The year 2019 was the fifth year in the history of the
Rizin Fighting Federation, a
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world.
In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...
promotion based in
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. The year began with
Rizin 15 in Yokohama on April 21, 2019.
Rizin events are broadcast through a television agreement with
Fuji Television. In North America and Europe, Rizin events are available via PPV on
FITE TV.
Background
Nobuyuki Sakakibara announced that Rizin will do 6 events in 2019: April, June, July, August, October, and the usual December 31 show.
He also announced that they will do a lightweight Grand Prix this year.
Bellator MMA
Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...
CEO
Scott Coker has announced that he will be sending
Patricky Freire to participate in the opening round.
Rizin's Lightweight grand prix will begin on October 12 at the
Osaka-jo Hall, with the four opening rounds bouts of the tournament bracket. The semifinals and finals will be held on Dec. 31, at Saitama Super Arena.
List of events
Title fights
Rizin Lightweight Grand Prix
8-Man Lightweight Grand Prix Participant
* Hiroto Uesako
*
Damien Brown
*
Johnny Case
*
Patricky Freire
* Roberto de Souza
*
Tatsuya Kawajiri
* Luiz Gustavo
Rizin Lightweight Grand Prix bracket
Rizin 15 - Yokohama
''Rizin 15 - Yokohama'' was a
Combat sport
A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent (''knock ...
event held by the
Rizin Fighting Federation on April 21, 2019 at the
Yokohama Arena
is an indoor arena located in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 17,000 and was opened in 1989. The arena was modeled after US sports venue Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is a five-minute walk from the ...
in
Yokohama
is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.
Background
A light heavyweight bout between RIZIN top contender
Jiří Procházka and former
Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champion Muhammed Lawal will serve as the Rizin 15 - Yokohama main event. The bout will crown the inaugural RIZIN Light Heavyweight champion.
Ulka Sasaki has been forced to withdraw from his schedule fight against
Kai Asakura due to a visceral infection and Justin Scoggins has stepped in as a replacement. Unfortunately, Scoggins has suffered a knee injury during training and has been unable to compete, that forced his fight against
Kai Asakura to be cancelled.
Shinju Nozawa-Auclair was supposed to face Saray Orozco. However, Nozawa-Auclair suffered an ankle injury during training and was forced to withdraw from the fight. Kanako Murata has stepped in on short notice against Orozco.
Results
Rizin 16 - Kobe
''Rizin 16 - Kobe'' was a
Combat sport
A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent (''knock ...
event held by the
Rizin Fighting Federation on June 2, 2019 at the
World Memorial Hall in
Kobe
Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.
Background
ISKA Featherweight Ahmed Ferradji was scheduled to defend his title against Tenshin Nasukawa at RIZIN 16, but Ferradji withdrew from the scheduled fight. As a result, ISKA has stripped the title from Ferradji and ISKA Bantamweight Champion Martin Blanco has stepped in on short notice to face Nasukawa for the vacant ISKA Featherweight World Title.
Kizaemon Saiga was scheduled to face Kunitaka Fujiwara at RIZIN 16, but was not medically cleared for the event due to vision issues. Stepping in on a few days' notice to fight Fujiwara was the former K-1 Krush champion Ryuji Horio.
Results
Rizin 17 - Saitama
''Rizin 17 - Saitama'' was a
Combat sport
A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent (''knock ...
event held by the
Rizin Fighting Federation on July 28, 2019 at the
Saitama Super Arena in
Saitama,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.
Background
Daiki Watabe was due to fight
Kevin Ross in a kickboxing bout, but the American fighter withdrew due to a hand injury. Watabe instead faced the Bolivian fighter Hideki, who stepped in on 3 weeks notice for this encounter.
Results
Rizin 18 - Nagoya
''Rizin 18 - Nagoya'' was a
Combat sport
A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent (''knock ...
event held by the
Rizin Fighting Federation on August 18, 2019 at the
Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in
Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.
Background
Marcos de Souza, was set to fight at RIZIN 18, but his debut was pushed back because of an injury.
Kazuma Sone was expected to face Erson Yamamoto, But plans have changed for undisclosed reasons. That forced the fight to be cancelled. Justin Scoggins has stepped in as a replacement.
Results
Rizin 19 - Osaka
''Rizin 19 - Osaka'' was a
Combat sport
A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent (''knock ...
event held by the
Rizin Fighting Federation on October 12, 2019 at the
Edion Arena in
Osaka
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.
Background
Rena Kubota's original opponent, Shawna Ram suffered a concussion during training. Alexandra Alvare steps in to face Kubota.
Shintaro Matsukura originally supposed to face Takuma Konishi but he suffered an eye injury. His teammate,
Hiroya, will be the replacement to face Konishi.
Results
Rizin 20 - Saitama
''Rizin 20 - Saitama'' was a
Combat sport
A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent (''knock ...
event by
Rizin Fighting Federation that took place on December 31, 2019 at the
Saitama Super Arena in
Saitama, Japan.
Background
Kyoji Horiguchi was scheduled to defend his
RIZIN Bantamweight Championship against
Kai Asakura on this card. However, Horoguchi pulled out of the fight in mid-November citing a knee injury that is expected to keep him out of action for approximately 10 – 12 months. In turn, his bantamweight title has been vacated.
Results
References
External links
Official event
{{2019 in mixed martial arts
Rizin Fighting Federation
2019 in mixed martial arts
2019 in Japanese sport
2019 sport-related lists