RIZIN FF News

Tom Taylor - November 7, 2018

Speaking in a Wednesday afternoon Instagram post, undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. made the announcement that his recently announced RIZIN Fighting Federation showdown with kickboxing star Tenshin Nasukawa, scheduled for December 31 in Tokyo, is cancelled. Or, perhaps it’s most accurate to say it was never really on. At least not from Mayweather’s vantage point. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp49AUphcLu/

Tom Taylor - November 6, 2018

The next man to fight undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather will not be Conor McGregor or Khabib Nurmagomedov or even Manny Pacquiao. Instead, Mayweather will be welcomed back to the ring by 20-year-old kickboxing wunderkind Tenshin Nasukawa, who he’s expected to battle at RIZIN 14 on New Years Eve in Tokyo, as first reported by BJPENN.COM.  This news, in a rather unsurprising twist, generated a reaction from Mayweather’s former opponent Conor McGregor. The former UFC lightweight and featherweight champ did not seem to be impressed.

Drake Riggs - November 5, 2018

The out of nowhere announcement of all out of nowhere announcements was announced last night as Floyd Mayweather vs Tenshin Nasukawa will take place at Rizin 14 on New Year’s Eve. Every year since their existence, Rizin Fighting Federation has held their biggest events on New Year’s Eve. And after two already incredible shows with Rizin 11 and Rizin 13, it was going to take something massive to top those for the end of 2018.

Tom Taylor - November 4, 2018

Undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. will soon collide with kickboxing wunderkind Tenshin Nasukawa, sources have confirmed to BJPENN.COM. This blockbuster fight is expected to occur at RIZIN 14, inside Tokyo, Japan’s hallowed Saitama Super Arena on New Years Eve. Rizin will officially announce this news at a press conference that is unfolding presently in Tokyo, and broadcasting on the promotion’s YouTube channel. Tenshin Nasukawa will be present at this press conference, as will Floyd Mayweather, who recently arrived in Japan on his private jet.

Drake Riggs - October 15, 2018

“Is this really happening?” is just one of the many quotes or questions that may be asked when witnessing one of those obviously special sports moments. One of the more fun parts about being in the combat sports world is that there are separate sports that are similar enough for athletes to try their hands in the other aspects and varieties that exist outside of the one that they’re accustomed to.

Tom Taylor - September 30, 2018

Last night, as Bellator 206 wrapped up, Japan’s Rizin Fighting Federation hosted its 13th card inside the hallowed Saitama, Super Arena outside Tokyo, Japan. This Rizin 13 card was headlined by a dynamite kickboxing bout as Kyoji Horiguchi, Rizin’s biggest star, stepped into the ring for a showdown with striking wunderkind Tenshin Nasukawa. As widely expected, Horiguchi failed to defeat Nasukawa in his own sport, though he put up a valiant effort en route to a unanimous decision loss.

Tom Taylor - August 24, 2018

Early on Friday morning, Rizin Fighting Federation announced the lineup for Rizin 13, which goes down on September 30 inside the hallowed Saitama Super Arena outside Tokyo, Japan. To call the card stacked would be an understatement. In the main event, former UFC flyweight title challenger and current Rizin superstar Kyoji Horiguchi will meet striking ace Tenshin Nasukawa in an absolutely riveting kickboxing bout.

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

“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.

Drake Riggs - May 9, 2018

It’s hard to argue that there is a fighter that has been more impressive than Kyoji Horiguchi in their post-UFC career. Since losing for only the second time in his career to UFC flyweight king, Demetrious Johnson, Horiguchi has rattled off nine straight victories with five finishes in a row(4 KO/TKO, 1 submission). More impressively, those recent five have been at bantamweight rather than his UFC divisional home of 125 pounds. And now it looks like Horiguchi plans on impressing in even more ways as BJPenn.com’s own Jason Kindschy is reporting that Rizin is planning for Horiguchi to enter their kickboxing Grand Prix with the hopes of him and Tensin Nasukawa facing off.

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.