2016 in Rizin Fighting Federation

The year 2016 was the 2nd year in the history of the Rizin Fighting Federation, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2016 started with Rizin Fighting Federation 1. It started broadcasting through a television agreement with Fuji Television.

2016 in Rizin Fighting Federation
Information
First dateApril 17
Last dateDecember 31
Events
Total events4
Fights
Chronology
2015 in Rizin Fighting Federation 2016 in Rizin Fighting Federation 2017 in Rizin Fighting Federation

Background

On July 16, 2016 Nobuyuki Sakakibara announced at a press conference that Rizin Fighting Federation will host a 16-man openweight tournament September 25 in Tokyo. 2006 Pride Open-Weight Grand Prix Champion Mirko Cro Cop and former PRIDE Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva to participate in the tournament.

This tournament was included Pride FC veterans like Kazuyuki Fujita, Tsuyoshi Kosaka, Heath Herring, Sumo sensation Baruto Kaito, world class wrestler Amir Aliakbari, and Rizin GP 2015 winner King Mo

Cro Cop won the championship.

List of events
# Event Date Venue Location Attendance
1 Rizin 1 April 17, 2016 Nippon Gaishi Hall Nagoya, Japan 7,291
2 Rizin World Grand Prix 2016: 1st Round September 25, 2016 Saitama Super Arena Saitama, Japan 15,011
3 Rizin World Grand Prix 2016: 2nd Round December 29, 2016 Saitama Super Arena Saitama, Japan 16,642
4 Rizin World Grand Prix 2016: Final Round December 31, 2016 Saitama Super Arena Saitama, Japan 19,357

Rizin Openweight Grand Prix 2016 bracket
1st Round
Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 1st Round 		2nd Round
Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 2nd Round 		Semifinals
Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: Final Round 		Final
Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: Final Round
        
Wanderlei Silva
BYE
Muhammed Lawal2 6:41
Mirko Cro Cop TKO
Mirko Cro Cop SUB
Hyun Man Myung 2:20
Mirko Cro Cop TKO
Baruto Kaito 0:49
Baruto Kaito DEC
Kazuyuki Fujita 10:00
Baruto Kaito DEC
Tsuyoshi Kohsaka1 10:00
Jiří Procházka DEC
Mark Tanios 10:00
Mirko Cro Cop KO
Amir Aliakbari 2:03
João Almeida 2:25
Amir Aliakbari TKO
Amir Aliakbari DEC
Heath Herring3 10:00
Shane Carwin
BYE
Amir Aliakbari DEC
Valentin Moldavsky 10:00
Valentin Moldavsky DEC
Karl Albrektsson 10:00
Valentin Moldavsky DEC
Szymon Bajor 10:00
Szymon Bajor DEC
Teodoras Aukštuolis 15:00

1Jiří Procházka was injured and couldn't participate in the second round of the Grand Prix, and was subsequently replaced by Tsuyoshi Kohsaka.

2Wanderlei Silva retired from the tournament, was replaced by Muhammed Lawal.

3Shane Carwin withdrew from the tournament, was replaced by Heath Herring.

Rizin 1
Rizin Fighting Federation 1
Information
PromotionRizin Fighting Federation
DateApril 17, 2016
VenueNippon Gaishi Hall
City Nagoya, Japan
Event chronology
Rizin World Grand-Prix 2015:Part 2 - Iza Rizin Fighting Federation 1 Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 1st Round

Rizin Fighting Federation 1 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Rizin Fighting Federation on April 4, 2016 at the Nippon Gaishi Hall in Nagoya, Japan.

