RIZIN, the spiritual successor to PRIDE, held a press conference Friday morning from Tokyo and revealed the lineup for their next event, RIZIN 13 on September 30th from Saitama Super Arena. headlining the card is a bout of extreme importance to the Japanese combat sports scene: Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Kyoji Horiguchi under RIZIN Kickboxing rules. Tenshin is a rising star with a perfect 26-0 kickboxing record, while Horiguchi is 25-2 in MMA and on a 10 fight win streak. This will be his kickboxing debut.
Other important reveals: the addition of kickboxer Taiga to the RIZIN roster. He’ll be taking on Kento Haraguchi. Daron Cruickshank vs. Diego Brandao is a battle of the UFC veterans, and Mirko CroCop will return to Japan to fight DEEP Megaton Champ Roque Martinez, who thrilled the crowd at RIZIN 12 with a violent win.
Here’s the full list of fight announcements:
TAIGA vs Kento Haraguchi (kickboxing)
Kyoji Horiguchi vs Tenshin (kickboxing)
Daron Cruickshank vs Diego Brandao
Jiri Prochazka vs Jake Heun
Andy Nguyen vs Miyuu Yamamoto II
Yusaku Nakamura vs Manel Kape
Mikuru Asakura vs Karshyga Dautbek
Kai Asakura vs Topnoi
Mitsuhisa Sunabe vs Haruo Ochi
Cro Cop vs Roque Martinez
Rizin Fighting Federation (Rizin FF) is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championship president Nobuyuki Sakakibara.
Rizin FF will be broadcast in North America by Spike TV which is already the broadcaster of Bellator MMA. Other official partnering broadcasters will be SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation, Fuji Television, Fox Sports Brazil, Kix and Match TV. Rizin FF streams exclusively on digital on FITE TV in North America and Europe.
The precursors of RIZIN Fighting Federation were PRIDE (founded 1997, dissolved 2007), and DREAM (founded 2008, dissolved 2012). PRIDE was an original competitor of the UFC, largely considered to be the premier mixed martial arts organization worldwide, and produced many of the stars during the 'golden age' of MMA, who went on to become UFC champions and Hall of Famers. Once PRIDE was purchased by the UFC, they absorbed most of their contracted roster. Less than 1 year after PRIDE's final event, DREAM was founded. Most of the executives and staff from PRIDE sought to recreate the same philosophy and ambition that their former organization had. Upon the dissolution of HERO'S, Fighting and Entertainment Group collaborated with Dream Stage Entertainment to create DREAM. Despite running nearly 25 events across from 2008 until the end of 2012, and establishing partnerships with Shooto, M-1 Global, Elite XC, Strikeforce, ProElite, and ONE Championship, the promotion sunsetted in the summer of 2012.
On September 19, 2015 during Bellator 142 Dynamite 1 event, it was announced that Nobuyuki Sakakibara had signed one of the most successful and famous heavyweights in history, former Pride Heavyweight Champion 'The Last Emperor' Fedor Emelianenko to headline his new promotion’s New Year’s Eve Show in Tokyo. Then, on October 8, 2015 The former President of Pride FC - Nobuyuki Sakakibara - held a press conference to announce his return to MMA with Rizin Fighting Federation. Sakakibara returned to mainstream MMA, along with Nobuhiko Takada and other former Pride FC employees. Aside from the previously announced presence of Emelianenko (who was speculated to fight against Jaideep Singh), Kazushi Sakuraba was announced to take on Shinya Aoki, as well as female competitors Gabi Garcia and RENA. Finally, the classic Grand Prix tournament was announced (held at 100kg or roughly 220lbs), with champions and competitors from Bellator, KSW, Jungle Fight, BAMMA, and King of Kings. Most notably, King Mo was announced to represent Bellator in the tournament. All bouts will take place in a ring under PRIDE rules. In attendance were Bellator president Scott Coker, and Spike TV executive Jon Slusser, with Coker stating that his promotion and network were fully committed to supporting RIZIN. Coker went on to say, "There was a time not long ago where the best fighters in the world fought here in Japan four or five times a year." The winner of the Grand Prix was to take home the prize of $500,000. The 8-man bracket was officially finalized on November 30th, 2015, with other bouts also being announced shortly thereafter.
There is no schedule or ticket right now.
日本、〒330-9111 埼玉県さいたま市中央区新都心８ Map
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