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]
| Bellator MMA vs. Rizin FF | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for Bellator MMA vs. Rizin FF | |||
| 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 | |||
| |||
| Rizin events chronology | |||
| |||
Background edit
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]
Results edit
| Bellator MMA vs. Rizin (Showtime) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | [a] |
| 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 | [b] |
| 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 | [c] |
- ^ Rizin Women's Super Atomweight Grand Prix Finals
- ^ Special Standing bout rules, exhibition boxing match. Umeno was the mystery fighter.
- ^ Special Rules bout
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "A look back at Rizin 40". sogo-kaku.com. 2023-01-06. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
- ^ Staff (2022-10-24). "Bellator vs. Rizin set for New Year's Eve in Japan, including Patricio Freire, A.J. McKee". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
- ^ a b Staff (2022-10-24). "Bellator / Rizin event confirmed for December 31st". Asian MMA. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
- ^ "BELLATOR MMA | BELLATOR MMA AND RIZIN TEAM UP FOR HISTORIC NEW YEAR'S EVE EVENT". www.bellator.com. 2022-10-24. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
- ^ Harvey Leonard (2022-10-24). "Bellator vs. Rizin Cross-Promotion Event Announced For NYE". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
- ^ "【RIZIN-Bellator】「RIZIN vs. Bellator 5対5 全面対抗戦」をRIZIN、Bellatorの両団体が全世界向けに発表！ Bellator陣営はパトリシオ・ピットブル、AJ・マッキー、フアン・アーチュレッタ、そして堀口恭司も！". gonkaku.jp. 2022-10-24. Retrieved 2022-10-24. (in Japanese)
- ^ Yanofsky, Daniel (2022-12-29). "RIZIN rules, explained: Comparing MMA organization to Bellator, UFC". Sporting News. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
- ^ "Bellator MMA | Bellator MMA vs. Rizin". www.bellator.com. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
External links edit
- Bellator MMA vs. Rizin - Bellator Sport Worldwide
- Rizin 40 - Rizin Fighting Federation