Results
Fight Card
Weight Class Method Round Time Notes
Catchweight 110 kg Jiří Procházka def. Kazuyuki Fujita KO (Punch) 1 3:33
Light Heavyweight 93 kg Karl Albrektsson def. Vadim Nemkov Decision (Split) 3 20:00
Catchweight 98 kg Teodoras Aukštuolis def. Singh Jaideep Decision (Unanimous) 3 20:00
Female Openweight Gabi Garcia def. Anna Maliukova Submission (Armbar) 2 7:05
Tag Team Grappling Match Kazushi Sakuraba / Hideo Tokoro vs. Wanderlei Silva / Kiyoshi Tamura Draw 1 15:00
Shootboxing 51 kg Rena Kubota def. Cyndi Alves Decision (Unanimous) 3 9:00
Lightweight 70 kg Daron Cruickshank def. Shinji Sasaki TKO (Soccer Kicks) 1 4:36
Openweight Kirill Sidelnikov def. Chris Barnett Decision (Split) 3 20:00
Catchweight 81.5 kg Hisaki Kato def. Yuta Watanabe TKO (Punches) 1 1:04
Female Strawweight 52 kg Kanako Murata def. Natalya Denisova Decision (Unanimous) 3 15:00
K-1 Featherweight 65 kg Tetsuya Yamato def. Hiroto Yamaguchi TKO (3 Knockdowns) 1 2:37
K-1 Catchweight 73 kg Danilo Zanolini def. Norihisa Amimoto TKO (3 Knockdowns) 1 2:19
K-1 Catchweight 60 kg Yuya def. Yuki TKO (3 Knockdowns) 1 1:06

    Rizin World Grand Prix 2016: 1st Round
    Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 1st Round
    Information
    PromotionRizin Fighting Federation
    DateSeptember 25, 2016
    VenueSaitama Super Arena
    City Saitama, Japan
    Event chronology
    Rizin Fighting Federation 1 Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 1st Round Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 2nd Round


    Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 1st Round was a mixed martial arts event held by the Rizin Fighting Federation on September 25, 2016 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

    Results
    Fight Card
    Weight Class Method Round Time Notes
    Featherweight 66 kg Kron Gracie def. Hideo Tokoro Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1 9:50
    Female Atomweight 49 kg Rena Kubota def. Miyuu Yamamoto Submission (Guillotine Choke) 1 4:50
    Openweight Mirko Cro Cop def. Hyun Man Myung Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) 1 2:20 Openweight Grand-Prix 1st Round
    Openweight Baruto Kaito def. Kazuyuki Fujita Decision (Unanimous) 2 10:00 Openweight Grand-Prix 1st Round
    Lightweight 70 kg Daron Cruickshank def. Andy Souwer Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1 4:10
    Bantamweight 61 kg Erson Yamamoto def. Kizaemon Saiga Decision (Split) 2 15:00
    Openweight Jiří Procházka def. Mark Tanios Decision (Unanimous) 2 10:00 Openweight Grand-Prix 1st Round
    Openweight Valentin Moldavsky def. Karl Albrektsson Decision (Unanimous) 2 10:00 Openweight Grand-Prix 1st Round
    Openweight Amir Aliakbari def. João Almeida TKO (Punches) 1 2:25 Openweight Grand-Prix 1st Round
    Openweight Szymon Bajor def. Teodoras Aukštuolis Decision (Unanimous) 2 10:00 Openweight Grand-Prix 1st Round
    Featherweight 66 kg Charles Bennett def. Minoru Kimura TKO (Punches) 1 0:07
    Female Strawweight 53 kg Kanako Murata def. Kyra Batara Decision (Unanimous) 3 15:00
    Female Openweight Gabi Garcia def. Destanie Yarbrough Submission (Americana) 1 2:42

      Rizin World Grand Prix 2016: 2nd Round
      Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 2nd Round
      Information
      PromotionRizin Fighting Federation
      DateDecember 29, 2016
      VenueSaitama Super Arena
      City Saitama, Japan
      Event chronology
      Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 1st Round Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 2nd Round Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: Final Round

      Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 2nd Round was a mixed martial arts event held by the Rizin Fighting Federation on December 29, 2016 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

      Background

      Jiří Procházka was injured and couldn't participate in the second round of the Grand Prix, and was subsequently replaced by Tsuyoshi Kohsaka.

      Mirko Cro Cop was originally scheduled to have a rematch with Wanderlei Silva in the Openweight Grand-Prix Quarter-Finals. However, on December 2, Silva withdrew from the bout.[1] He was subsequently replaced by Muhammed Lawal.

      Shane Carwin was originally announced as an Openweight entrant against Amir Aliakbari. However, he pulled out of the tournament for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Heath Herring.

