Kyoii
Kim
Pitbull
AJ
Can’t wait!
Did Bellator pay Horiguchi more or something? He’s fought like 3 times for them.
Agh I am so excited, this is totally badass but Brennen Ward should be on this card! I am hoping this gets announced.
The timeline since he’s been back and his recent win he should be geared for this.
Last time Ward went to Japan he gave Ken Hasegawa his first loss fallen to 12-1-1 and it was a great submission victory for the knockout artist who has finished 15 of his 16 wins.
War Ward get back to Japan please!
You have bushido spirit!
Event: “Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN”
Date: Sat., Dec. 31, 2022
Location: Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo, Japan
How To Watch: Showtime (watch it here)
Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN Main Event:
155 lbs.: Champion A.J. McKee (19-1) vs. Champion Roberto de Souza (14-1)
Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN Main Card:
145 lbs.: Patricio Pitbull (34-5) vs. Kleber Koike (31-5-1)
135 lbs.: Juan Archuleta (26-4) vs. Soo Chul Kim (18-6-1)
125 lbs.: Kyoji Horiguchi (30-5) vs. Hiromasa Ougikubo (25-6-2)
155 lbs.: Gadzhi Rabadanov (18-4-2) vs. Koji Takeda (15-3)
Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN ‘Prelims’ Under Card:
108 lbs.: Seika Izawa (8-0) vs. Si Woo Park (9-4)
135 lbs.: Naoki Inoue (15-3) vs. Kenta Takizawa (13-8)
265 lbs.: Tsuyoshi Sudario (6-1) vs. Junior Tafa (2-0)
135 lbs.: Yuki Motoya (32-9) vs. Rogério Bontorin (16-4)
155 lbs.: Johnny Case (27-9-1) vs. Luiz Gustavo (12-2)
125 lbs.: John Dodson (22-13) vs. Hideo Tokoro (35-31-1)
155 lbs.: BeyNoah (1-2) vs. Sho Patrick Usami (5-1)
Dodson is on the undercard? sweet! Cant wait to watch this.
Great little face off there.
Respect to Coker for all the work he did for K1 in America and kickboxing in general and Strikeforce.
Also this card is great, is Patricio defending or?
“I think it’s the fight that everybody wants to see – on top of, I want to give him a test,” McKee said. “I don’t feel he’s been really tested yet. Patricky (Freire), he’s not a champ to me. He was gifted that belt from his brother – early Christmas present. To be a champion, you must beat the champion.”
Nurmagomedov defeated Patricky Pitbull at Bellator 288 to win the title and improve his record to an immaculate 16-0, which includes going 5-0 inside the Bellator cage. But McKee has a great record of his own, kicking of his career a perfect 18-0 before losing his first fight to Patricio Pitbull at Bellator 277. While McKee is very aware of the dangers Nurmagomedov possesses, but says his skill set is up to the task.
Ttt
Saturday
Very cool event. McGees opponent - how much of a threat is he to AJ? I want McKee to just go to the ufc already .
Was just thinking how much I uwed ot enjoy the PRIDE NEW YEARS EVER events back in the day, and I guess K1 did some also but the Pride Japan events were stacked cards, the pagentry and spectacle done Pride style.
I guess there is the Bellator /One event coming up and the old Pride Japan boss is co-promoting this.
Dont know enough about all the matchups but looks interesting.
UFC also did some TV Marathon shows on Christmas or New Years Day instead.
oh its BELLATOR and RIZIN co event
Mostly lower weight fighters and a couple big names like Pitbull and McKee
How many total fights ? only saw like 5 or 6 listed