| Bellator MMA x Rizin 2 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Promotion | Bellator MMA Rizin Fighting Federation | ||
| Date | July 30, 2023 | ||
| City | Saitama, Japan | ||
| Venue | Saitama Super Arena | ||
| Bellator MMA events chronology | |||
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| Rizin events chronology | |||
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Bellator MMA x Rizin 2 and Super Rizin 2 was a mixed martial arts event being co-promoted by Bellator MMA and the Rizin Fighting Federation that took place on July 30, 2023, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. [1] [2] [3] [4]
The event marked the second co-promotion between Bellator MMA and the Rizin Fighting Federation, and Bellator's third visit to Saitama; following Bellator MMA vs. Rizin in December 2022, and Bellator 237 on December 29, 2019. [5]
A Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix quarterfinal bout between former Bellator Featherweight Champion A. J. McKee and former Bellator Lightweight Champion Patricky Pitbull was scheduled to headline the event. [1] However, on July 26, it was announced McKee had pulled out of the bout due to medical issues and was replaced by current Rizin Lightweight Champion Roberto de Souza at a catchweight of 161 pounds. [6]
For the co-main event, an inaugural Bellator Flyweight Championship bout between former Bellator Bantamweight Champion Kyoji Horiguchi (also former two-time Rizin Bantamweight Champion) and Makoto Takahashi took place at the event. [7] If successful, Horiguchi would have become the fourth fighter in Bellator history to win a title in different divisions (after Joe Warren at Bellator 128, Ryan Bader at Bellator 214, and Patrício Pitbull at Bellator 221). [3]
A Rizin Bantamweight Championship bout for the vacant title between former Bellator Bantamweight Champion Juan Archuleta and former champion Kai Asakura was scheduled to take place at the event. [8] [4] Former champion Kyoji Horiguchi vacated the title on December 22 after moving down to the flyweight division. [9] However, on July 18 it was announced that Asakura withdrew due to injury and was replaced by Hiromasa Ougikubo. [10]
| Part 1: Bellator MMA x Rizin 2 (Showtime) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Catchweight (160 lb) | Patricky Pitbull | def. | Roberto de Souza | TKO (leg kicks) | 3 | 0:49 | [a] |
| Flyweight | Kyoji Horiguchi | vs. | Makoto Takahashi | No Contest (accidental eye poke) | 1 | 0:25 | [b] |
| Women's Flyweight | Kana Watanabe | def. | Veta Arteaga | Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Magomed Magomedov | def. | Danny Sabatello | Submission (guillotine choke) | 1 | 3:55 | |
| Welterweight | Andrey Koreshkov | def. | Lorenz Larkin | Decision (split) (29–28, 29–28, 28–29) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Part 2: Super Rizin 2 (FiteTV PPV) | |||||||
| Featherweight | Vugar Keramov | def. | Mikuru Asakura | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 2:41 | [c] |
| Bantamweight | Juan Archuleta | def. | Hiromasa Ougikubo | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | [d] |
| Super Atomweight | Seika Izawa (c) | def. | Claire Lopez | Submission (ninja choke) | 1 | 1:06 | [e] |
| Intermission | |||||||
| Catchweight (154 lb) | Chihiro Suzuki | def. | Patrício Pitbull | KO (punch) | 1 | 2:32 | |
| Lightweight | Tofiq Musayev | def. | Akira Okada | KO (punches) | 2 | 1:11 | |
| Bantamweight | Shinobu Ota | def. | Kenta Takizawa | TKO (punches) | 1 | 4:54 | |
| Middleweight | Igor Tanabe | def. | Daichi Abe | Submission (heel hook) | 1 | 4:34 | |
| Catchweight (128 lb) | Yuki Ito | def. | Hiroya Kondo | Decision (split) | 3 | 5:00 | |
