Bellator MMA vs. Rizin FF
The poster for Bellator MMA vs. Rizin FF
PromotionBellator MMA
Rizin Fighting Federation
DateDecember 31, 2022 (2022-December-31)
CitySaitama, Japan
VenueSaitama Super Arena
Attendance23,661[1]
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Rizin 41 – Osaka

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]

Background

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

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]
  1. ^ Rizin Women's Super Atomweight Grand Prix Finals
  2. ^ Special Standing bout rules, exhibition boxing match. Umeno was the mystery fighter.
  3. ^ Special Rules bout

[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ "A look back at Rizin 40". sogo-kaku.com. 2023-01-06. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b Staff (2022-10-24). "Bellator / Rizin event confirmed for December 31st". Asian MMA. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  4. ^ "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.
  5. ^ Harvey Leonard (2022-10-24). "Bellator vs. Rizin Cross-Promotion Event Announced For NYE". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  6. ^ "【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)
  7. ^ Yanofsky, Daniel (2022-12-29). "RIZIN rules, explained: Comparing MMA organization to Bellator, UFC". Sporting News. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  8. ^ "Bellator MMA | Bellator MMA vs. Rizin". www.bellator.com. Retrieved 2022-11-05.

External links

Bellator MMA events
2022 in mixed martial arts
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