfinals came to a close inside the Tokyo International Forum, and with them, the shape of Ryujin FC’s championship picture finally came into focus. Kazuo Nakamura looked every bit the veteran tactician in the main event, patiently dismantling Callum Rees over three rounds to keep his march toward a welterweight title alive. But the night’s real shock came one fight earlier, where MINORI IGE delivered the kind of result that can make a relatively unknown into a major breakout star overnight. The largely unheralded featherweight survived a razor-thin battle with top seed Ivan Kovalenko and walked out with a split decision and a semifinal berth that nobody but her coaches saw coming.
Elsewhere, the favorites largely held their ground. Arman Rustamian needed barely a round to overwhelm Hideo Sasaki, while Ryo Mitsunari survived a split decision against Hiroto Sakai and Xiong Yan cruised past Han Seo-yeon to advance. Koa Bokeo and Shintaro Okano also punched their tickets through the lightweight and middleweight brackets, respectively, while Tahlia Morgan kept her bantamweight run alive with a decision victory. The night began with Zhou Wenhao making his own statement, using his Sanda background to stop Timur Aliev in the second round. With both quarterfinal cards now complete, the field has been cut in half across all five divisions, and Ryujin FC finally has its semifinalists.
