Rizin Fighting Federation

Rizin Fighting Federation
Private
Industry Mixed martial arts promotion
Founded September 2015 (2015-09)
Founder Nobuyuki Sakakibara
Headquarters Tokyo, Japan
Key people
 Nobuyuki Sakakibara, Nobuhiko Takada
Website www.rizinff.com/en/

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] Rizin FF streams exclusively on digital on FITE TV in North America and Europe.[4]

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, 2016 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 . Mirko "Cro Cop" won the championship.

Grand Prix 2017

Nobuyuki Sakakibara announced that they will host a women Atomweight 48 kg Grand Prix and men Bantamweight 61 kg Grand Prix.[5]

List of Rizin FF events

# Event Date Venue Location Attendance
9 Rizin FF 7: RIZIN World Grand Prix 2017 Opening Round Part 2 October 15, 2017 Marine Messe Fukuoka Japan Fukuoka, Japan
8 Rizin FF 6: RIZIN World Grand Prix 2017 Opening Round Part 1 July 30, 2017 Saitama Super Arena Japan Saitama, Japan
7 Rizin Fighting Federation 5 - Sakura April 16, 2017 Yokohama Arena Japan Yokohama, Japan
6 Rizin FF 4: World Grand-Prix 2016: Final Round December 31, 2016 Saitama Super Arena Japan Saitama, Japan
5 Rizin FF 3: Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 2nd Round December 29, 2016 Saitama Super Arena Japan Saitama, Japan
4 Rizin FF 2: Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 1st Round September 25, 2016 Saitama Super Arena Japan Saitama, Japan
3 Rizin Fighting Federation 1 April 4, 2016 Nippon Gaishi Hall Japan Nagoya, Japan
2 Rizin World Grand-Prix 2015: Part 2 - Iza December 31, 2015 Saitama Super Arena Japan Saitama, Japan
1 Rizin World Grand-Prix 2015: Part 1 - Saraba December 29, 2015 Saitama Super Arena Japan Saitama, Japan

Grand-Prix Champions

Weight ClassChampionRunner-upEventDateTournament Bracket
Rizin Heavyweight 100 kg 2015 United States Muhammed Lawal Czech Republic Jiří Procházka Rizin World Grand-Prix 2015:Part 2 - Iza December 31, 2015 Rizin 100 Kg Grand-Prix bracket
Rizin Openweight 2016 Croatia Mirko Filipović Iran Amir Aliakbari Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: Final Round December 31, 2016 Rizin Openweight Grand Prix 2016 bracket
Rizin Bantamweight 2017 Rizin Bantamweight Grand Prix 2017 bracket
Rizin Women's Atomweight 2017 Rizin Atomweight Grand Prix 2017 bracket

Notable fighters

Affiliated organizations

Rizin FF is affiliated with the following organizations:[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Nobuyuki Sakakibara discusses Rizin FF plans for 2016, Fedor Emelianenko’s opponent, drug testing and more". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  2. ↑ "Former Pride FC boss: Fedor's opponent will mean something for future of MMA". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  3. ↑ "Event Summary Rizen Fighting Federation". rizinff.com. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
  4. ↑ "Rizin FF Partners with FITE TV". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2017-04-01.
  5. ↑ "Bantamweight 61 kg Grand Prix". twitter. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  6. ↑ "RIZIN Fighting Federation". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
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