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mixed martial arts, MMA, Rizin FF

RIZIN FIGHTING FEDERATION WORLD GRAND PRIX 2017

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Joe Ferraro & Frank Trigg named RIZIN FF World Grand Prix 2017
PPV announcers
Dec. 29 & 31 LIVE on PPV from Japan
NEW YORK CITY(December 14, 2017) – Veteran “Showdown” Joe Ferraro and former MMA fighter John Trigg have been named announcers for RIZIN Fighting Federation World Grand Prix twin shows, highlighted by the return of combat sports superstar Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic,  December 29 & 31, airing live on pay-per-view from Saitama City, Japan.
The Dec. 29 and 31 (1 a.m. /10 p.m. PT start) will be live-streamed worldwide (excluding Japan on the FITE.TV platforms for $19.99 or the two-day RIZIN Pack special offer for only $29.99. Fans may simply download the FITE app – free to download from iTunes and Google Play – and then cast the fight to the big screen by using the instant stream-to-TV function. The FITE app works with any Wi-Fi connected television around the world, iOS and Android devices, as well as streaming devices such as Roku, Chromecast and more. Fans may also watch the fights live on the FITE website atwww.fite.tv from any computer.
Integrated Sports Media will distribute via cable and satellite PPV on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31 –5:00 a.m. ET / 2:00 a.m. PT start) extravaganza live in North America via iN Demand, Vubiquity, and DISH in the U.S., as well as on SaskTel and Telus in Canada, for a suggested retail price of only $19.95.
Ferraro will handle blow-by-blow responsibilities, while Trigg serves as color commentator. Ferraro has called multiple RIZIN events leading up to the conclusion of its World Grand Prix. Trigg, who is working this RIZIN twin-bill the same month as he made his debut as a UFC referee, was a popular fighter at the highest level of international competition, UFC and PRIDE.
The Dec. 29th winners of the men’s bantamweight quarterfinals will advance to the Dec. 31stwomen’s super-atomweight and kickboxing semifinals and then later in the finals. The Special Added Attraction on that card is a light heavyweight clash between Jiri “Denisa” Prochazka(19-3-0, 16 KO/TKO, 2 SUB), Czech Republic and. Karl Albrelktsson (6-1-0, 2 KO/TKOs, 3 SUB), Sweden.
The finals of the RIZIN World-Grand Prix kickboxing, women’s super-atomweight and men’s bantamweight championships will be preceded by three entertaining matches. Croatian heavyweight “Cro Cop” Filipovic (35-11-0, 27 KO/TKO, 5 SUB) takes on Japanese favorite Tsuyoshi Kosaka (27-19-2, 8 KO/TKO, 6 SUB) in a Special Added Attraction on the Dec. 31stcard. Also, the long-awaited return of Japanese lightweight Takanori “The Fireball Kid” Gomi(18-6-0, 13 KO/TKO, 6 SUB) will be showcased in his throw-down with fellow countryman Yusuke Yachi (18-6-0, 5 KO/TKO, 1 SUB). A women’s match between American flyweights Shinju “Juju” Auclair (1-0-0, 1 SUB) and pro-debuting Chelsea LaGrasse is also on tap.
A special one-day kickboxing tournament will be held Dec. 31st between Japan’s Kazuyuki Fujita and Mitsuhisa Sunabe and undefeated knockout artist (20-0, 16 KOs) Tenshine Nasukawa vs. TBA with the winners facing off in the championship round on the card’s championship final.
All fights and fighters are subject to change.
INFORMATION:
Twitter: @FiteTV, @IntegratedPPV
mixed martial arts, MMA, Rizin FF

RIZIN FIGHTING FEDERATION WORLD GRAND PRIX 2017

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RIZIN Fighting Federation
World Grand Prix 2017 action to close 2017 MMA season
 
