Fedor and Rampage Jackson to Fight In Bellator-RIZIN Team Up
Bellator and RIZIN continue their partnership as the promotion’s just announced that MMA legends Fedor Emelianenko and Rampage Jackson will face off on December 29th. The fight will take place at the Saitama Super Arena in Tokoyo, Japan. It will be a Bellator event airing on Paramount Network “powered by RIZIN” according to the press release.
The announcements is a continuation of a partnership between the two promotions.
“For Bellator’s debut in Japan, we wanted to bring a massive event and fighters that the Japanese fans really connect with,” said Bellator President Scott Coker. “Given the vast history of martial arts and MMA in Japan, and especially at Saitama Super Arena, this will be a very special show that no one will want to miss. This will, unquestionably, be a monumental event for Bellator and I am looking forward to the moment that Fedor and ‘Rampage’ walk out to a crowd that has known them since their careers began. I would also like to thank RIZIN for their help in making this event a possibility and we look forward to working together in the near future to showcase the best talent each organization has to offer.”
Tickets for Bellator Japan go on sale November 9th.
Bellator-RIZIN: An Unlikely Partnership
The partnership between Bellator and RIZIN began December 2018 when Bellator champion, Darrion Caldwell, crosses promotional boundaries and took on Kyoji Horiguchi for the RIZIN belt. Caldwell lost the bout but RIZIN returned the favor and sent Horiguchi over to Bellator to fight for Caldwell’s belt, which Horiguchi won.
After that, the relationship between the two was not finished. Announced earlier this year, Bellator Star, Patricky Pitbull, is stepping over to the RIZIN world and enters their lightweight Grand Prix at RIZIN 19.
The two promotion’s continue to cozy up to each other, lending helping hands and the MMA community is eating it up. Their floundering relationship will continue to grow with more and more events like this.
