The year 2023 was the ninth year in the history of the

Rizin Fighting Federation Rizin Fighting Federation (stylised in all caps and also known as Rizin FF) is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara. ...

, 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 ...

List of events

Title fights

Rizin 41 – Osaka

''Rizin 41 – 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

on April 1, 2023, at the Maruzen Intec 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 ...

Background

A bantamweight kickboxing bout between Ryusei Ashizawa and the one-time

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the worl ...

super featherweight title challenger Kouzi was scheduled as the event headliner.

Results

Rizin Landmark 5

''Rizin Landmark 5'' was a

event held by

on April 29, 2023, at the

Yoyogi National Gymnasium Yoyogi National Gymnasium, officially is an indoor arena located at Yoyogi Park in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, which is famous for its Suspended structure, suspension roof design. The arena holds 13,291 people (9,079 stand seats, 4,124 arena sea ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Background

A featherweight bout between the former Rizin featherweight champion Juntaro Ushiku and

Mikuru Asakura is a Japanese mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the featherweight (MMA), featherweight division of Rizin Fighting Federation. He also competed for Road Fighting Championship, Fighting Network Rings and Deep (mixed martia ...

served as the event headliner, while a featherweight bout between another former Rizin featherweight champion Yutaka Saito and

Ren Hiramoto Ren Hiramoto (born 27 June 1998; ) is a Japanese mixed martial artist and former kickboxer, currently fighting in the featherweight division of Rizin FF. A professional competitor since 2015, he is the 2016 Krush and 2017 K-1 lightweight tourn ...

was booked as the co-main event.

Results

Rizin 42

''Rizin 42'' was a

event held by

on May 6, 2023, at the Ariake Arena in

Background

A bantamweight bout between Yuki Motoya and the former Rizin Bantamweight champion

Kai Asakura is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He previously competed in Rizin Fighting Federation, where he was the Rizin Bantamweight Champion. A professional si ...

was booked as the event headliner.

Results

Rizin 43 – Sapporo

''Rizin 43 – Sapporo'' was a

event held by

on June 24, 2023, at the Makomanai Ice Arena in

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

Background

A Rizin Featherweight Championship bout between

Kleber Koike Erbst is a Brazilian-born Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of Rizin Fighting Federation, where he is the current Rizin Featherweight Champion. He has also competed in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW), where is ...

and

Chihiro Suzuki is a Japanese voice actor. He made his debut role as Soichiro Arima in ''Kare Kano''. Filmography Television animation ;1998 *'' Kareshi Kanojo no Jijō'' ( Soichiro Arima) ;2000 *'' Tottoko Hamutarō'' (Megane-kun and Mr Yoshi) ;2001 *'' Dā ...

headlined the event. At the weigh-ins, Koike weighed in at 145.88 pounds, 0.88 pounds over the title limit. As a result, upon commencement of the fight, Koike was stripped of the title and only Suzuki is eligible to win it.

Results

Super Rizin 2: Rizin X Bellator

'' Super Rizin 2: Rizin X Bellator'' was a

event held by

and

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 ...

on July 30, 2023 at the

Saitama Super Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Chūō-ku, Saitama (city), Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then was officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its maximum capa ...

. As with the previous Super Rizin & Rizin 38 and Rizin 40 & Rizin vs Bellator events in 2022, Super Rizin 2 was split between two cards. Matches on the Bellator card were fought inside a cage, while Super Rizin 2 took place in the traditional ring. Outside of Japan, the Bellator card aired live on Showtime in the United States, while Super Rizin 2 was distributed via PPV on FITE.

Background

The event was originally supposed to be headlined by a Rizin Bantamweight Championship bout between former champion

and former Bellator MMA Bantamweight champion

Juan Archuleta Juan Archuleta (born September 13, 1987) 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. ...

. On July 18, 2023 it was announced that Asakura withdrew from the event and would be replaced by Hiromasa Ougikubo.