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic & Takanori “The Fireball Kid” Gomi return New Year’s Eve
Dec. 29 & 31 LIVE on PPV from Japan
NEW YORK CITY (December 11, 2017) —International mixed-martial-arts and kickboxing fans can close out the 2017 season in grand style, viewing double-barreled RIZIN Fighting Federation World Grand Prix action, highlighted by the return of combat sports superstar Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic,December 29 & 31, airing live on pay-per-view from Saitama City, Japan.
The Dec. 29th winners of the men’s bantamweight quarterfinals will advance to the Dec. 31st women’s super-atomweight and kickboxing semifinals and then later in the finals (see below).
The Special Added Attraction on the Dec. 29thcard is a light heavyweight match between Jiri “Denisa” Prochazka (19-3-0, 16 KO/TKO, 2 SUB), Czech Republic vs. Karl Albrelktsson(6-1-0, 2 KO/TKOs, 3 SUB), Sweden.
The Dec. 29 and 31 (1 a.m. /10 p.m. PT start) will be live-streamed worldwide (excluding Japan on the FITE.TV platforms for $19.99 or the two-day RIZIN Pack special offer for only $29.99. Fans may simply download the FITE app – free to download from iTunes and Google Play – and then cast the fight to the big screen by using the instant stream-to-TV function. The FITE app works with any Wi-Fi connected television around the world, iOS and Android devices, as well as streaming devices such as Roku, Chromecast and more. Fans may also watch the fights live on the FITE website at www.fite.tv from any computer.
Integrated Sports Media will distribute via cable and satellite PPV on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31 –5:00 a.m. ET / 2:00 a.m. PT start) extravaganza live in North America via iN Demand, Vubiquity, and DISH in the U.S., as well as on SaskTel and Telus in Canada, for a suggested retail price of only $19.95.
“We’re excited to close the year with two entertaining events, RIZIN World Grand Prix 2017, plus the return of international MMA stars Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and Takanori “The Fireball Kid” Gomi,” said Flipps Media Co-founder and CEO, Kosta Jordanov. “These events will cap of our very successful combat sports programming in 2017.”
“We’re happy to bring this New Year’s Eve event from Japan, featuring ‘Cro Cop’ and the RIZIN World Grand Prix finals to American and Canadian combat sports fans,” Integrated Sports Media president Doug Jacobs remarked. “This is a rare opportunity for North American MMA and kickboxing fans to watch some of the best international fighters.”
The finals of the RIZIN World-Grand Prix kickboxing, women’s super-atomweight and men’s bantamweight championships will be preceded by three entertaining matches. Croatian heavyweight “Cro Cop” Filipovic (35-11-0, 27 KO/TKO, 5 SUB) takes on Japanese favoriteTsuyoshi Kosaka (27-19-2, 8 KO/TKO, 6 SUB) in a Special Added Attraction on the Dec. 31stcard. Also, the long-awaited return of Japanese lightweight Takanori “The Fireball Kid” Gomi(18-6-0, 13 KO/TKO, 6 SUB) will be showcased in his throw-down with fellow countrymanYusuke Yachi (18-6-0, 5 KO/TKO, 1 SUB). A women’s match between American flyweights Shinju “Juju” Auclair (1-0-0, 1 SUB) and pro-debuting Chelsea LaGrasse is also on tap.
A special one-day kickboxing tournament will be held Dec. 31st between Japan’s Kazuyuki Fujita and Mitsuhisa Sunabe and undefeated knockout artist (20-0, 16 KOs) Tenshine Nasukawa vs. TBA with the winners facing off in the championship round on the card’s championship final.
All fights and fighters are subject to change.
 
RIZIN WORLD GRAND PRIX MATCHES
Men’s Bantamweights
Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall (13-5-0), USA vs. Manel Kape (8-1-0), Angola
Kyoaji Horiiguchi (20-2-0), Japan vs. Gabriel Oliveira (10-0-0), Brazil
Takafumi Otsuka (23-13-0), Japan vs. Khalid Tahna (11-0-0), Germany
Shintaro Ishiwatari (23-6-0), Japan vs. Kevin “The Macine Gun” Petshi (12-3-0), France
Women’s Super-Atomweights
Rena Kubota (5-0-0), Japan vs. Irene “La Nina” Rivera (7-4-0), Spain
Kanna Asakura (9-2-0), Japan vs. Maria Oliveira (10-2-0), Brazil
Kickboxing
Yamato Fujita, Japan vs. Mitsushisa Sunabe, Japan
Tenshin Nasuikawa, Japan vs. TBA
INFORMATION:
Twitter: @FiteTV, @IntegratedPPV
mixed martial arts, MMA, Rizin FF

RIZIN Adds “Krazy Horse” vs. Kimura To Sept. 25 Grand Prix Event

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K-1 kickboxing star Minoru Kimura (pictured) will make his MMA rules debut against Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett at the highly-anticipated RIZIN FF World Grand Prix 2016: Opening Round event in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, Sept. 25.  Photo courtesy of (C)M-1 Sports Media.

RIZIN FF:  
CHARLES “KRAZY HORSE” BENNETT
RETURNS TO JAPAN, WILL FACE MINORU KIMURA
IN MMA ACTION IN TOKYO ON SEPTEMBER 25

TOKYO – August 18, 2016 – RIZIN FF, the combat sports federation headed by former PRIDE Fighting Championships boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara, announced today the addition of a featherweight (145 pounds) Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) matchup between former PRIDE FC and EliteXC star Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett (29-30-2) and K-1 kickboxing KO artist Minoru Kimura (MMA: 0-0, Kickboxing: 21-6-1, 15 KO’s) to the federation’s already stacked Grand Prix event in Tokyo on Sunday, Sept. 25.

