Combat sports is filled with many Cinderella stories. Everyone loves to cheer an underdog who climbs the proverbial later to a championship. Japan has a history of cheering on people who have that yamato-damashii (“Japanese spirit). On November 4, Chihiro Suzuki (12-3, 1 NC), a fighter that fans of Rizin didn’t think would be a champion, achieved the impossible.
Biography
Born May 14, 1999, in Mitaka, a neighborhood in Tokyo, the 24-year-old Suzuki did not have an easy time growing up. Born a “hafu,” (half-Japanese, half-foreigner), he is of mixed race that includes Peruvian, Spanish, and Russian.