Rizin 10 takes place Sunday, May 6 at Marine Messe Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan. The opening odds for the card were released by the offshore sporsbooks and here hey are.
Rizin 10 Opening Odds
Kyogi Horiguchi -420
Ian McCall +300
Manel Kape -190
Kai Asakura +150
Daron Cruickshank -270
Koshi Matsumoto +190
Yusuku Yachi -300
Diego Nunes +220
Here are my thoughts on the Rizin 10 opening odds: – Horiguchi vs. McCall is probably the best flyweight fight any promotion outside of the UFC could book. Horiguchi (23-2) is on an eight-fight win streak since losing in his UFC flyweight title bid against Demetrious Johnson back at UFC 186. Since signing with RIZIN, Horiguchi is a perfect 5-0 with finishes in his last four fights. He is an incredible fighter and it’s a shame the UFC didn’t sign him back. McCall (13-6-1) is riding a two-fight losing streak right now and lost his RIZIN debut to Manel Kape via doctor stoppage when the rope cut him. He has not been very active in recent years and at this point of his career I don’t think he has another title run left in him. I like McCall but this is Horiguchi’s fight to lose and not surprisingly he’s a big favorite to defend his bantamweight title.
– Kape (9-2) is one of the better flyweights not in the UFC right now. After winning seven-straight fights by finish, including that funny win over McCall, he lost to Horiguchi in his bid for the title but there’s no shame in that. Asakura (3-1) won in his RIZIN debut but was knocked out his previous fight in ROAD FC. Kape is a very impressive prospect and I think he probably gets the better of Asakura in this one for another stoppage win.
– Cruickshank (18-10, 1 NC) is just 2-2 since signing with RIZIN after leaving the UFC and was finished in his last two fights. He’s a very talented striker as we all know but his KO loss in his last fight is concerning to say the least. Matsumoto (19-7-2) has won three-straight fights and his only loss since 2014 came against UFC veteran Efrain Escudero. He’s a talented finisher who has a win via Twister on his resume and I could see him getting the victory here over Cruickshank. If there’s one upset on the card that could be brewing it’s in this fight. I think Cruickshank is total fade material and I think Matsumoto has a really good chance of finishing him. At these odds I would go with the underdog.
– Yachi vs. Nunes should be fun as well. Yachi (19-6) is red-hot at the moment, having won his last five-straight fights including a submission win over Takanori Gomi his last time out. Nunes (22-7) is currently riding a three-fight win streak and has turned his career around after getting cut by both the UFC and Bellator. Still, I think his win streak ends here. Yachi is far too dangerous at the moment and I think he has a really good chance to stop Nunes here. It’s not surprising to see him as a large favorite.
