The year 2016 was the second year in the history of the
Rizin Fighting Federation
Rizin Fighting Federation (Rizin FF or Rizin) is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara.
Rizin was founded to be the spir ...
, a
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
promotion based in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. 2016 started with Rizin Fighting Federation 1. It started broadcasting through a television agreement with
Fuji Television
JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba
today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially b ...
.
Background
On July 16, 2016
Nobuyuki Sakakibara
is a Japanese businessman and mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter. He is known for his executive role in Dream Stage Entertainment, including its promotions Pride Fighting Championships and Fighting Opera Hustle, and works as the current preside ...
announced at a press conference that Rizin Fighting Federation will host a 16-man openweight tournament September 25 in Tokyo.
2006 Pride Open-Weight Grand Prix Champion Mirko Cro Cop
Mirko Filipović (; born 10 September 1974), better known by his ring name Mirko Cro Cop, is a retired Croatian professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer and amateur boxer. He is mostly known for his time in Pride Fighting Championships. Cro ...
and former
PRIDE Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei César da Silva ( , , ; born 3 July 1976) is a Brazilian-American former mixed martial artist who competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American-based Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He holds the record for the ...
to participate in the tournament.
This tournament was included
Pride FC
PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...
veterans like
Kazuyuki Fujita
is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and a former amateur wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a one-time GHC Heavyweight Champion. He has most recently fought in Road FC, but is also known for his ...
,
Tsuyoshi Kosaka
is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist, submission grappler and professional wrestler who competed in the Heavyweight division. A professional MMA competitor from 1994 till 2022, he has competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, ...
,
Heath Herring
Heath Herring (born March 2, 1978) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division of Rizin. While perhaps best known for competing in PRIDE, he has also formerly competed for the UFC and K-1.
...
, Sumo sensation
Baruto Kaito
Kaido Höövelson, (known professionally as Baruto Kaito ; born 5 November 1984) is an Estonian politician and former professional sumo wrestler
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighti ...
, world class wrestler
Amir Aliakbari
Amir Aliakbari ( fa, امير علىاكبرى, born 11 December 1987) is an Iranian mixed martial artist signed to ONE Championship, where he competes in the Heavyweight division. He has also competed for Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB) and ...
, and Rizin GP 2015 winner
King Mo
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Central Oklahoma Bronchos
Muhammed Lawal (born January 11, 1981), also known as "King Mo", is an American professional wrestler and retired mixed martial artist currently signed to Major League Wre ...
Cro Cop won the championship.
List of events
Rizin Openweight Grand Prix 2016 bracket
1Jiří Procházka
Jiří Procházka (; ; born October 14, 1992) is a Czech mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. He was the i ...
was injured and couldn't participate in the second round of the Grand Prix, and was subsequently replaced by Tsuyoshi Kohsaka.
2Wanderlei Silva retired from the tournament, was replaced by Muhammed Lawal.
3Shane Carwin withdrew from the tournament, was replaced by Heath Herring.
Rizin 1
'' Rizin Fighting Federation 1 '' was a
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
event held by the
Rizin Fighting Federation
Rizin Fighting Federation (Rizin FF or Rizin) is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara.
Rizin was founded to be the spir ...
on April 4, 2016 at the
Nippon Gaishi Hall
, formerly Nagoya Rainbow Hall, is an indoor sports arena located in Nagoya, Japan. From April 1, 2007, its name was changed to Nippon Gaishi Hall, to reflect the sponsorship of the NGK Insulators. The capacity of the arena is 10,000 people.
The ...
in
Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
Results
Rizin World Grand Prix 2016: 1st Round
'' Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 1st Round '' was a
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
event held by the
Rizin Fighting Federation
Rizin Fighting Federation (Rizin FF or Rizin) is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara.