A 17-year veteran of the sport with an aggressive, crowd-pleasing style of fighting, the 5-foot-8, 36-year-old Bennett of Ocala, Fla. put himself on the map 16 years ago with a first round (1:55) KO (punch) of Yoshiro Maeda at PRIDE Bushido 7 in Tokyo on May 22, 2005.

Bennett’s biggest mark in the sport to date was arguably his one-punch, first round (3:43), upset KO of former UFC and Strikeforce star K.J. Noons, who went into the matchup a heavy favorite over Bennett. The high-profile bout took place at EliteXC: Destiny, the first-ever, live SHOWTIME televised event in MMA history.

Bennett is coming off a spectacular, 43 second submission (heel hook) of Paul Rodriguez in Kissimmee, Fla. on May 14.


 Above: Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett will make his return to Japan and debut for RIZIN FF on September 25

Ranked as high as number two in the world in kickboxing’s featherweight division as of the close of 2015, the 5-foot-8, 22-year-old Kimura, who permanently relocated to Japan at the age of three, after being born in Curitiba, Brazil to a fourth generation, Brazilian-Japanese mother and a Brazilian-Italian father, will make his debut under MMA rules.

The feisty Fighting Kairos Gym competitor who has captivated fight fans with his raucous behavior, has defeated a number of noteworthy adversaries in the kickboxing ring, includingKaew Fairtex as well as Japanese stars Hideaki Yamazaki and Masaaki Noiri, to reach elite status in the sport.

In his last start, Kimura picked up a unanimous decision victory over “Noman” in a K-1 World Grand Prix tournament reserve bout on June 24.

The RIZIN FF event will be headlined by the kick-off of the much-anticipated, 16-man open weight tournament.

MMA legends Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (MMA: 31-11-1, 1 NC; Kickboxing: 23-8, 12 KO’s) and Wanderlei Silva (35-12-1, 1 NC) are amongst the nine competitors that have been announced as tournament participants.  The tournament’s first stage matchups will be announced soon.

RIZIN FF World Grand Prix 2016: Opening Round

Updated Fight Card

Open Weight Tournament Bout:  Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. TBA
Open Weight Tournament Bout:  Kazuyuki Fujita vs. TBA
Open Weight Tournament Bout:  Baruto Kaito vs. TBA
Open Weight Tournament Bout:  Jiri Prochazka vs. TBA
Open Weight Tournament Bout:  Teodorasu Aukstuolis vs. TBA
Open Weight Tournament Bout:  Karl Albrektsson vs. TBA
Open Weight Tournament Bout:  Valentine Moldavski vs. TBA
Open Weight Tournament Bout:  Amir Aliakbari vs. TBA
Lightweight: Daron Cruickshank vs. Andy Souwer
Heavyweight: Gabi Garcia vs. Destanie Yarbrough
Strawweight:  Kanako Murata vs. Kyra Batara
Weight TBD:  Rena Kubota vs. Miyuu Yamamoto
Weight TBD: Asen Yamamoto vs. Kizaemon Saiga
Featherweight: Charles Bennett vs. Minoru Kimura

Follow RIZIN FF:

Website – http://www.rizinff.com/en/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/rizinfightingfederation/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/rizin_PR
mixed martial arts, MMA, Rizin FF

RIZIN FF ANNOUNCES MATCHUPS FOR THREE STAR-STUDDED WOMEN’S MMA BOUTS AT GRAND PRIX EVENT IN TOKYO, SEPTEMBER 25

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Pictured (from left to right): RIZIN FF stars Miyuu Yamamoto, Rena Kubota and Kanako Murata were on hand at a press conference in Japan today to discuss their matchups at the highly-anticipated RIZIN FF event in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, Sept. 25.  Yamamoto will square off with Kubota, while Murata will face off with Combate Americas star Kyra Batara.

Heavyweight: Gabi Garcia vs. Destanie Yarbrough
Strawweight: Kanako Murata vs. Kyra Batara
Rena Kubota vs. Miyuu Yamamoto

Plus: Five fighters added to the 16-man, open weight tournament that kicks off at the September extravaganza

TOKYO – August 16, 2016 – RIZIN FF, the combat sports federation headed by former PRIDE Fighting Championships boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara, today revealed at a press conference the matchups for the three women’s Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) bouts slated for the highly-anticipated Grand Prix event in Tokyo on Sunday, Sept. 25.

