Bellator MMA vs. Rizin FF | |||
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Promotion | Bellator MMA Rizin Fighting Federation | ||
Date | December 31, 2022 | ||
City | Saitama, Japan | ||
Venue | Saitama Super Arena | ||
Attendance | 23,661 [1] | ||
Bellator MMA events chronology | |||
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Rizin events chronology | |||
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Bellator MMA vs. Rizin FF and Rizin 40 (also known as Bellator MMA x Rizin 1) was a mixed martial arts event being co-promoted by Bellator MMA and the Rizin Fighting Federation that took place on December 31, 2022, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
The main card saw fighters from each promotion fight each other, with the Bellator representatives including a current champion and three former champions: Patrício Pitbull, A. J. McKee, Juan Archuleta and Kyoji Horiguchi. Matches were contested under Rizin's ruleset, which differs from Bellator's usual Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. [7]
The main card aired tape delayed in the U.S. on Showtime, Bellator's regular broadcast partner. [3]
Bellator MMA vs. Rizin (Showtime) | |||||||
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Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
Lightweight | A. J. McKee | def. | Roberto de Souza | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Featherweight | Patrício Pitbull | def. | Kleber Koike Erbst | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Flyweight | Kyoji Horiguchi | def. | Hiromasa Ougikubo | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Bantamweight | Juan Archuleta | def. | Soo Chul Kim | Decision (split) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Lightweight | Gadzhi Rabadanov | def. | Koji Takeda | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Rizin 40 (Fite TV PPV) | |||||||
Super Atomweight | Seika Izawa | def. | Si Woo Park | Decision (split) | 3 | 5:00 | [lower-alpha 1] |
Bantamweight | Naoki Inoue | def. | Kenta Takizawa | Submission (kimura) | 2 | 3:53 | |
Heavyweight | Junior Tafa | def. | Tsuyoshi Sudario | TKO (punches) | 1 | 1:38 | |
Flyweight | John Dodson | def. | Hideo Tokoro | KO (punches) | 1 | 1:43 | |
Intermission | |||||||
Catchweight | Ren Hiramoto | def. | Genji Umeno | KO (punch) | 2 | 3:00 | [lower-alpha 2] |
Bantamweight | Yuki Motoya | def. | Rogério Bontorin | KO (knee) | 2 | 2:56 | |
Lightweight | Johnny Case | def. | Nobumitsu Osawa | TKO (punches) | 1 | 0:36 | |
Featherweight | Chihiro Suzuki | def. | Yoshiki Nakahara | KO (punches) | 1 | 4:44 | |
Lightweight | Patrick Sho Usami | def. | BeyNoah | KO (punch) | 1 | 0:45 | |
Bantamweight | Yushi | def. | Tatsuya Nakazawa | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | [lower-alpha 3] |
Hideo Tokoro is a Japanese mixed martial artist who last competed in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2000, Tokoro has also formerly competed for Vale Tudo Japan, ZST, Shooto, Rings and K-1 Hero's. He is notable for holding the record for most weight divisions competed in by a professional MMA fighter, at seven, ranging from flyweight through to heavyweight.
Patrício Freire, known professionally as Patrício Pitbull, is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator MMA where he is the current three-time Bellator Featherweight Champion and former Bellator Lightweight Champion. He is the younger brother of lightweight fighter Patricky Pitbull. He is the second-ever simultaneous two-weight champion in Bellator MMA history, and is widely considered to be the best Bellator fighter of all-time. He is also considered one of the best ever, pound-for-pound, to have never fought in the UFC. As of October 10, 2023, he is No. 4 in the Bellator men's pound-for-pound rankings.
Patricky Freire, known professionally as Patricky Pitbull, is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator's Lightweight division, where he is a former Bellator Lightweight Champion. He is the older brother of featherweight fighter Patrício Pitbull. As of December 8, 2023, he is #3 in the Bellator Lightweight Rankings.
Kyoji Horiguchi is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator MMA and Rizin FF in the Flyweight division, where he is the current RIZIN Flyweight Champion. He is also the former bantamweight champion in both organizations. As of July 30, 2023, he is #5 in the Bellator Bantamweight Rankings.
Rizin Fighting Federation is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara.
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Juan Archuleta is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the bantamweight divisions of Bellator MMA and Rizin Fighting Federation, where in the latter promotion, he is the former Rizin Bantamweight Champion. A professional MMA competitor since 2013, he has also previously fought for King of the Cage and the World Series of Fighting. Archuleta is also a former Bellator Bantamweight World Champion.
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The year 2020 was the sixth year in the history of the Rizin Fighting Federation, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. The year began with Rizin 21 in Hamamatsu on February 22, 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic would put the promotion on hiatus until Rizin 22 on August 9.
Hiromasa Ougikubo Japanese: 扇久保博正 is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing as a flyweight in the Rizin Fighting Federation. A professional since 2006, he has also competed for Shooto, Vale Tudo Japan, and The Ultimate Fighter.
The year 2021 was the seventh year in the history of the Rizin Fighting Federation, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. Rizin events are broadcast through a television agreement with Fuji Television. In North America and Europe, Rizin events are available via PPV on LIVENow.
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The year 2022 was the eighth year in the history of the Rizin Fighting Federation, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan.
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2023 in Bellator MMA was the fifteenth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States.
Roberto Satoshi de Souza is a Japanese-Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of Rizin Fighting Federation, where he is the current Rizin Lightweight champion.
The year 2023 was the ninth year in the history of the Rizin Fighting Federation, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan.
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