2015 in Rizin Fighting Federation

The year 2015 was the first year in the history of the Rizin Fighting Federation, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. Only two events were held this year, both consisting of the Rizin World Grand-Prix 2015. Rizin events are broadcast through a television agreement with Fuji Television.

2015 in Rizin Fighting Federation
Information
First dateDecember 29
Last dateDecember 31
Events
Total events2
Fights
Chronology
N/A 2015 in Rizin Fighting Federation 2016 in Rizin Fighting Federation

Background

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On September 19, 2015 during Bellator 142 Dynamite 1 event, it was announced that Pride FC co-founder Nobuyuki Sakakibara had signed former Pride Heavyweight Champion The Last Emperor Fedor Emelianenko to headline his new promotion’s New Year’s Eve Show in Tokyo.

On October 8, 2015 The former President of Pride FC, Sakakibara held a press conference to announce his return to MMA with Rizin Fighting Federation.

Sakakibara returned to mainstream MMA, along with Nobuhiko Takada and other former Pride FC employees.

Rizin partnered with Bellator MMA to allow former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion, Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal to compete the Rizin's inaugural grand prix. Eventually, King Mo won the 8 man Heavyweight tournament with a prize of $300,000.

List of events

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# Event Date Venue Location Attendance
1 Rizin World Grand Prix 2015: Part 1 - Saraba December 29, 2015 Saitama Super Arena   Saitama, Japan 12,214
2 Rizin World Grand Prix 2015: Part 2 - Iza December 31, 2015 Saitama Super Arena   Saitama, Japan 18,365

100 Kg Heavyweight Grand-Prix bracket

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Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final
         
  Muhammed Lawal KO
  Brett McDermott 1r.
  Muhammed Lawal DEC
  Teodoras Aukštuolis 3r.
  Teodoras Aukštuolis KO
  Bruno Cappelozza 1r.
  Muhammed Lawal KO
  Jiří Procházka 1r.
  Satoshi Ishii 1r.
  Jiří Procházka KO
  Jiří Procházka TKO
  Vadim Nemkov 1r.
  Goran Reljić 1r.
  Vadim Nemkov KO

Rizin World Grand Prix 2015: Part 1 - Saraba

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Rizin World Grand Prix 2015: Part 1 - Saraba
PromotionRizin Fighting Federation
DateDecember 29, 2015
VenueSaitama Super Arena
City  Saitama, Japan
Event chronology
Rizin World Grand Prix 2015: Part 1 - Saraba Rizin World Grand Prix 2015: Part 2 - Iza

Rizin World Grand Prix 2015: Part 1 - Saraba was an inaugural mixed martial arts event held by the Rizin Fighting Federation on December 29, 2015 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Results

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Fight Card
Weight Class Method Round Time Notes
Welterweight 77 kg   Shinya Aoki def.   Kazushi Sakuraba TKO (Corner Stoppage) 1 5:56
Grand-Prix 100 kg   Jiří Procházka def.   Satoshi Ishii KO (Knees) 1 1:36 RIZIN World Grand Prix 2015 Quarter-Finals
Grand-Prix 100 kg   Vadim Nemkov def.   Goran Reljić KO (Punches) 1 2:58 RIZIN World Grand Prix 2015 Quarter-Finals
Grand-Prix 100 kg   Teodoras Aukštuolis def.   Bruno Cappelozza KO (Punches) 1 4:32 RIZIN World Grand Prix 2015 Quarter-Finals
Grand-Prix 100 kg   Muhammed Lawal def.   Brett McDermott KO (Punches) 1 9:10 RIZIN World Grand Prix 2015 Quarter-Finals
Grand-Prix 100 kg   Valentin Moldavsky def.   Yuta Uchida Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1 2:20 RIZIN World Grand Prix 2015 Reserve Fight
Featherweight 66 kg   Hiroyuki Takaya def.   Daiki Hata Decision (Unanimous) 3 20:00
Bantamweight 61 kg   Hideo Tokoro def.   Kizaemon Saiga Submission (Armbar) 1 5:16
Middleweight 84 kg   Anatoly Tokov def.   A.J. Matthews TKO (Punches) 1 0:55
K-1 Lightweight 70 kg   Hinata def.   Kazuyuki Miyata TKO (3 knockdowns) 1 2:14
K-1 Featherweight 66 kg   Hiroya def.   Akiyo Nishiura KO (Punches) 3 7:20
Flyweight 57 kg   Felipe Efrain def.   Yuki Motoya No Contest 1 5:45 Originally a 1st round TKO win by Efrain. Ends in a No Contest, Efrain Missed Weight.
Heavyweight 120 kg   Kirill Sidelnikov def.   Carlos Toyota TKO (Punches) 1 2:23
Heavyweight 120 kg   Tsuyoshi Kosaka def.   James Thompson TKO (Punches) 2 11:58

Rizin World Grand Prix 2015: Part 2 - Iza

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Rizin World Grand Prix 2015: Part 2 - Iza
PromotionRizin Fighting Federation
DateDecember 31, 2015
VenueSaitama Super Arena
City  Saitama, Japan
Event chronology
Rizin World Grand-Prix 2015: Part 1 - Saraba Rizin World Grand Prix 2015: Part 2 - Iza Rizin Fighting Federation 1

Rizin World Grand Prix 2015: Part 2 - Iza was a mixed martial arts event held by the Rizin Fighting Federation on December 31, 2015 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Results

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Fight Card
Weight Class Method Round Time Notes
Grand-Prix 100 kg   Muhammed Lawal def.   Jiří Procházka KO (Punches) 1 5:09 RIZIN World Grand Prix 2015 Final
Heavyweight 120 kg   Fedor Emelianenko def.   Singh Jaideep TKO(Punches) 1 3:02
Featherweight 66 kg   Kron Gracie def.   Erson Yamamoto Submission (Triangle Choke) 1 4:58
Catchweight 72.5 kg   Andy Souwer def.   Yuichiro Nagashima KO (Punches) 1 5:28
Openweight   Baruto Kaito def.   Peter Aerts Decision (Unanimous) 3 9:00
Shootboxing 100+ kg   Bob Sapp def.   Akebono Tarō Decision (Unanimous) 3 15:00
Female Light Heavyweight 93 kg   Gabrielle Garcia def.   Lei'D Tapa TKO (Referee Stopage) 1 2:36
K-1 Flyweight 57 kg   Takeru def.   Yang Ming TKO (Referee Stopage) 2 6:00
Bantamweight 61 kg   Soo Chul Kim def.   Maike Linhares Decision (Unanimous) 3 20:00
Catchweight 81 kg   Brennan Ward def.   Ken Hasegawa Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 2 11:52
Grand-Prix 100 kg   Jiří Procházka def.   Vadim Nemkov TKO (Retirement) 1 10:00 RIZIN World Grand Prix 2015 Semi-Finals
Grand-Prix 100 kg   Muhammed Lawal def.   Teodoras Aukštuolis Decision (Unanimous) 2 15:00 RIZIN World Grand Prix 2015 Semi-Finals
Female Strawweight 52 kg   Rena Kubota def.   Jleana Valentino Submission (Armbar) 2 8:31
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