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RIZIN 20 results: Manel Kape wins title on unforgettable card
Early on Tuesday morning, RIZIN Fighting Federation promoted its final MMA card of the decade in RIZIN 20, and it was an absolute thriller. Topped by a bantamweight title fight between Kai Asakura, who recently stunned Kyoji Horiguchi, and Manel Kape, it also featured appearances from names like Tenshin Nasukawa, Seo Hee Ham, Rena Kubota, […]
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UFC veteran Daron Cruickshank under fire for racist remarks in Japan
Former UFC fighter Daron Cruickshank has found himself under fire after racist comments he made during an April visit to Japan have come to light. Cruickshank, who previously competed in the UFC lightweight division, has spent the last few years of his career fighting for Japan’s RIZIN Fighting Federation. During an April visit to Japan, […]
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Simon Biyong is chasing Rizin gold
African mixed martial arts is definitely on the rise. Nigerian-born Kamaru Usman just defended his UFC welterweight title against Colby Covington, and fellow countryman Israel Adesanya unified the middleweight title by defeating Robert Whittaker just two months ago. Now, Italian-Cameroonian Simon Biyong (6-1 MMA) will look to continue that trend of success in his Rizin Fighting […]
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Benson Henderson out, Michael Chandler receives new opponent for Bellator Japan
The anticipated rematch between Michael Chandler and Benson Henderson will have to be put on hold as Henderson is out of their scheduled Bellator Japan bout. Henderson has suffered an injury, forcing him to withdraw from the Bellator Japan card. https://twitter.com/BellatorMMA/status/1202476424147324931 Benson Henderson and Michael Chandler first collided at Bellator 165 in 2016. Chandler won […]
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CB Dollaway leaves UFC, gets RIZIN title shot
After receiving a two-year suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), middleweight veteran CB Dollaway has parted ways with the UFC. Yet his fighting days are not over yet. On Tuesday, it was announced that Dollaway has signed with Japanese promotion RIZIN Fighting Federation. Dollaway will make his RIZIN debut on the promotion’s big […]
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Kyoji Horiguchi relinquishes Bellator belt
Weeks after he relinquished the Rizin bantamweight title, Kyoji Horiguchi has let go of the Bellator bantamweight belt as well. Bellator MMA announced this unfortunate news in a Wednesday afternoon press release. “I feel terrible for Kyoji [Horiguchi] about the injury he suffered to his knee, but in the true spirit of martial arts and […]
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Kyoji Horiguchi withdraws from Rizin 20, vacates bantamweight title
Kyoji Horiguchi plans to avenge his loss against Kai Asakura will have to be put on hold. The Rizin and Bellator champion Horiguchi (28-3) has been forced to withdraw from the upcoming Rizin 20 bout against Asakura (14-1) due to a damaged meniscus and torn ACL. The promotion organization announced the news on Wednesday evening. […]
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Fedor Emelianenko, ‘Rampage’ set to collide in Japan
On December 29, Bellator MMA will make its debut in Japan. One of the highlights of this event will be a showdown between MMA legends Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Fedor Emelianenko. This news was announced at a joint press conference between Bellator and RIZIN Fighting Federation early on Wednesday morning (Wednesday night in Japan). Fedor […]
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RIZIN boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara interested in signing free agent Sergio Pettis
Sergio Pettis was scheduled to battle Kai Kara-France at UFC 245, but was pulled from the matchup when it came to light that his current UFC contract has concluded. Pettis is now exploring free agency, and from the sounds of it, he can expect some interest from Japan’s RIZIN Fighting Federation. Speaking to BJPENN.com’s Tom […]
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Bellator and RIZIN eyeing Fedor vs. Rampage, Bader vs. Prochazka
Bellator and RIZIN are eyeing a year-end show in Japan featuring some of the best fighters from both promotions. Reports indicate Bellator president Scott Coker and RIZIN bossman Nobuyuki Sakakibara are in talks for a main event between Fedor Emelianenko and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, as well as a light heavyweight co-main event between Ryan Bader […]
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RIZIN planning something ‘quite strange,’ could involve Conor McGregor
Nobuyuki Sakakibara, the President of Japanese combat sports promotion RIZIN Fighting Federation, has no objections to promoting an unconventional fight here and there. Look no further than last year’s wild exhibition boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Tenshin Nasukawa for proof of that fact. From the sounds of it, the RIZIN boss is plotting […]
