Bellator MMA vs. Rizin

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Bellator MMA vs. Rizin FF
Bellator vs. Rizin poster.jpg
The poster for Bellator MMA vs. Rizin FF
Promotion Bellator MMA
Rizin Fighting Federation
DateDecember 31, 2022 (2022-December-31)
City Saitama, Japan
Venue Saitama 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]

Contents

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 classMethodRoundTimeNotes
Lightweight A. J. McKee def. Roberto de Souza Decision (unanimous)35:00
Featherweight Patrício Pitbull def. Kleber Koike Erbst Decision (unanimous)35:00
Flyweight Kyoji Horiguchi def. Hiromasa Ougikubo Decision (unanimous)35:00
Bantamweight Juan Archuleta def.Soo Chul KimDecision (split)35:00
Lightweight Gadzhi Rabadanov def.Koji TakedaDecision (unanimous)35:00
Rizin 40 (Fite TV PPV)
Super Atomweight Seika Izawa def. Si Woo Park Decision (split)35:00 [lower-alpha 1]
Bantamweight Naoki Inoue def.Kenta TakizawaSubmission (kimura)23:53
Heavyweight Junior Tafa def. Tsuyoshi Sudario TKO (punches)11:38
Flyweight John Dodson def. Hideo Tokoro KO (punches)11:43
Intermission
Catchweight Ren Hiramoto def. Genji Umeno KO (punch)23:00 [lower-alpha 2]
BantamweightYuki Motoyadef. Rogério Bontorin KO (knee)22:56
Lightweight Johnny Case def.Nobumitsu OsawaTKO (punches)10:36
Featherweight Chihiro Suzuki def.Yoshiki NakaharaKO (punches)14:44
LightweightPatrick Sho Usamidef. BeyNoah KO (punch)10:45
BantamweightYushidef.Tatsuya NakazawaDecision (unanimous)33:00 [lower-alpha 3]
  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

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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. 1 2 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.
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