Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Rizin Fighting Federation

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Type
  
Private

Website
  
www.rizinff.com/en/

Founded
  
September 2015

Headquarters
  
Tokyo, Japan

Founder
  
Nobuyuki Sakakibara

Rizin Fighting Federation httpsofficialmmaoutsidersfileswordpresscom2

Industry
  
Mixed martial arts promotion

Key people
  
Nobuyuki Sakakibara, Nobuhiko Takada

Rizin fighting federation 2


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.

Contents

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.

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 . Mirko "Cro Cop" won the championship.

Affiliated organizations

Rizin FF is affiliated with the following organizations:

References

Rizin Fighting Federation Wikipedia