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WATCH | Kyoji Horiguchi gets shockingly knocked out in 68 seconds at RIZIN 18
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. Why the title was not on the line was unknown but RIZIN FF CEO, Nobuyuki Sakakibara said this when the fight was announced: “Kyoji Horiguchi […]
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RIZIN 16 results: Ayaka Hamasaki defeats Jinh Yu Frey again, Tenshin Nasukawa claims gold (Highlights)
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. The […]
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RIZIN 16 Live Results
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. RIZIN super atomweight champion, Ayaka Hamasaki (17-2) […]
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Champion vs champion rematch in the works between Ayaka Hamasaki and Jinh Yu Frey for RIZIN 16
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 […]
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Darrion Caldwell vs Kyoji Horiguchi 2 official for Bellator 222
The first RIZIN Fighting Federation event of 2019 went down on April 21 with RIZIN 15. It was a great night of fights as per usual from the Japanese based MMA leader. In action, that night was none other than the RIZIN bantamweight king, Kyoji Horiguchi (27-2) who defeated Ben Nguyen via first-round TKO. The […]
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EXCLUSIVE | Bellator 220 fighters share thoughts on potential RIZIN fights
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 […]
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RIZIN 15 results: Prochazka claims gold, Horiguchi and Tenshin continue dominance (Highlights)
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. Murata would end up […]
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RIZIN 15 Live Results
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 […]
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RIZIN boss clarifies on Manny Pacquiao deal, interested in exhibition bout with Takanori Gomi
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. Speaking at a press conference […]
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RIZIN boss hints at upcoming deal with Manny Pacquiao
Back in December, RIZIN Fight Federation flew undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. out to Tokyo to battle one of its brightest young stars, Tenshin Nasukawa, in an exhibition match. Unfortunately for RIZIN, this plan seemed to backfire, as Mayweather walloped the much smaller Nasukawa to a first round knockout. Despite the seemingly disastrous end […]
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RIZIN 15 continues to grow with the additions of Damien Brown and Manel Kape
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. One of those fights being the inaugural 205-pound title fight which will be a rematch between […]
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Scott Coker has more cross-promotional fights planned beyond RIZIN 15
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. For RIZIN’s inaugural bantamweight title bout, […]
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RIZIN 15 gets Kyoji Horiguchi vs Ben Nguyen and inaugural light heavyweight title bout
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 […]
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EXCLUSIVE | Isaac Vallie-Flagg updates on missing WBKFF pay, lists exciting possibilities for next fight
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 […]
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VIDEO | Joe Rogan: ‘I don’t know why people think [Floyd Mayweather vs Tenshin Nasukawa] was a fixed fight’
![VIDEO | Joe Rogan: ‘I don’t know why people think [Floyd Mayweather vs Tenshin Nasukawa] was a fixed fight’](https://staging.tcpcharms.com/bjpenn/wp-content/uploads/Tenshin-Nasukawa-Floyd-Mayweather.png)
“A lot of people think that was a fixed fight,” Joe Rogan said on the Joe Rogan Experience. “I think that was a 120-pound fighter… Fighting the best ever. I mean, it wasn’t a fixed fight. I don’t know why people think it was a fixed fight. That guy fights at 126-pounds I think. I […]
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Tenshin Nasukawa responds to Conor McGregor callout, provides counter-offer
Last night, in a somewhat surprising twist, former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor called for an exhibition mixed martial arts bout with 20-year-old Japanese kickboxing sensation Tenshin Nasukawa, who was recently trounced in an exhibition boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. I wish to go to Tokyo to face Tenshin Nasukawa in a […]
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Brendan Schaub argues Floyd Mayweather vs. Tenshin Nasukawa fight was fixed
Speaking on a recent episode of his Below the Belt podcast, former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub shared his belief that the Floyd Mayweather vs. Tenshin Nasukawa exhibition bout that topped the RIZIN 14 card on New Years eve was fixed. “I’ve seen better acting in pornos,” Schaub said bluntly on his show (transcript via BoxingScene.com). “Floyd’s […]