2016 in Rizin Fighting Federation

The year 2016 was the second year in the history of the Rizin Fighting Federation, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. The first event of the year was Rizin 1 on April 17, 2016, in Nagoya.

2016 in Rizin Fighting Federation
Information
First date	April 17
Last date	December 31
Events
Total events	4
Fights
Chronology
2015 in Rizin Fighting Federation 2016 in Rizin Fighting Federation 2017 in Rizin Fighting Federation

Rizin events are broadcast through a television agreement with Fuji Television.

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
Promotion	Rizin Fighting Federation
Date	April 17, 2016
Venue	Nippon 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
Promotion	Rizin Fighting Federation
Date	September 25, 2016
Venue	Saitama 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
Promotion	Rizin Fighting Federation
Date	December 29, 2016
Venue	Saitama 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
Promotion	Rizin Fighting Federation
Date	December 31, 2016
Venue	Saitama 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