RIZIN FF News

Drake Riggs - August 16, 2018

Crossing through the end of July to the beginning of August, the RIZIN Fighting Federation put on two successful shows in two weeks. After a huge and wildly entertaining show with RIZIN 11 on July 29th at the famous Saitama Super Arena, RIZIN 12 followed on August 12th but was in a much smaller venue.

Drake Riggs - August 12, 2018

Once again the RIZIN Fighting Federation has delivered another great night of action. We saw a little bit of everything, including comebacks and upsets. As far as spectacles go, it’s hard to beat a RIZIN event. This time though, everything was straight to the point as the show took place in a smaller arena than usual, the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya.

Drake Riggs - August 12, 2018

“The Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva is arguably Japan’s biggest star when it comes to fighters who made their name in the country. The legendary Brazilian now is hoping to fight in front of a Japanese crowd once again before everything is all said and done. Silva was present at RIZIN 12 today to corner one half of the main event, Luiz Gustavo. But midway through the card, Silva found some time to head to the ring and address the crowd.

Drake Riggs - July 29, 2018

In a night that had already seen some great action produced by UFC on Fox 30 in Calgary, MMA continued in Japan and only further stepped on the gas. The RIZIN Fighting Federation held their 11th numbered card just three hours or so after the conclusion of Dustin Poirier’s epic victory over Eddie Alvarez in their rematch. Right from the get-go, it was almost like the fighters were trying to top the UFC’s action. And they arguably did just that.

Tom Taylor - December 31, 2017

While UFC 219 dominated the MMA spotlight on Saturday night, it was not the only major event going down. Across the Pacific, Rizin Fighting Federation hosted its stacked, year-end card, which was highlighted by the finals of its action-packed bantamweight Grand Prix. The quarterfinals of this Grand Prix went down two nights ago, when Manel Kape defeated UFC veteran Ian McCall with a bizarre, ring-rope induced stoppage, Takafumi Otsuka tapped formerly undefeated prospect Khalid Taha, Shintaro Ishiwatari brutally KO’d Kevin Petshi, and UFC veteran Kyoji Horiguchi snuffed Gabriel Oliveira. 

Tom Taylor - October 19, 2017

Ian McCall was recently released from his UFC contract, ending a long stint in the promotion’s flyweight division. Just days later, the flyweight star found a new home in Japan’s Rizin Fighting Federation, and was quickly plunked into the promotion’s exciting bantamweight Grand Prix. On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, McCall explained how he wound up in Rizin’s Grand Prix. Apparently, the first offers he received came from Russia. Rizin, however, simply came to the table with the best offer.

Tom Taylor - April 16, 2017

Though UFC on Fox 24, which was highlighted by emphatic wins from Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, Rose Namajunas and Robert Whittaker, dominated the attention of MMA fans on Saturday night, it was not the only major MMA show on the calendar. Shortly after the UFC on Fox action wore down in Kansas City, Missouri, Nobuyuki Sakakibara helmed Pride-revival Rizin Fighting Federation touched down in beautiful Yokohama, Japan with its latest show – and it was pure brutality.

Tom Taylor - December 19, 2016

Later this month, Japan’s Rizin Fighting Federation will close out 2016 with an epic openweight grand Prix. The quarterfinal round of this tournament will occur on December 29, while the semifinals and finals will occur on December 31. To the elation of fans everywhere, Rizin stacked this tournament with big names, as Pride legends Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and Wanderlei Silva and even retired former UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin were pencilled into the brackets. Unfortunately, several of these names have been forced to withdraw from the rapidly approaching tournament.

Tom Taylor - November 9, 2016

Japan’s Rizin Fighting Federation will close out 2016 in the biggest way possible, with the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals of their hyped Openweight Grand Prix. The tournament quarterfinals will occur on December 29, while the semifinals and finals will occur two nights later on the 31. Late on Tuesday night, the Japanese organization revealed the brackets for these final tournament rounds.

Chris Taylor - September 25, 2016

“Krazy Horse” Charles Bennett scored a seven-second knockout victory over Minoru Kimura earlier today at RIZIN 2 in Japan. The fight started and Minoru charged across the ring where he was met by a leaping right punch from “Krazy Horse”.

bjpenndotcom - May 7, 2016

Throughout the history of MMA, several fighters have worn MMA shorts that have become iconic such as Mirko Cro Cop, Chuck Liddell, and our namesake BJ Penn to name just a few. With the UFC’s new apparel deal with Reebok, fighters now all wear uniforms, which takes away a fighters ability to be an individual according to Rizin FF CEO, and former PRIDE FC CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara.

Russell Ess - January 25, 2016

An intriguing matchup has been buzzing amongst the MMA community of a potential fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Tito Ortiz. While other rumors have been circulating of Fedor potentially fighting King Mo, Wanderlei Silva, and even Brock Lesnar, no word on an official fight has been released. Russian website World of MMA reported the following (translated with Google Translate):