Rizin was founded to be the spir ...
on September 25, 2016 at the
Saitama Super Arena
is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, 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 spectator capacity is 36,500, making i ...
in
Saitama,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
Results
Rizin World Grand Prix 2016: 2nd Round
'' Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 2nd Round '' was a
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
event held by the
Rizin Fighting Federation
Rizin Fighting Federation (Rizin FF or Rizin) is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara.
Rizin was founded to be the spir ...
on December 29, 2016 at the
Saitama Super Arena
is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, 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 spectator capacity is 36,500, making i ...
in
Saitama,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
Background
Jiří Procházka
Jiří Procházka (; ; born October 14, 1992) is a Czech mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. He was the i ...
was injured and couldn't participate in the second round of the Grand Prix, and was subsequently replaced by
Tsuyoshi Kohsaka
is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist, submission grappler and professional wrestler who competed in the Heavyweight division. A professional MMA competitor from 1994 till 2022, he has competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, RI ...
.
Mirko Cro Cop
Mirko Filipović (; born 10 September 1974), better known by his ring name Mirko Cro Cop, is a retired Croatian professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer and amateur boxer. He is mostly known for his time in Pride Fighting Championships. Cro ...
was originally scheduled to have a rematch with
Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei César da Silva ( , , ; born 3 July 1976) is a Brazilian-American former mixed martial artist who competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American-based Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He holds the record for the ...
in the Openweight Grand-Prix Quarter-Finals. However, on December 2, Silva withdrew from the bout. He was subsequently replaced by
Muhammed Lawal
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Central Oklahoma Bronchos
Muhammed Lawal (born January 11, 1981), also known as "King Mo", is an American professional wrestler and retired mixed martial artist currently signed to Major League Wr ...
.
Shane Carwin
Western Colorado Mountaineers
Shane Bannister Carwin (born January 4, 1975) is an American former mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former Interim UFC Hea ...
was originally announced as an Openweight entrant against
Amir Aliakbari
Amir Aliakbari ( fa, امير علىاكبرى, born 11 December 1987) is an Iranian mixed martial artist signed to ONE Championship, where he competes in the Heavyweight division. He has also competed for Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB) and ...
. However, he pulled out of the tournament for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by
Heath Herring
Heath Herring (born March 2, 1978) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division of Rizin. While perhaps best known for competing in PRIDE, he has also formerly competed for the UFC and K-1.
...
.
Results
Rizin World Grand Prix 2016: Final Round
'' Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: Final Round '' was a
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
event held by the
Rizin Fighting Federation
Rizin Fighting Federation (Rizin FF or Rizin) is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara.
Rizin was founded to be the spir ...
on December 31, 2016 at the
Saitama Super Arena
is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, 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 spectator capacity is 36,500, making i ...
in
Saitama,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
Background
Charles Bennett was originally set to fight against
Minoru Kimura
is a Brazilian kickboxer of Japanese and Italian descent, fighting out of Fighting Kairos Gym. He is the former K-1 Super Welterweight champion.
He has faced several notable fighters of his weight division such as Kaew Fairtex, Hideaki Yamaz ...
. However, Bennett withdrew from the bout due to problems obtaining a visa.
Shinobu Kandori
is a retired Japanese wrestler and politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Yokohama, Kanagawa, she ran unsuccessfully for House of Councillors in 200 ...
was originally set to take on
Gabi Garcia
Gabrielle "Gabi" Lemos Garcia is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, 9x Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) World Champion, 11x Pan Jiu-Jitsu Champion and 4 X ADCC Submission Fighting World champion. One of the most successful competitors of all time in th ...
, but was replaced by
Yumiko Hotta
is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Hotta was trained by and started her career in the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) promotion in June 1985. She worked for the promotion until 2003, becoming a three-time WWWA W ...
after suffering a rib injury.
Results
References
{{Reflist
External links
* http://www.rizinff.com/en/
* http://www.tapology.com/search?term=rizin&mainSearchFilter=events
Rizin Fighting Federation
2016 in mixed martial arts
2016 in Japanese sport