      Results
      Fight Card
      Weight Class Method Round Time Notes
      Openweight Mirko Cro Cop def. Muhammed Lawal TKO (Punches) 2 1:41 Openweight Grand-Prix Quarter-Finals
      Openweight Baruto Kaito def. Tsuyoshi Kosaka Decision (Unanimous) 2 10:00 Openweight Grand-Prix Quarter-Finals
      Openweight Amir Aliakbari def. Heath Herring Decision (Unanimous) 2 10:00 Openweight Grand-Prix Quarter-Finals
      Openweight Valentin Moldavsky def. Szymon Bajor Decision (Unanimous) 2 10:00 Openweight Grand-Prix Quarter-Finals
      Female Flyweight 57 kg Rin Nakai def. Kanako Murata Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 3 11:16
      Flyweight 57 kg Tenshin Nasukawa def. Nikita Sapun TKO (Punches) 1 2:45
      Lightweight 70 kg Kazuyuki Miyata def. Andy Souwer Submission (Armbar) 1 4:39
      Bantamweight 61 kg Yuki Motoya def. Allan Nascimento Decision (Split) 2 15:00
      Flyweight 58 kg Tatsumitsu Wada def. Kai Kara-France Decision (Unanimous) 3 15:00
      Featherweight 66 kg Yusuke Yachi def. Mario Sismundo TKO (Knee to the Body) 1 0:18
      Female Atomweight 48 kg Alyssa Garcia def. Kanna Asakura Decision (Unanimous) 3 15:00
      Openweight Vadim Nemkov def. Alison Vicente TKO (Punches) 1 0:54 Openweight Grand-Prix Reserve Fight
      Lightweight 70 kg Satoru Kitaoka def. Daron Cruickshank Submission (Guillotine Choke) 1 8:18

        Rizin World Grand Prix 2016: Final Round
        Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: Final Round
        Information
        PromotionRizin Fighting Federation
        DateDecember 31, 2016
        VenueSaitama Super Arena
        City Saitama, Japan
        Event chronology
        Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 2nd Round Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: Final Round Rizin Fighting Federation 5 - Sakura

        Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: Final Round was a mixed martial arts event held by the Rizin Fighting Federation on December 31, 2016 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

        Background

        Charles Bennett was originally set to fight against Minoru Kimura. However, Bennett withdrew from the bout due to problems obtaining a visa. Shinobu Kandori was originally set to take on Gabi Garcia, but was replaced by Yumiko Hotta after suffering a rib injury.[2]

        Results
        Fight Card
        Weight Class Method Round Time Notes
        Openweight Mirko Cro Cop def. Amir Aliakbari KO (Punches) 1 2:03 Openweight Grand-Prix Final
        Featherweight 66 kg Kron Gracie def. Tatsuya Kawajiri Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 2 12:05
        Bantamweight 62 kg Hideo Tokoro def. Erson Yamamoto Submission (Armbar) 1 1:19
        Female Atomweight 49 kg Rena Kubota def. Hanna Gujwan TKO (Body Kick) 3 12:47
        Female Atomweight 49 kg Andy Nguyen def. Miyuu Yamamoto Submission (Armbar) 1 4:42
        Flyweight 58 kg Kizaemon Saiga def. Dillin West TKO (Punches) 1 2:03
        Female Openweight Gabi Garcia def. Yumiko Hotta TKO (Punches) 1 0:41
        Catchweight 82 kg Hayato Sakurai def. Wataru Sakata TKO (Punches) 2 12:37
        Openweight Amir Aliakbari def. Valentin Moldavsky Decision (Split) 2 10:00 Openweight Grand-Prix Semi-Finals
        Openweight Mirko Cro Cop def. Baruto Kaito KO (Knee to the Body) 1 0:49 Openweight Grand-Prix Semi-Finals
        Flyweight 57 kg Tenshin Nasukawa def. Dylan Kawika Oligo Submission (Guillotine Choke) 2 3:37

          References
          1. "Wanderlei Silva just withdrew from RIZIN event and that made Mirko Cro Cop very, very angry". MMA Mania. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
          2. Meltzer, Dave (2016-12-22). "Yumiko Hotta replaces Shinobu Kandori in Rizin fight against Gabi Garcia". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
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