Check out which UFC fighters of the past and present currently run their own promotions.
In the fight game, fighters fight and promoters largely promote. It’s a nearly exclusive rule, but there are some exceptions.
While promoters never fight, occasionally a fighter will promote.
An increasing trend in recent years, more and more combat sports athletes are testing out the waters of running their own promotions. Oftentimes, it’s a fighter who has some name recognition, buzz, or influence in the sport. There are exceptions to the rule, however – fighters who have just figured out how to run a regional promotion successfully.
There are the more obvious stars like [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] and [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag], who have used their big platforms to promote their recent dive into promoting. There are also others who have quietly promoted behind the scenes for years.
Scroll below to see which current and former UFC fighters currently run their own promotions.
Note: Promotions that have not held an event since before 2019 were not included in this list – and this list is not necessarily all-inclusive.
Check out which UFC veterans are in combat sports action across the globe this weekend.
This week, the UFC is back in Las Vegas at the UFC Apex for a key bantamweight bout. In the main event, [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag] takes on [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] in a fight scheduled for five rounds.
Elsewhere, many other MMA, boxing and bareknuckle events are taking place that feature a number of familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.
This weekend, there are a total of 24 veterans of the global MMA leader competing in MMA and boxing this week from April 21-23.
Check out the names and details about their bouts below.
However, there are other MMA promotions in action for their final cards of the year during holidays that feature a number of UFC veterans, including multiple former flyweight title challengers.
These 15 veterans of the UFC are competing across the globe from Dec. 21-31.
Check out the names and details about their bouts below.
Former UFC fighter Johnny Case won’t be competing in the PFL this season after he was recently arrested in Las Vegas.
The PFL has removed [autotag]Johnny Case[/autotag] from its 2021 season in the wake of recent reports that the lightweight fighter was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery.
The promotion announced the move Tuesday, along with Case’s replacement, Alex Martinez. It’s unclear if Case has been released from his contract or only removed from this season. A request for comment from the PFL was not immediately returned.
According to an initial report from TMZ, Case (27-7-1) was arrested last Thursday in Las Vegas and was held in jail in Clark County (Nev.). The report stated that the alleged victim is a female MMA fighter.
Online court records show Case partook in a hearing Friday and was released on bail. His bail conditions include “stay out of trouble” and “stay away from victim.”
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Prior to his removal, Case was scheduled to fight 2020 PFL lightweight runner-up Loik Radzhabov on the season-opening card April 23 in Atlantic City, N.J.
Case, 31, competed in the UFC from 2014 to 2017. He won his first four promotional appearances before back-to-back losses to Jake Matthews and Anthony Rocco Martin led to his UFC exit. Case competed once for PFL in 2019 (a draw) before four appearances in RIZIN, where he went 3-1.
Follow the results as they happen with MMA Junkie’s live coverage of Rizin FF 20 in Saitama, Japan.
Japan’s iconic Saitama Super Arena plays host to its second major MMA event in the space of three days as top Japanese promotion Rizin FF stages its annual New Year’s Eve spectacular.
Rizin FF 20 features a trio of title fights, with Japanese contender — and the man who stunned Kyoji Horiguchi inside a round at Rizin FF 18 — [autotag]Kai Asakura[/autotag], takes on the explosive [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] for the vacant bantamweight title in the event’s headline bout.
Reigning Rizin champions [autotag]Ayaka Hamasaki[/autotag] and [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] are also set for action as they put their super atomweight and light heavyweight titles on the line against [autotag]Seo Hee Ham[/autotag] and [autotag]C.B. Dollaway[/autotag] respectively.
The event also features the semifinals and final of the lightweight grand prix tournament, with Bellator star [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] and former UFC lightweight [autotag]Johnny Case[/autotag] on opposite sides of the draw heading into the final four.
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Rizin FF 20 live results include:
MAIN CARD
Kai Asakura vs. Manel Kape – for vacant bantamweight title
Champion Ayaka Hamasaki vs. Seo Hee Ham – for women’s super atomweight title
Mikuru Asakura vs. John Teixeira
Rena Kubota vs. Lindsey VanZandt
PRELIMINARY CARD
TBA vs. TBA – lightweight grand prix final
Champion Jiri Prochazka vs. C.B. Dollaway – for light heavyweight title
Simon Biyong vs. Vitaly Shemetov
Shintaro Ishiwatari vs. Hiromasa Ogikubo
Jake Heun vs. Satoshi Ishii
Patrick Mix vs. Yuki Motoya
Suwanan Boonsorn vs. Miyuu Yamamoto
Patricky Freire vs. Luiz Gustavo – lightweight grand prix semifinal
Johnny Case vs. Tofiq Musaev – lightweight grand prix semifinal
MMA Junkie’s Simon Head looks ahead to Rizin FF’s end-of-year spectacular at the Saitama Super Arena on New Year’s Eve.
Things didn’t work out as originally planned for Rizin FF, but the Japanese promotion’s New Year’s Eve spectacular at the Saitama Super Arena will still finish with a wild scrap for their bantamweight title.
Rizin FF 20 was all set to feature the hotly-anticipated rematch between Kyoji Horiguchi and the man who shocked the MMA world when he finished the two-promotion bantamweight champion in their non-title meeting at Rizin FF 18 in October, [autotag]Kai Asakura[/autotag].
