Bellator MMA vs. Rizin

Bellator MMA vs. Rizin FF and Rizin 40 (also known as Bellator MMA x Rizin 1) was a mixed martial arts event being co-promoted by Bellator MMA and the Rizin Fighting Federation that took place on December 31, 2022, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Bellator MMA vs. Rizin FF
The poster for Bellator MMA vs. Rizin FF
Promotion(s)	Bellator MMA Rizin Fighting Federation
Date	December 31, 2022 (2022-12-31)
City	Saitama, Japan
Venue	Saitama Super Arena
Attendance	23,661[1]
Bellator MMA events chronology
← Previous Bellator 289: Stots vs. Sabatello Next → Bellator 290: Bader vs. Fedor 2
Rizin events chronology
← Previous Rizin Landmark Vol.4 Next → Rizin 41 – Osaka

Background

The main card saw fighters from each promotion fight each other, with the Bellator representatives including a current champion and three former champions: Patrício Pitbull, A. J. McKee, Juan Archuleta and Kyoji Horiguchi. Matches were contested under Rizin's ruleset, which differs from Bellator's usual Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.^[7]

The main card aired tape delayed in the U.S. on Showtime, Bellator's regular broadcast partner.^[3]

Results

Bellator MMA vs. Rizin (Showtime)
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Lightweight	A. J. McKee	def.	Roberto de Souza	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00
Featherweight	Patrício Pitbull	def.	Kleber Koike Erbst	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00
Flyweight	Kyoji Horiguchi	def.	Hiromasa Ougikubo	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00
Bantamweight	Juan Archuleta	def.	Soo Chul Kim	Decision (split)	3	5:00
Lightweight	Gadzhi Rabadanov	def.	Koji Takeda	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00
Rizin 40 (Fite TV PPV)
Super Atomweight	Seika Izawa	def.	Si Woo Park	Decision (split)	3	5:00	[a]
Bantamweight	Naoki Inoue	def.	Kenta Takizawa	Submission (kimura)	2	3:53
Heavyweight	Junior Tafa	def.	Tsuyoshi Sudario	TKO (punches)	1	1:38
Flyweight	John Dodson	def.	Hideo Tokoro	KO (punches)	1	1:43
Intermission
Catchweight	Ren Hiramoto	def.	Genji Umeno	KO (punch)	2	3:00	[b]
Bantamweight	Yuki Motoya	def.	Rogério Bontorin	KO (knee)	2	2:56
Lightweight	Johnny Case	def.	Nobumitsu Osawa	TKO (punches)	1	0:36
Featherweight	Chihiro Suzuki	def.	Yoshiki Nakahara	KO (punches)	1	4:44
Lightweight	Patrick Sho Usami	def.	BeyNoah	KO (punch)	1	0:45
Bantamweight	Yushi	def.	Tatsuya Nakazawa	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00	[c]

1. Rizin Women's Super Atomweight Grand Prix Finals
2. Special Standing bout rules, exhibition boxing match. Umeno was the mystery fighter.
3. Special Rules bout

^[8]

See also

• Martial Arts portal

• 2022 in Bellator MMA
• 2022 in Rizin Fighting Federation
• List of Bellator MMA events