Results

Rizin 44

''Rizin 44'' 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

on September 24, 2023 at the

Background

A featherweight bout between former champion

(also former KSW Featherweight champion) and former Sengoku Featherweight champion

Masanori Kanehara Masanori Kanehara (born November 18, 1982) is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing the Bantamweight division in DEEP and Rizin FF. A professional competitor since 2003, Kanehara has formerly competed for World Victory Road, K ...

was scheduled to headline the event. A heavyweight bout between former sumo wrestler Tsuyoshi Sudario and UFC veteran Todd Duffee was expected to take place at the event. However, Duffee withdrew from the fight due to a problem with his passport.

Results

Rizin Landmark 6

''Rizin Landmark 6'' was a

event held by

on October 1, 2023 at the Dolphins Arena 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 ...

Background

A bantamweight bout between Dream Japanese Bantamweight Grand Prix 2011 winner

Hideo Tokoro Hideo Tokoro (born August 22, 1977) 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 He ...

and Alan "Hiro" Yamaniha was scheduled to headline the event.

Results

Rizin Landmark 7

''Rizin Landmark 7'' was a

event held by

on November 4, 2023 at the

National Gymnastics Arena The National Gymnastics Arena is an indoor arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. The venue is mainly used for gymnastics. Overview National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan was designed by Broadway Malyan and sport specialisBDP Pattern PASHA Constructi ...

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Background

Rizin Landmark 7 was the promotion's first international event, and the first major MMA event to take place in Azerbaijan. A Rizin Featherweight Championship bout between reigning champion Vugar Karamov and challenger

headlined the event. A lightweight bout between Rizin Lightweight Grand Prix 2019 winner Tofiq Musayev and former Deep Lightweight champion Koji Takeda served as the co-main event. Another lightweight bout between former AMC Fight Nights Lightweight champion Nariman Abbasov and Ali Abdulkhalikov took place at the event.

Results

Rizin 45

''Rizin 45'' was a

event held by

on December 31, 2023, at the

in Saitama,

Background

A rematch for the inaugural Rizin Flyweight Championship between former Rizin and Bellator Bantamweight Champion Kyoji Horiguchi and current Deep Flyweight champion (also former Cage Fury FC Flyweight champion) Makoto Takahashi headlined the event. The pairing previously met at Super Rizin 2 in July 2023, where the bout was declared a no contest after Horiguchi accidentally poked Takahashi in the eye. A Rizin Bantamweight Championship bout between then champion

and former champion

served as the co-main event. At the weigh-ins, Archuleta weighed in at 140.65 pounds, 5.65 pounds over the limit. As a result, Archuleta was stripped of the title and only Asakura will be eligible to win it. In the featherweight division, a clash between two former champions should took place at the event when

meets Yutaka Saito. A flyweight bout between 2021 Rizin Bantamweight Grand Prix winner Hiromasa Ougikubo and current BKFC Flyweight champion John Dodson took place at the event. A 155-pound catchweight kickboxing bout between former K-1 Super Lightweight champion

Rukiya Anpo is a Japanese kickboxer, who competed in the super lightweight and welterweight divisions of K-1. A professional competitor since 2011, he is the former K-1 Super Lightweight champion and the 2021 K-1 welterweight Grand Prix runner-up. As o ...

and former K-1 Super Welterweight champion Minoru Kimura was expected to take place at the event. However, the fight was cancelled after Kimura tested positive for a banned substance once again. He was replaced by former K-1 Welterweight Champion

Yuta Kubo is a Japanese mixed martial artist and former kickboxer, currently competing in the featherweight division of Rizin Fighting Federation. As a professional kickboxer, Kubo is the former Krush and K-1 welterweight (-67.5 kg) champion. Kubo was ...

in a MMA special rules bout.

Results

References

External links

Official event

{{2023 in mixed martial arts Rizin Fighting Federation Rizin 2023 in Japanese sport 2023 sport-related lists

List of events

Title fights

Rizin 41 – Osaka

Background

Results

Rizin Landmark 5

Background

Results

Rizin 42

Background

Results

Rizin 43 – Sapporo

Background

Results

Super Rizin 2: Rizin X Bellator

Background

Results

Rizin 44

Background

Results

Rizin Landmark 6

Background

Results

Rizin Landmark 7

Background

Results

Rizin 45

Background

Results

See also

References

External links