Hiromasa Ogikubo came up big as an underdog to win the Rizin FF bantamweight grand prix. Ogikubo (25-5-2) had to go through some early adversity in his semifinals bout against Naoki Inoue, but “The Ultimate Fighter 24” finalist rallied to win the final two rounds and advance to the Rizin FF 33 finals at Saitama Super Arena on Friday. On the other side of the bracket, Kai Asakura (19-4) knocked down and outstruck Kenta Takizawa, setting him up with a finals rematch against Ogikubo, who he knocked out with a soccer kick at Rizin FF 23 in 2020. With the odds stacked against him once again on the night, Ogikubo came out strong against Asakura