RIZIN FF News
Bellator and RIZIN eyeing Fedor vs. Rampage, Bader vs. Prochazka
Adam Martin - September 9, 2019
Bellator and RIZIN are eyeing a year-end show in Japan featuring some of the best fighters from both promotions. Reports indicate Bellator president Scott Coker and RIZIN bossman Nobuyuki Sakakibara are in talks for a main event between Fedor Emelianenko and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, as well as a light heavyweight co-main event between Ryan Bader and Jiri Prochazka. Veteran MMA scribe Josh Gross of The Athletic shared the news via Twitter that Bellator and RIZIN hope to have a card December 29 in Japan, and they hope to bill it as Emelianenko’s final fight in Japan.
RIZIN planning something 'quite strange,' could involve Conor McGregor
Tom Taylor - August 20, 2019
Nobuyuki Sakakibara, the President of Japanese combat sports promotion RIZIN Fighting Federation, has no objections to promoting an unconventional fight here and there. Look no further than last year’s wild exhibition boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Tenshin Nasukawa for proof of that fact. From the sounds of it, the RIZIN boss is plotting another strange attraction for the promotion’s big New Years Eve show this year.
WATCH | Kyoji Horiguchi gets shockingly knocked out in 68 seconds at RIZIN 18
Cole Shelton - August 18, 2019
RIZIN FF and Bellator bantamweight champion, Kyoji Horiguchi returned to the cage in the main event of RIZIN 18. There, the champ was taking Kai Asakura in a non-title bout.
RIZIN 16 results: Ayaka Hamasaki defeats Jinh Yu Frey again, Tenshin Nasukawa claims gold (Highlights)
Drake Riggs - June 2, 2019
RIZIN touched down in Kobe for the first time ever with RIZIN 16. And as per usual, the promotion delivered with plenty of great fights. The first of the final six bouts saw the fan favorite, Daron Cruickshank make his return to the RIZIN ring when he took on the rising lightweight, Tofiq Musayev.
Champion vs champion rematch in the works between Ayaka Hamasaki and Jinh Yu Frey for RIZIN 16
Drake Riggs - April 29, 2019
In MMA’s lightest division, the spotlight isn’t too bright in North America, but the fighters are still lighting things up. Leading the way for them in the West is the Invicta FC atomweight champion, Jinh Yu Frey (8-3). After six fights in the promotion, the seventh was her crowning moment when she defeated Minna Grusander via unanimous decision. Since then, Frey has successfully defended the title once by defeating Grusander in their instant rematch.
Darrion Caldwell vs Kyoji Horiguchi 2 official for Bellator 222
Drake Riggs - April 28, 2019
The first RIZIN Fighting Federation event of 2019 went down on April 21 with RIZIN 15. It was a great night of fights as per usual from the Japanese based MMA leader. In action, that night was none other than the RIZIN bantamweight king, Kyoji Horiguchi (27-2) who defeated Ben Nguyen via first-round TKO. The dominant 28-year old entered the ring for the first time since he won the title on New Year’s Eve 2018 at RIZIN 14 when he defeated the Bellator champion, Darrion “The Wolf” Caldwell (13-2) in a crazy comeback effort.
EXCLUSIVE | Bellator 220 fighters share thoughts on potential RIZIN fights
Drake Riggs - April 26, 2019
The end of 2018 marked a new era of sorts when it comes to cross-promotion in MMA as Bellator and RIZIN teamed up like never before. For RIZIN’s annual big New Year’s Eve show, in 2018 that was RIZIN 14, one of their biggest stars, Kyoji Horiguchi would fight for the inaugural bantamweight title. His opponent would be none other than Bellator’s bantamweight champion, Darrion Caldwell.
RIZIN 15 results: Prochazka claims gold, Horiguchi and Tenshin continue dominance (Highlights)
Drake Riggs - April 21, 2019
RIZIN 15 went down on Sunday morning for those stateside and it acted as the first RIZIN event of 2019. In the first MMA bout of the night, top strawweight prospect, Kanako Murata made her return to the RIZIN ring on short notice to take on Mexico’s Saray Orozco at flyweight.
RIZIN boss clarifies on Manny Pacquiao deal, interested in exhibition bout with Takanori Gomi
Tom Taylor - April 9, 2019
Late last week, RIZIN Fighting Federation boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara hinted at a deal with Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao. Sakakibara suggested that Pacquiao’s dealings with RIZIN would be linked to the April 21 RIZIN 15 card, now less than two weeks away, so a fight seemed unlikely from the get-go.
RIZIN boss hints at upcoming deal with Manny Pacquiao
Tom Taylor - April 7, 2019
Back in December, RIZIN Fight Federation flew undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. out to Tokyo to battle one of its brightest young stars, Tenshin Nasukawa, in an exhibition match. Unfortunately for RIZIN, this plan seemed to backfire, as Mayweather walloped the much smaller Nasukawa to a first round knockout. Despite the seemingly disastrous end to this Floyd Mayweather vs. Tenshin Nasukawa fight, RIZIN does not appear to be done flirting with top-level boxers.
RIZIN 15 continues to grow with the additions of Damien Brown and Manel Kape
Drake Riggs - February 7, 2019
On April 21, RIZIN FF will hold their first event of the year in RIZIN 15 which takes place from the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan. Four very fun matchups have already been announced for the 2019 kickoff show.
Scott Coker has more cross-promotional fights planned beyond RIZIN 15
Drake Riggs - February 1, 2019
The partnership between RIZIN and Bellator continues to be a fruitful one as RIZIN 15 will provide us with yet another cross-promotional title bout. The two promotions have already had fighters fight between each other in the past, but it wasn’t until RIZIN 14 when things got very interesting.