A pivotal women’s atomweight title fight takes place at the RIZIN 20 event on December 31 when reigning champion Ayaka Hamasaki attempts to defend against number-one contender, Seo Hee Ham.

Hamasaki attempts to defend her belt against Seo Hee Ham on December 31.

The fight is one of the most important of the year when it comes to women’s MMA. Hamasaki and Hee Ham are ranked number-one and number-two respectively in the WMMA World Rankings. The winner of the bout will head into 2020 having clearly established themselves as the top women’s atomweight fighter on the planet.

Hamasaki is undefeated in the atomweight division.

Since signing with RIZIN FF, Hamasaki (19-2-0) has gone 5-0, finishing three of those victories by way of submissions. The 37-year-old won the inaugural RIZIN atomweight title by defeating Kanna Asakura via second-round armbar submission at the RIZIN 14 event in 2018. She has since gone on to successfully defend the belt against Jinh Yu Frey and Suwanan Boonsorn. A former Invicta FC atomweight champion, Hamasaki has never been beaten at the weight-class, with her sole losses coming in strawweight bouts to naturally bigger opponents in Claudia Gadelha and Livia Souza.

Ham has only ever lost at atomweight twice, both times to Ayaka Hamasaki.

Ham (22-8-0) has gone 5-0 since leaving the UFC back in 2016. The 32-year-old suffered a number of close decision losses when competing against bigger girls in UFC’s 115-pound division but since moving back down to atomweight has shown her punching power, knocking out four of her five opponents, including a 2017 one-punch KO of Jinh Yu Frey.



Hamasaki and Ham have fought on two occasions prior. In their first meeting back in 2010, Hamasaki emerged victorious via unanimous decision. In 2011’s follow-up, Hamasaki once again came away with the win after a corner stoppage at the end of the first-round. Almost a decade has passed since the initial two meetings and both fighters have evolved significantly, making the December 31st showdown a highly compelling bout.

Ham and Hamasaki have history together, having fought twice before.

RIZIN 20 takes place on Tuesday December 31, 2019, from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The event will be aired worldwide on pay-per-view from 1am EST, more details to come during fight week.

Fight fans, who do you see winning the December 31st title fight between Hamasaki and Ham? Let us know in the comments section below.

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