Asakura’s 68-second demolition of Horiguchi in Nagoya stunned the Japanese MMA community, and when Asakura (14-1, 6-0 Rizin FF) repeated the trick with a 54-second knockout of Ulka Sasaki at Rizin 19 that left the former UFC fighter with a broken jaw, it was clear that the 26-year-old was the undeniable number-one contender for Horiguchi’s title.
Everything seemed set for an end-of-year showdown in Saitama, but disaster struck in November when news emerged that Horiguchi had sustained a knee injury that would require surgery and an estimated layoff of around 10 months. But, in an honorable move from the American Top Team man, Horiguchi decided to relinquish his Rizin and Bellator bantamweight titles to free up the belts and allow Rizin to book an alternative title fight for New Year’s Eve.
Now the vacant bantamweight strap will be up for grabs in the night’s main event, with Asakura taking on the explosive [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] (, whose second-round knockouts of Seiichiro Ito and Takeya Mizugaki at Rizin FF 15 and 18 respectively made him a compelling replacement opponent for Dec. 31. And with Asakura taking the spoils when the pair battled to a split decision back in May 2018, there’s fighting pride, as well as a championship belt, at stake.
Hamasaki and Seo set for super-atomweight showdown
A second title fight will also feature at the top end of the main card, with reigning Rizin women’s super atomweight champion [autotag]Ayaka Hamasaki[/autotag] returning to action to face the challenge of South Korea’s [autotag]Seo Hee Ham[/autotag] in a title fight between fighters with a combined 51 fights to their name.
Hamasaki (19-2, 5-0 Rizin FF) captured the vacant title at Rizin FF 14 last December via second-round armbar finish of Kanna Asakura, then defended her title with a unanimous decision against Jihn Yu Frey in June. Most recently, she armbarred Suwanan Boonsorn in a non-title showcase at Rizin FF 18. Now she takes on former UFC strawweight Seo (22-8, 2-0 Rizin FF) Hee Ham, who hasn’t lost since departing the UFC at the end of 2016.
Rizin FF women’s atomweight champion: Ayaka Hamasaki (L) with Seo Hee Ham
Seo has won five in a row, with her last two victories coming via stoppage inside the Rizin ring. Tomo Maesawa was dispatched inside a round, then Seo finished Japanese amateur wrestling icon Miyuu Yamamoto via second-round TKO at Rizin FF 19 in October. Now the 32-year-old from Busan will bid to capture her second title since leaving the UFC as she aims to add the Rizin title to the Road FC atomweight title she won in December 2017.
Dolloway aims for redemption – and a championship belt
A USADA anti-doping suspension may have left [autotag]C.B. Dolloway[/autotag] unable to compete Stateside, but the MMA free-agent has been handed not just a lifeline, but the opportunity of a lifetime, as he takes on reigning champion [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] for the Rizin light heavyweight title.
Dolloway (17-9, 0-0 Rizin FF) was handed a two-year ban by USADA after a pair out-of-competition tests came back positive, while an IV infusion was also adjudged to be over the allowable limit.
It resulted in Dolloway’s eventual release from the UFC, with the American seemingly banned from competition until mid-December 2020. But with Rizin not recognizing USADA’s suspensions, Dolloway is free to fight for the Japanese promotion, and will challenge the dominant champ Prochazka (25-3-1, 10-1 Rizin FF), who is riding a 10-fight, four-year win streak. The big Czech has finished nine of those 10 victories, with eight of those coming inside the opening round.
Lightweight grand prix reaches its climax
In addition to the three title fights on the card, Rizin FF 20 will also feature the two semifinals, then the final, of the promotion’s lightweight grand prix tournament.
The semis will see America’s [autotag]Johnny Case[/autotag] face off with dangerous Azerbaijani contender [autotag]Tofiq Musaev[/autotag], while the other half of the draw features Bellator star [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag], who will take on fellow countryman [autotag]Luiz Gustavo[/autotag].
The four men will contest their semifinal matchups early on the preliminary card, with the two winners facing off in the tournament final in the final bout before the intermission.
And finally…
Look out for Bellator bantamweight contender [autotag]Patrick Mix[/autotag], who will be representing his promotion with pride as he takes on former DEEP bantamweight champion [autotag]Yuki Motoya[/autotag].
Former King of the Cage bantamweight champ Mix has been one of the big success stories of Bellator’s lower weight classes after joining the promotion midway through the year and producing a pair of highlight-reel first-round submissions.
After his Suloev stretch finish of Isiah Chapman at Bellator 232, Mix told MMA Junkie he was only just scratching the surface of his capabilities, and now he gets the chance to showcase his grappling prowess inside the Rizin ring.
And perhaps the biggest reception of the night could come early on the card, as [autotag]Miyuu Yamamoto[/autotag] returns to action against [autotag]Suwanan Boonsorn[/autotag] (4-2, 0-1 Rizin FF). Yamamoto (5-4, 5-4 Rizin FF) is still competing in MMA and grappling tournaments at the age of 45, and the former amateur wrestling phenom and sister of the late, great Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto remains a firm favorite with the Japanese fight fans wherever she competes.
