Bellator vs. Rizin – Syndication Server

MMA Junkie Radio #3324: Dana White is in hot water, Jake Paul signs with PFL, more

Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”

Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

On Episode 3,324, the guys discuss Dana White’s incident in Mexico on New Year’s Eve and what it could mean for the UFC and Power Slap, Jake Paul signing with the PFL, and more. Tune in!

Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Jan. 3: Kyoji Horiguchi on the rise at flyweight

Kyoji Horiguchi returned to flyweight and placed himself back in the rankings with a win at Bellator vs. Rizin FF on New Year’s Eve.

With most of the MMA world idle for the holidays, Bellator and Rizin hosted a cross-promotion event on New Year’s Eve in Japan.

Bellator’s brightest stars including [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag], [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag], [autotag]Kyoji Horiguchi[/autotag], [autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag], and [autotag]Gadzhi Rabadanov[/autotag] represented the promotion against Rizin FF’s lineup. It was a clean sweep for Bellator, as they won all five bouts at the year-end event.

Horiguchi returned to flyweight, where he picked up a unanimous decision win over Hiromasa Ougikubo. The former UFC title challenger re-enters the rankings at 125 pounds this week, marking the biggest move ahead of 2023 events.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.

Juan Archuleta glad to leave Japan with win over hard-headed fellow animal Soo Chul Kim

Juan Archuleta helped make it 5-0 for Bellator over Rizin on New Year’s Eve with his split decision win over Soo Chul Kim in Japan.

[autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] beat Soo Chul Kim with a split decision Saturday at Rizin FF 40: Rizin vs. Bellator in Japan.

Take a look inside the fight with Archuleta, a former Bellator title challenger who now has back-to-back wins after the first skid of his career.

MMA Junkie Radio #3323: Bellator vs. Rizin, Sara McMann, Stephan Bonnar, more

Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”

Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

On Episode 3,323, the guys take a look back at Bellator’s 5-0 sweep of Rizin in Japan on New Year’s Eve. Plus, they discuss free agent Sara McMann’s move to Bellator, Rose Namajunas’ grappling loss, the death of Stephan Bonnar and more. Tune in!

After long bantamweight run, Kyoji Horiguchi happy with flyweight return

Former Bellator and Rizin champion Kyoji Horiguchi beat Hiromasa Ougikubo for a third time Saturday in Japan.

[autotag]Kyoji Horiguchi[/autotag] beat Hiromasa Ougikubo with a unanimous decision Saturday at Rizin FF 40: Rizin vs. Bellator in Japan.

Take a look inside the fight with Horiguchi, who had previous wins over Ougikubo in 2013 and 2018.

John Dodson wants Rizin FF bout vs. Kyoji Horiguchi: ‘He has to be my stepping stone’

John Dodson is hoping to fight fellow former UFC title challenger Kyoji Horiguchi now under the Rizin FF banner.

[autotag]John Dodson[/autotag] wants to take on one of Japan’s best ever.

The former UFC title challenger is hoping to cross paths with former Bellator and Rizin FF champion [autotag]Kyoji Horiguchi[/autotag] now that they’re once again fighting under the same banner.

Dodson (23-13) made a statement in his Rizin FF debut at Saturday’s Rizin FF vs. Bellator event in Japan. The 38-year-old knocked out veteran Hideo Tokoro in less than two minutes into their flyweight bout.

Dodson is hoping to fight Horiguchi next, as it’s a bout he was promised long ago.

“I’ve been trying to fight Horiguchi for the last two years,” Dodson told reporters at the post-fight press conference. “When I got released from the UFC, they gave me Horiguchi as a future opponent coming into Rizin, but then the borders were shut down (due to the pandemic), and they wouldn’t let me come over here.

“Then he got signed to Bellator, so it’s been like a back-and-forth thing. I’ve been waiting for my opportunity to really test my abilities against the former champion of Rizin. I want to be the champion, and he has to be my stepping stone to become it.”

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Horiguchi is one of the most successful fighters in Japanese MMA history. He knows he’s likely not going to be the fan favorite going into a potential showdown with the ATT standout, but that doesn’t bother Dodson one bit.

“I don’t care, I can be the villain of any story,” Dodson said. “But at the same time I’m going to come out the hero.”

The win over Tokoro was Dodson’s second MMA fight and second MMA victory of 2022.

“The Magician” was coming off a unanimous decision win over Francisco Rivera back in April at XMMA 4: Black Magic. Dodson also competed in bareknuckle boxing this year, knocking out Ryan Benoit at BKFC 28 in August. Dodson is currently 2-1 in MMA since his departure from the UFC in 2020.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Rizin FF 40: Rizin vs. Bellator.

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Patricio Freire shares a monster of a toast with rival A.J. McKee after win in Japan

After his win over Kleber Koike in Japan, Patricio Freire had a face-to-face moment to toast arch rival A.J. McKee for the new year.

[autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] beat Kleber Koike with a unanimous decision Saturday at Rizin FF 40: Rizin vs. Bellator in Japan.

Take a look inside the fight with Freire, Bellator’s featherweight champion who beat his Rizin titleholder counterpart.

