Rizin 28 and Rizin 29 press conferences

Rizin 28 and Rizin 29 press conferences just transpired. Nobuyuki Sakakibara and Kouzi made the announcements via remote video call. Translations were provided via @Rizin_English on Twitter.

State of Emergency takes effect in 4 cities starting April 25th to May 9th. Due to the government’s decision, Rizin FF is postponing the May 23rd Tokyo Dome event to June 13th.

The May 30th show for Rizin goes down at Maruzen Intech Arena. That show will be 50% capacity and the promotion is looking at having 5,000 spectators.

It has been 18 years since the Tokyo Dome has hosted MMA shows. Rizin Fighting Federation is hoping for as many spectators as possible for their return show to this venue. The hope is to get 50% capacity which would amount to 25,000 spectators by the targeted June 13th date.

The Bantamweight GP Schedule for RIZIN 29 in Osaka features: Imanari vs Takizawa

Kuramoto vs Yamaniha

Otsuka vs Shian

Kintaro vs Ito

RIZIN 28 in Tokyo showcases: Asakura vs Watanabe

Ishiwatari vs Inoue

Ougikubo vs Kasugai

Motoya vs Okada

Additional fights for RIZIN 29 in Osaka include Rikuto Shirakawa vs Jin Aoi as well as Yusuke Yachi vs Yuki Kawana.

Sakakibara stated, “We plan to bring the all-stars for the Tokyo Dome event, and will be announcing fights at a steady pace from here on. I would like RENA, Mikuru Asakura, and all the big names we have on this card.”

Rizin 28 and Rizin 29

In the second press conference, Kouzi indicated he won’t accept Sakakibara’s offer of being main event.

He plans to earn his spot as the main event and suggests a one-night tournament with the finals being the main event. Kouzi asks RIZIN to gather the top guys who are hating on him to prove that he can beat them all.

Kouzi accuses RIZIN of treating kickboxing lightly. Sasahara refutes this idea and accepts Kouzi’s request.

RIZIN 28 will now hold a 1-day tournament in Kouzi’s weight class with the participants TBD.

Sasahara asks for fighters who want to participate in this tournament to contact RIZIN and to interact with Kouzi.

Rizin 28 and Rizin 29 press conference #1

Rizin 28 and Rizin 29 press conference #2

Dylan Bowker

I've been enamored with combat sports for as long as I can remember. I've hosted MMA talk shows Lights Out and Pure Fight Radio with featured guests like Jens Pulver, Roy Nelson, Miesha Tate, Mark Coleman, and more. I've been an MMA broadcaster for XFFC as well as BTC and have done play by play commentary on live pay per view on GFL as well as FITE TV. I've provided written, audio, and video content covering some of the biggest MMA promotions like Rumble in the Cage, Unified MMA, and King of the Cage. I've worked as a sports entertainment personality for over five years and given play-by-play or featured promotions of KSW, ONE Championship, TKO, and Invicta FC. My work can be found in the USA Today Sports affiliate MMA Torch, Cageside Press, MMA Sucka, and Liberty Multimedia.

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