RIZIN FF News

Josh Evanoff - December 28, 2023

RIZIN President Nobuyuki Sakakibara is open to working with PFL and Donn Davis, but it will take some time. The annual New Year’s event for RIZIN is slated for this weekend. Headlined by Kyoji Horiguchi’s rematch against Makoto Takahashi, the card also features high-profile names such as Juan Archuleta, Kai Asakura, John Dodson, and more. While a fun event, this year’s event will look radically different than last year’s.

Josh Evanoff - December 22, 2023

RIZIN executive Nobuyuki Sakakibara is down to welcome Anderson Silva to the ring in the future. ‘The Spider’ has been out of action since he clashed with Jake Paul well over a year ago. Facing off in the main event of a Showtime pay-per-view, Anderson Silva suffered a unanimous decision loss. ‘The Spider’ made a great account of himself in the bout, but an eighth-round knockdown from Paul sealed the defeat.

Josh Evanoff - February 8, 2023

Former jiu-jitsu world champion Gabi Garcia is targeting a return to the cage. The 37-year-old had a lot of interest when she made her MMA debut back in 2015. A multiple-time jiu-jitsu champion, Garcia quickly signed to RIZIN. Given her stature at 6’2″ and 209 pounds, there weren’t many destinations for her to sign otherwise.

Susan Cox - February 3, 2023

Manny Pacquiao is set to take on Kota Ibushi in Japan. Yes, a recent report from Tokyo Sports indicates that the Boxing Hall of Famer, Pacquiao is set to match up with Kota Ibushi in his debut with the Japanese MMA promotion RIZIN.

Josh Evanoff - January 3, 2023

Bellator lightweight contender A.J. McKee had quite the night in Japan last Saturday. Over the weekend, Bellator and RIZIN held their first co-promotional event. While the two promotions have had a talent-sharing program for years, Saturday was their first event featuring both brands. Names such as Patricio Pitbull and Kyoji Horiguchi fought on the card against RIZIN’s competitors.

Josh Evanoff - December 30, 2022

The Bellator vs. RIZIN weigh-in show had a hilarious moment earlier today. The two organizations are slated to put on a co-promoted event tomorrow night in Japan. The card is set to feature some of the biggest stars from Bellator, such as Patricio Pitbull and A.J. McKee. In return, RIZIN will send their best, in the form of champions such as Roberto de Souza to compete against them.

Josh Evanoff - October 26, 2022

Bellator and RIZIN are going all out for their New Year’s Eve event in Japan. The two promotions have had a partnership since 2015. For the most part, that partnership has just led to fighters crossing over between promotions. For example, Bellator lent future champion, Patricky Pitbull, to RIZIN for their 2019 lightweight Grand Prix.

Harry Kettle - October 25, 2022

Bellator MMA have announced another crossover event with Rizin, which is set to take place on New Year’s Eve. Over the course of the last few years, Bellator has made an effort to branch out and work with a series of different promotions. While it’s unlikely they’ll be able to strike any kind of cross-promotional deal with the UFC, there are certainly other companies that are more than willing to partake.

Josh Evanoff - June 16, 2022

Undefeated professional boxer Floyd Mayweather isn’t stressing ahead of his return against Mikuru Asakura. ‘Money’ retired from the sport of boxing following a 2017 knockout of Conor McGregor. Sitting at 50-0 in his professional career, Mayweather has cemented his place as one of the greatest to ever put on the gloves. However, while he’s retired from pro contests, he’s not retired from exhibitions.

Cole Shelton - June 14, 2022

Floyd Mayweather will be returning to Japan to fight for RIZIN FF. Mayweather who fought kickboxing phenom Tenshin Nasukawa and knocked him out under the RIZIN FF banner in December of 2019, has struck another deal with the promotion. RIZIN FF announced that Mayweather will take on MMA fighter Mikuru Asakura in an exhibition boxing match in September.

Chris Taylor - December 3, 2021

Tonight’s Bellator 272 event was headlined by a highly anticipated title fight featuring Sergio Pettis taking on Kyoji Horiguchi. Pettis (21-5 MMA) was looking to earn his first career title defense when he took on former champion Horiguchi (29-3 MMA) this evening.

Drake Riggs - November 24, 2021

Kyoji Horiguchi is a man on a mission. The current RIZIN FF 135-pound bantamweight king recaptured the title he never officially lost on New Year’s Eve 2020 and hasn’t fought since. Now, Horiguchi has signed with Bellator in a rare deal that sees him remain the RIZIN champ and seeks the other title he relinquished when sidelined in all of 2020 recovering from an ACL tear.

Drake Riggs - September 9, 2021

Kyoji Horiguchi is taking new steps forward in his storied career. It was revealed Thursday to BJPenn.com that the current RIZIN bantamweight champion has joined the Bellator roster. RIZIN, Bellator President Scott Coker, and Horiguchi himself announced the news via social media.

Drake Riggs - June 14, 2021

UFC President Dana White and RIZIN FF Founder Nobuyuki Sakakibara go way back. During the rise of the UFC in the early 2000s, PRIDE FC was doing its thing over in Japan. 15 years later and two most prolific MMA bosses reunited recently.

Drake Riggs - May 31, 2021

RIZIN 28 is the return to the Tokyo Dome for the great sport of MMA and Japan’s premier organization. The centerpiece of the next two RIZIN events is undeniably the big 16-man bantamweight Grand Prix tournament. The action begins with four opening round bouts on this first June 13 card while things conclude on the 27th in Osaka at RIZIN 29. But first, there needs to be some rounding out for the big show in PRIDE’s old stomping grounds.

Drake Riggs - March 23, 2021

Tsuyoshi Sudario made some history during RIZIN’s first event of 2021. Unfortunately, the aftermath of the bout could overshadow his win. Entering into his matchup with 42-year old professional wrestler Kazushi Miyamoto, the former Sumo wrestling sensation, Tsuyoshi Sudario, was 2-0 in MMA. Coming in off of a big win over the iconic Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa at RIZIN 26 on New Year’s Eve 2020, Sudario was back to facing a pro wrestler making their MMA debut just like he did when he debuted at RIZIN 24 vs. Dylan James.

Andrew Whitelaw - March 16, 2021

Rizin favourite, Jake Heun has reportedly got himself into some serious trouble Down Under. According to a report from Jack Wannan in Knockdown News, the 33 year old Heun is facing a slew of drug charges in Melbourne, Australia.

Drake Riggs - March 16, 2021

Prodigy kickboxing sensation Tenshin Nasukawa is already one of the best ever in his sport despite his age. Apparently, there was a point where the world’s premier MMA promotion wanted to get their hands on the Chiba Prefecture native. 41-0 at just age 22, Nasukawa first stepped foot inside the RIZIN FF ring at RIZIN 9 in 2017. He’s fought under the banner 13 times overall and looked virtually flawless in all outings – excluding an exhibition boxing match vs. Floyd Mayweather.