Kanako Murata

RIZIN hold its first event of the year on May 6, with RIZIN 10 in the promotion’s second trip to the Marine Messe Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan. Japan’s best MMA fighter today, Kyoji Horiguchi, continues to set out to prove his worth on the world stage when he takes on the former consensus No.1 flyweight in the world, Ian McCall. In the co-headliner of the evening, teenage kickboxing phenom Tenshin Nasukawa returns to the ring against WSOF flyweight champion Yusaku Nakamura. The 19-year-old super prospect Nasukawa has defeated all 29 opponents in his pro career across MMA, kickboxing and Muay Thai rules, including 23 victories by way of stoppage.

RIZIN 12 live from the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya, Japan, for the first time. The main event of the evening features the consensus No. 1 lightweight in RIZIN, Yusuke Yachi, taking on late-replacement opponent Luiz Gustavo. Yachi rides a six-fight winning streak into the ring following wins against UFC veterans Diego Nunes, Takanori Gomi and Daron Cruickshank. Gustavo comes in with a lengthy winning streak of his own into his promotional debut. Gustavo has stoppages in all eight of his professional wins.

RIZIN 15 live from the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan. The promotion returns to Yokohama for the first time in two years with many of the biggest stars in the promotion. The inaugural Rizin light heavyweight title will be on the line when 2015 RIZIN Heavyweight GP winner King Mo meets the man he defeated to win the grand prix, Jiří Procházka. In the night’s co-headliner, RIZIN bantamweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi takes on former UFC flyweight Ben Nguyen. Since leaving the UFC with a 7-1 record, Horiguchi has won eight straight fights, including stoppages over Bellator champ Darrion Caldwell, former consensus No. 1 flyweight Ian McCall, and former King of Pancrase Shintaro Ishiwatari.

Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 2nd Round was a mixed martial arts event held by the Rizin Fighting Federation on December 29, 2016 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 1st Round was a mixed martial arts event held by the Rizin Fighting Federation on September 25, 2016 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.