Fite TV announced today that the RIZIN Fighting Federation Featherweight World Grand Prix 2017 will stream live from Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo, Japan on July 30. The action will begin at 1:00 a.m. ET (July 29, at 10:00 p.m. PT). Cost of the stream will be US $19.99.
The opening rounds of the 14-man tournament (with two wild card slots) for the Quarter Finals, will be executed over the course of two events – three fights for Bracket A on July 30th, and three fights for Bracket B in October. The total of 6 winners from the opening round plus the two wild card fighters who get the bye, will gather on December 29th for the quarter finals. The winner of the GP will earn 15,000,000 Japanese yen ($130 thousand), second place with 3,000,000 Japanese yen ($26 thousand) and third place at 1,000,000 Japanese yen ($9 thousand).
We are excited to be able to have several Japanese champions participating in the GP said chairman Nobuyuki Sakakibara. We weren’t able reach out to Japanese promotions for the bigger fighters since very few of them are active, but with at this weight class, there are tons on talent, and this will be a great way for these champions to test themselves against international opponents.
Former UFC title challenger Kyoji Horiguchi (9-2) shocked the MMA world when he announced his departure from the UFC to participate in the promotion in his home country. The former Shooto world champion dominated his promotional debut against Japan’s top flyweight Yuki Motoya, showing that he has no competition at the Flyweight division. His opponent Hideo Tokoro (34-29-2) is the Japanese fan favorite who is coming off of a beautiful submission win in just 79 seconds. The seasoned veteran has fought in various promotions throughout the world and is looking to make his last challenge in winning the biggest title in his career.
Anthony Birchak (13-4) is another fighter who has chosen to part ways with the UFC and join the Japanese based promotion. Even though he had a bitter promotional debut by coming up short against Tatsuya Kawajiri in a Featherweight bout, RIZIN brass thought the former MFC champion has performed well enough to give him a spot in the World GP. DEEP Bantamweight champion Takafumi Otsuka (22-13-2) just defended his title to earn himself the spot in the GP to represent his organization. The veteran has excellent wrestling along with great conditioning which brings a high paced fight and has not lost for the last 2 and a half years.
Shooto Pacific rim champion Keita Ishibashi (8-5-2) has had a rough road to earn himself this opportunity to represent his organization. The submission specialist went 1-4 after making his professional debut, but after fully committing himself to the sport and making adjustments in his training, he has turned his career around with an impressive 7-1-2 record with all wins coming by submission. The current Fair FC Bantamweight champion Khalid Taha (10-0) is one of the top prospects coming out of both Germany and Europe. The undefeated 24-year-old has 6 KO victory wins proving he has the knockout power and is a threat to anybody in his division.
4 fights outside of the GP were announced:
•Rising prospect Reina Miura AKA King Reina (4-0) will be taking on woman’s pro wrestling star Seini Draughn AKA Lei’D Tapa (0-1) at 195 lbs;
•A 155 lbs battle between Satoru Kitaoka (40-14-9) and Yusuke Yachi (17-6) will feature a style vs style matchup. Both fighters are coming off of wins against UFC veteran Daron Cruickshank.
•A true pioneer for woman’s Japanese wrestling Miyuu Yamamoto (0-2) will be looking to make her first promotional win against striker Cassie Robb (2-4) who has been training at with Rose Namajunas in Denver CO at 108 lbs.
•Kickboxing phenom Tenshin Nasukawa (3-0 MMA / 19-0 kickboxing) and the Karate prince Kizaemon Saiga (3-3 MMA / 15-6 kickboxing) have agreed to face off on July 30th. Weight and rules are yet to be determined.
Fight Card:
RIZIN FWGP 2017 Tournament 1st Round
Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Hideo Tokoro
RIZIN FWGP 2017 Tournament 1st Round
Takefumi Otsuka vs. Anthony Birchak
RIZIN FWGP 2017 Tournament 1st Round
Keita Ishibashi vs. Khalid Taha
Special Match
Satoru Kitaoka vs. Yusuke Yachi
RIZIN Special Match
Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Kizaemon Saiga
RIZIN Special Match
KING Reina vs. Lei’D Tapa
RIZIN Special Match
Miyuu Yamamoto vs. Cassie Robb