Video: The epic entrances from Bellator’s New Year’s Eve sweep over Rizin

Team Bellator had a pretty epic way to ring in the new year Saturday in Japan, and its members’ entrances were equally epic.

Team Bellator had a pretty epic way to ring in the new year Saturday, and its members’ entrances were equally epic.

Bellator fighters went 5-0 in their matchups against Rizin fighters at a crossover event at Saitama Super Arena near Tokyo. Former featherweight champion [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] and current champ [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] got wins at the top of the bill. But so, too, did [autotag]Kyoji Horiguchi[/autotag], [autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] and [autotag]Gadzhi Rabadanov[/autotag].

Check out some of the epic only-in-Japan entrances from the fighters on the New Year’s Eve card below.

A.J. McKee wants Japan return after Rizin FF vs. Bellator win – except with title on the line

A.J. McKee hopes there are more opportunities to fight in Japan in his future, and ideally with gold on the line.

[autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] loved everything about his first time fighting in “The Land of the Rising Sun.”

The former Bellator featherweight champion made the trip to Japan for his fight against Rizin FF lightweight champion Roberto de Souza in the main event of Saturday’s Rizin FF 40: Rizin vs. Bellator. It was a non-title bout that was part of a promotion vs. promotion event.

McKee (20-1) won the fight by unanimous decision after three rounds of fighting, completing a 5-0 sweep for Team Bellator. For McKee, fighting in Japan, a country with an extensive history in MMA, was an unforgettable experience.

“I’m just trying to embrace it all,” McKee told reporters at the post-fight press conference. “Being here and fighting in Japan for the fans here is a lifetime experience. They just appreciate the art of the sport so much more here. So it’s an honor to be here and put on a great show.”

McKee’s father and coach, Antonio, had competed in Japan in his younger days as an active fighter. He fought for K-1 and DREAM. In his last appearance in Japan, Antonio suffered a stoppage loss to Shinya Aoki.

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McKee felt the need to leave the last name McKee victorious in Japan with this outing in Rizin FF.

“This place is phenomenal,” McKee said. “Fans are phenomenal, culture is phenomenal, it’s just an honor to be here, honestly. I’ve just heard so many stories and witnessed so many great fights here, so to finally be here and be a part of it.

“I had to redeem the last name McKee. The last time we were here, my father broke his orbital against Aoki. I just wanted to make sure to put on a great show for you guys.”

Apart from being the first time McKee fought overseas, it was also his first experience competing under a different MMA rule set. At Rizin fighters are allowed to head-stomp, and kick and knee downed opponents – something that’s illegal in the U.S..

McKee very much enjoyed the freedom that came with Rizin FF.

“Man, that was so fun,” McKee said. “I don’t know if that’s something I can do every fight, but it’s definitely something I enjoy a lot. I look forward to doing it again. Hopefully Rizin enjoyed the show, and they bring me back, and we can do it again for a title.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Rizin FF 40: Rizin vs. Bellator.

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Scott Coker reacts to Bellator’s 5-0 win vs. Rizin FF: ‘This is the best roster we’ve ever had’

Scott Coker says Bellator’s 5-0 sweep over Rizin FF shows how competitive the promotion’s roster is.

Bellator boss [autotag]Scott Coker[/autotag] saw his team go unbeaten in their clash against Rizin FF on Saturday.

In a promotion vs. promotion event to close out 2022, Bellator fighters went 5-0, giving their American promotion a clean sweep at Saturday’s Rizin FF vs. Bellator event in Japan. The fights took place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, near Tokyo. The main card airs on Showtime via tape delay at 8 p.m. ET.

These bouts included A.J. McKee defeating Rizin FF lightweight champion Roberto de Souza in the main event of the card, Patricio Freire topping Kleber Koike Erbst in the co-main, Kyoji Horiguchi outpointing Hiromasa Ougikubo, Juan Archuleta beating Soo Chul Kim, and to open up the main card Gadzhi Rabadanov defeating Koji Takeda.

Coker is happy with the result, but feels that perfect record could’ve been denied in the final fight of the card.

“I always said my wish was to go 5-0, and I’m happy that my guys won, but to me, it was very competitive out there,” Coker told reporters at the post-fight press conference. “That last fight, de Souza when he was fighting A.J., there were a couple of times I thought he might get tapped.

“It was very stressful to watch that last fight. It was very back and forth. I’m glad A.J. did what he had to do to win. But anything can happen in a fight in MMA. It was an entertaining night of fights.”

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Although the record might indicate it was a one-sided affair, Coker thinks the Rizin FF fighters held their own. He also believes Bellator is the strongest its ever been talent wise and that a similar result could be expected against other MMA promotions.

“It just shows you how much the Rizin fighters to me have grown in the last five, six years,” Coker said. “I see a big growth spur. Keep in mind, when you talk about the Bellator athletes, and I’m not just saying this because you know it’s the company I run, but over the last six, seven years, this is the best roster we’ve ever had in the history of the company. …

“If you go all the way down the weight classes, we not just have fighters that can compete in the UFC, but we have fighters at three or four in each weight class that can compete against any company on the planet. We have a very strong, strong fighter base right now.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Rizin FF 40: Rizin vs. Bellator.

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