Photo credit to r/MMA Reddit
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.
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.
Rizin 28 and Rizin 29 press conference #1
Rizin 28 and Rizin 29 press conference #2