Facing off with previously announced, undefeated MMA rising star and ninth degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Gabi Garcia (2-0) will be fellow unbeaten prospect and professional football standout Destanie Yarbrough (1-0).

Three-time junior Olympic wrestling medalist and undefeated MMA upstart Kanako Murata (3-0) will square off with Combate Americas MMA star Kyra “Mogwai” Batara (5-3) in a strawweight (115 pounds) contest.

Renowned shoot boxing champion Rena Kubota (1-0) will make her second start under MMA rules against famed women’s freestyle wrestling pioneer Miyuu Yamamoto (0-0), who will make her long-awaited MMA debut on the same card as her son, Asen Yamamoto (0-1).  The weight limit of the Kubota-Yamamoto matchup will be announced soon.

In addition, it was announced that five new fighters – heavyweights Jiri “Denisa” Prochazka (17-3-1) of the Czech Republic and Amir Aliakbari (2-0) of Iran, and light heavyweights Teodorasu Aukstuolis (9-3) of Lithuania,“King” Karl Albrektsson (5-0) of Sweden and Valentine Moldavski (3-0) of Russia – have all been added to the much-anticipated, 16-man open weight tournament that will kick off and headline the September 25 event.

The five fighters join previously announced MMA legend Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (MMA: 31-11-1, 1 NC; Kickboxing: 23-8, 12 KO’s), fellow PRIDE FC veteran and combat sports fan favorite Kazuyuki Fujita (15-11) and former sumo wrestling champion Baruto Kaito (1-0) in the multi-event, single-elimination affair.

The tournament’s first stage matchups will be announced soon.

Gabi Garcia vs. Destanie Yarbrough

The 6-foot-2, 30-year-old Garcia of Porto Alege, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil will look for her third consecutive MMA victory following her second round (2:04) submission (armbar) of Anna Malyukova at the RIZIN FF extravaganza onApril 17.

Yarbrough of Fresno, Calif. is a 5-foot-7, 28-year-old running back for the Women’s Football Alliance squad, the Central Cal War Angels, which finished its 2016 season with a perfect, 7-0 record.  The stocky powerhouse led the league last season in both touchdowns and rushing yards.

A lifelong athlete, Yarbrough made an explosive, professional MMA debut onApril 1, scoring a 33-second TKO (doctor stoppage) on Crystal Parson.


Caption: Combate Americas MMA star Kyra Batara (above) will make her RIZIN FF debut against Kanako Murata

Kanako Murata vs. Kyra Batara

The 5-foot-1, 23-year-old Murata of Ehime, Japan will make her debut at strawweight following three consecutive wins, the last two of which came by way of TKO (punches), in flyweight (125 pounds) contests.

Fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev., the 4-foot-11, 21-year-old Batara, who typically fights in the atomweight (105 pounds) division, is riding a three-fight win streak under the promotion of U.S. Hispanic MMA franchise, Combate Americas.

In her last start, Batara finished Jenny “The Phoenix” Silverio in unprecedented fashion – a ground and pound version of Eddie Bravo’s patented “twister” – that earned Batara, a protégé of Bravo, a TKO in the second round (4:13) of battle.

Rena Kubota vs. Miyuu Yamamoto

The 5-foot-3, 25-year-old Kubota of Osaka, Japan is a three-time shoot boxing tournament champion who boasts a stellar, career kickboxing record of 25-5-1 (6 KO’s).

Kubota made her much-anticipated MMA rules debut at the inaugural RIZIN FF event on December 31, submitting Jleana Valentino with a brilliantly executed flying armbar in the second round (3:31) of action.

The daughter of Olympic wrestler Ikuei Yamamoto and elder sister of MMA superstar and 2005 K-1 HERO’s Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament Champion Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto, the 5-foot-1, 42-year-old Miyuu of Kanagawa, Japan will enter a new chapter in her career and family legacy when she steps in the RIZIN FF squared circle for the first time.

Miyuu earned her first national wrestling championship when she was 13 years old, and subsequently defended it four straight years.  At age 17, she became the youngest world champion in history.

Miyuu’s son, Asen, will collide with Kizaemon Saiga (2-1) of Sakai, Japan at a weight to be determined.

