Rizin Fighting Federation
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Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Mixed martial arts promotion |
Founded | September 2015 |
Founder | Nobuyuki Sakakibara |
Headquarters | , |
Key people | Nobuyuki Sakakibara, Nobuhiko Takada |
Website | www |
Rizin Fighting Federation (Rizin FF) is a Japanese regional mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championship president Nobuyuki Sakakibara.[1][2]
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.[3]
History
Signing Fedor Emelianenko
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 Heavyweight Fighter in history, Former Pride Heavyweight Champion The Last Emperor Fedor Emelianenko to headline his new promotion’s New Year’s Eve Show in Tokyo.
The beginning
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.
Inaugural Event
In December 2015, Rizin Fighting Federation hosted the first Rizin World Grand-Prix , a two-part 100 kg tournament held to find the "world's best fighter". The tournament was held over the course of two events, with eight fighters competing in an opening round and the four winners returning two days later for the final round. The second round of the tournament was broadcast in the United States and featured American fighter Muhammed Lawal winning the tournament by defeating Brett McDermott, Teodoras Aukstuolis, and Jiri Prochazka in the two-day event.
Grand Prix 2016
On July 16, 2015 Nobuyuki Sakakibara announced at a press conference that Rizin Fighting Federation will host a 16-man openweight tournament September 25 in Tokyo. Former PRIDE Grand Prix champion Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and former PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva to participate in the tournament .
Events
No. | Date | Event | Venue | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|
6 | December 31, 2016 | Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: Final Round | Saitama Super Arena | ![]() |
5 | December 29, 2016 | Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 2nd Round | Saitama Super Arena | ![]() |
4 | September 25, 2016 | Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 1st Round | Saitama Super Arena | ![]() |
3 | April 4, 2016 | Rizin Fighting Federation 1 | Nippon Gaishi Hall | ![]() |
2 | December 31, 2015 | Rizin World Grand-Prix 2015:Part 2 - Iza | Saitama Super Arena | ![]() |
1 | December 29, 2015 | Rizin World Grand-Prix 2015:Part 1 - Saraba | Saitama Super Arena | ![]() |
Notable fighters
Peter Aerts
Amir Aliakbari
Shinya Aoki
Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett
Shane Carwin
Fedor Emelianenko
Kazuyuki Fujita
Mirko Filipović
Gabrielle Garcia
Kron Gracie
Daiki Hata
Hiroya
Satoshi Ishii
Singh Jaideep
Baruto Kaito
Tsuyoshi Kohsaka
Rena Kubota
Muhammed Lawal
A.J. Matthews
Brett McDermott
Kazuyuki Miyata
Yuichiro Nagashima
Akiyo Nishiura
Goran Reljić
Kazushi Sakuraba
Bob Sapp
Kirill Sidelnikov
Wanderlei Silva
Andy Souwer
Hiroyuki Takaya
Lei'D Tapa
Akebono Tarō
James Thompson
Hideo Tokoro
Brennan Ward
Hinata Watanabe
Affiliated organizations
Rizin FF is affiliated with the following organizations:[4]
Bellator MMA
Jungle Fight
Deep
Pancrase
VTJ
K-1
Shoot boxing
Road FC
BAMMA
KSW
Lithuania Bushido Federation
Russian MMA Union
Gladiator Championship Fighting
Full Metal Dojo (Amir Aliakbari)
References
- ^ "Nobuyuki Sakakibara discusses Rizin FF plans for 2016, Fedor Emelianenko's opponent, drug testing and more". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
- ^ "Former Pride FC boss: Fedor's opponent will mean something for future of MMA". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
- ^ "Event Summary Rizen Fighting Federation". rizinff.com. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
- ^ "RIZIN Fighting Federation". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2015-11-25.