RIZIN FF News
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.
RIZIN 16 Live Results
Drake Riggs - June 1, 2019
RIZIN 16 is kicking off the June MMA calendar in style as two titles will be decided! One of which will see two champions square off… again. In the evening’s co-main event, a rematch three years in the making will see either redemption or a G.O.A.T.’s continued solidification.
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.
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 15 Live Results
Drake Riggs - April 20, 2019
RIZIN 15 is the first RIZIN event of 2019 and as per usual it looks to be a great one. Stars return and a new champion will be crowned. In the main event, we will see the first ever RIZIN light heavyweight champion be decided when Bellator’s “King Mo” Muhammad Lawal returns to the ring to try and once again pick up a win over the red-hot Czech, Jiri Prochazka.
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 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.
RIZIN 15 gets Kyoji Horiguchi vs Ben Nguyen and inaugural light heavyweight title bout
Drake Riggs - January 30, 2019
With each new year, Japan’s RIZIN Fighting Federation seems to continually step things up a notch with bigger and better shows. 2018 was no different. RIZIN capped this past year off with the fantastic RIZIN 14 New Year’s Eve show which was headlined by a surprising exhibition boxing match that featured all-time boxing great Floyd Mayweather vs prodigy kickboxing star Tenshin Nasukawa.
EXCLUSIVE | Isaac Vallie-Flagg updates on missing WBKFF pay, lists exciting possibilities for next fight
Tom Taylor - January 15, 2019
On November 9, UFC veteran Isaac Vallie-Flagg stepped through the ropes of the World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation (WBKFF) ring for a gloveless scrap with Corey Simpson. More than two months later, Vallie-Flagg and many other fighters who competed on the inaugural WBKFF card are still awaiting payment. When Vallie-Flagg drew attention to his outstanding WBKFF payment on Twitter last week, he received a response from MMA legend Bas Rutten, who was appointed as WBKFF president ahead of the November card. Rutten assured Vallie-Flagg that his payment is coming soon, allegedly once WBKFF founder Tomasz Stankiewicz receives the pay-per-view revenue for the card.