RIZIN FF World Grand Prix 2016: Opening Round

Updated Fight Card

Open Weight Tournament Bout:  Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. TBA
Open Weight Tournament Bout:  Kazuyuki Fujita vs. TBA
Open Weight Tournament Bout:  Baruto Kaito vs. TBA
Lightweight: Daron Cruickshank vs. Andy Souwer
Heavyweight: Gabi Garcia vs. Destanie Yarbrough
Strawweight:  Kanako Murata vs. Kyra Batara
Weight TBD:  Rena Kubota vs. Miyuu Yamamoto
Weight TBD: Asen Yamamoto vs. Kizaemon Saiga

Follow RIZIN FF:

Website – http://www.rizinff.com/en/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/rizinfightingfederation/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/rizin_PR
mixed martial arts, MMA, Rizin FF

RIZIN FF: MIRKO CRO COP EMERGES FROM RETIREMENT FOR 16-MAN, OPEN WEIGHT TOURNAMENT KICKING OFF IN TOKYO ON SEPTEMBER 25!

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WANDERLEI SILVA, KAZUYUKI FUJITA, AND BARUTO KAITO
ALL TABBED FOR ACTION IN MULTI-STAGE TOURNAMENT

PLUS:
DARON CRUICKSHANK FACES ANDY SOUWER,
AND GABI GARCIA AND KANAKO MURATA RETURN TO ACTION

TOKYO – July 16, 2016 – RIZIN FF, the combat sports federation headed by former PRIDE Fighting Championships boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara, announced at a press conference today that all-time great Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (MMA: 31-11-1, 1 NC; Kickboxing: 23-8, 12 KO’s) will come out of retirement and return to Japan, where his legendary career was born, to compete in the highly-anticipated, 16-man, open weight “Grand Prix” tournament that begins in Tokyo on Sunday, Sept. 25.

A former PRIDE and K-1 Grand Prix tournament champion, Filipovic earned his place as one of the greatest martial arts combatants in history with an elite set of striking skills that helped him earn the most first round finishes as well as the most head kick knockouts in PRIDE history.

It was also announced today that 4 of the 16 Grand Prix participants, including superstar Wanderlei Silva (35-12-1, 1 NC) of Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, will receive a bye in the first stage, and automatically advance to the tournament’s second, or quarterfinal stage, which will take place at a location to be announced on Thursday, Dec. 29.

Joining Sakakibara, Filipovic and Silva at the press conference were veteran warhorse Kazuyiki Fujita (15-11) of Funabashi, Chiba, Japan and former sumo wrestling champion turned MMA upstart Baruto Kaito (1-0) of Estonia, both of whom have been tabbed for battle in the first stage of the tournament.

The round of 16 matchups will be announced at the end of July.

In other, single-fight action on September 25, two striking sensations – Daron Cruickshank (17-8, 1 NC) and Andy Souwer (MMA: 1-0, Kickboxing: 159-19, 98 KO’s) – will collide in a lightweight (155) affair.

Cruickshank of Wayne, Mich. is a 13-fight veteran of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) who made a successful RIZIN FF debut on April 17, scoring a first round (4:36) TKO with a series of kicks on a downed Shinji Sasaki.

A longtime kickboxing icon, Souwer of Den Bosch, Netherlands, is a two-time winner of the K-1 World Max tournament and a four-time Shootboxing world champion.  On December 31, 2015, he made his long-awaited MMA rules debut at the inaugural RIZIN FF event in Saitama, Japan, decimatingYuichiro “Jienotsu” Nagashima by way of first round (5:29) KO with an onslaught of punches.

Unbeaten women’s light heavyweight and nine-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Gabi Garcia (2-0) and three-time junior Olympic wrestling medalist and undefeated flyweight (125 pounds) MMA star Kanako Murata (3-0) of Ehime, Japan will each see action against an opponent to be announced soon.

Garcia of Porto Alege, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil made quick work of both of her MMA opponents to date, scoring a first round (2:36) TKO (punches) in her professional debut on Lei’d Tapa at the RIZIN FF promotional kick-off event on December 31, and submitting Anna Malyukova with an armbar in the second round (2:04) of battle at the RIZIN FF affair on April 17.

Just 22 years of age, Murata made her professional MMA debut under the promotion of RIZIN FF on April 17, notching a unanimous decision overNatalia Denisova, and has since already competed twice more, defeatingMaia Kahaunaele-Stevenson via third round (3:43) TKO (punches) andIlona Wijmans by way of first round (1:17) TKO (punches), on June 4 and July 7, respectively.

Kizaemon Saiga (2-1) of Sakai, Osaka, Japan will take on fellow upstartAsen Yamamoto at a weight to be determined.

Women’s shoot boxing champion and unbeaten MMA competitor Rena Kubota (1-0) of Osaka, Japan will make her second start under MMA rules against an opponent to be announced.

Follow RIZIN FF:

Website – http://www.rizinff.com/en/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/rizinfightingfederation/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/rizin_PR