According to Patricky Freire’s coach, Eric Albarracin, said “Pitbull” had to mask a broken hand going into the Rizin FF 20 grand prix final.
According to [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag]’s coach, “Pitbull” had to mask a broken hand going into the lightweight grand prix final at Rizin FF 20.
A perfectly-placed soccer kick against Luiz Gustavo, landed Freire a spot in the grand prix final, but although it took him only 28 seconds to score the finish, Freire’s coach Eric Albarracin says “Pitbull” suffered a broken hand in the fight.
He took on [autotag]Tofiq Musaev[/autotag] in the final later in the night, but lost the fight via unanimous decision where, according to his coach, Freire had to battle for 15 minutes with a broken hand.
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“People don’t know… Patricky broke his hand in that first fight on the semis and went into the second fight with a broken hand,” Albarracin revealed via his Instagram story. “We made sure not to take the bandage off so it would swell up so we kept the bandages on, we kept his wraps on and he fought with a broken hand and put it all on the line. He put it all out there.”
It was an entertaining back-and-forth scrap, but ultimately Musaev got the nod, going on to win the lightweight grand prix.
Hoping to follow in his brother – and reigning two-division Bellator champ – Patricio’s footsteps, Patricky may have fallen short, but Albarracin is confident that one day the other “Pitbull” brother will be world champion, too.
“I thought we won, I thought we were going to get the nod but never leave it in the hands of the judges. Good job to Tofiq, he went out there and did what had to do to win but, you know, it’s not over. 2019 might be over but it ain’t over for our destiny. Patricky Pitbull will be a world champion one day.”
Azerbaijan’s Tofiq Musaev produced a superb performance to outpoint Patricky “Pitbull” Freire and capture the Rizin lightweight grand prix title in Saitama.
[autotag]Tofiq Musaev[/autotag] made light of his underdog status as he surged into the Rizin lightweight grand prix final and claimed a unanimous decision victory over pre-tournament favorite [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] at Rizin FF 20 in Saitama.
The two semifinal matchups in the lightweight grand prix tournament produced brutal, quickfire finishes as Azerbaijan’s Musaev (18-3 MMA, 5-0 Rizin) and Brazilian Bellator star Freire (23-9 MMA, 2-1 Rizin) registered impressive stoppage wins.
Musaev’s power was too much for Johnny Case as he stopped the American with his heavy-handed punches in just under three minutes in the opening bout of the night, while Freire trumped that performance with a 28-second battering of fellow countryman Luiz Gustavo as he bludgeoned him with strikes, then finished with an exclamation point as he connected with a vicious soccer kick to the his man as the referee dived in to stop the contest after just 28 seconds.
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It set things up for the tournament final later in the night as the two fighters, both fresh from their swift victories at the start of the event, stepped through the ropes in prime condition for the final at the end of the preliminary card.
And while “Pitbull” was considered the favorite heading into the tournament finale, Musaev was anything but intimidated as, after a cagey opening, he stood and traded toe-to-toe with the heavy-handed Brazilian in a wild final 60 seconds of the first round.
Despite his apparent willingness to trust his chin, the key difference-maker for Musaev was his ability change levels and use his wrestling to keep Freire on the back foot throughout the second stanza. That wrestling also led to the scariest moment of the matchup, when one takedown attempt on a retreating Freire saw the Brazilian fall backwards through the ring ropes and onto the arena floor. In the brief chaos that followed, Musaev’s cornerman was penalized with a yellow card for supposed “interference”, despite trying to help the Brazilian as he fell through the ropes.
But the break in proceedings didn’t affect Musaev, who continued to mix up his stand-up with smartly-timed takedowns as he took control of the bout. And that pattern continued in the third as Musaev and Freire went to the scorecards, where the underdog claimed a unanimous decision victory to capture the lightweight grand prix crown.
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Up-to-date results at Rizin FF 20 include:
Tofiq Musaev def. Patricky Freire via unanimous decision – for lightweight title
Jiri Prochazka def. C.B. Dollaway via KO (punch) – Round 1, 1:55 – for light heavyweight title
Simon Biyong def. Vitaly Shemetov via TKO (tap due to strikes) – Round 2, 0:58
Hiromasa Ogikubo def. Shintaro Ishiwatari via split decision
Jake Heun def. Satoshi Ishii via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:12
Patrick Mix def. Yuki Motoya via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:36
Miyuu Yamamoto def. Suwanan Boonsorn via unanimous decision
Patricky Freire def. Luiz Gustavo via TKO (punches and soccer kick) – Round 1, 0:28
Tofiq Musaev def. Johnny Case via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:46
Bellator star Patricky “Pitbull” Freire showcased his devastating knockout power, and added a soccer kick into the mix, as he surged into the lightweight grand prix final at Rizin FF 20.
Bellator veteran [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] watched Azerbaijan’s Tofiq Musaev kick off the night at Rizin FF 20 with a blistering finish of Johnny Case, then stepped through the ropes and delivered an even more vicious performance as he surged into the Rizin lightweight grand prix final in stunning style.
Musaev had just dominated Case with his heavy-handed strikes en route to a two-minute, 45-second TKO victory to book his place in the tournament final at the Saitama Super Arena. But Freire (28-3 MMA, 2-0 Rizin) was clearly in the mood to leave no doubt about his status as the most devastating striker in the tournament.
Freire found his target with his heavy punches almost instantly and, after dropping the outmatched Gustavo (10-2 MMA, 2-2 Rizin) with a counter left, “Pitbull” moved in and connected with a soccer kick to the ribs before landing a powerful salvo of punches.
Gustavo gamely attempted to return to his feet, but was put on the seat of his pants by two clubbing rights from Freire, who then put the exclamation point on his performance by signing off with a soccer kick just before the referee dived in to end the contest.
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
Patricky Freire’s goal is to win the Rizin FF lightweight grand prix, but his future with Rizin depends on the Bellator lightweight picture.
[autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] took part in Rizin FF’s lightweight grand prix in order to avoid potentially fighting his brother.
Freire’s brother, [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag], is Bellator’s reigning featherweight and lightweight champion and is currently taking part in Bellator’s ongoing featherweight grand prix.
Meanwhile, Patricky Freire (22-8) scored a first-round knockout over PRIDE and UFC veteran Tatsuya Kawajiri in Rizin’s lightweight grand prix quarterfinals at Rizin FF 19 and moved onto the semifinals, where he will take on Luis Gustavo Dec. 31 at Rizin FF 20 in Saitama Japan.
But Freire also recently signed a new multi-fight deal with Bellator, and is unsure of just how long his Rizin FF tenure will last.
“My goal is to capture the Rizin championship belt,” Freire told MMA Junkie. “I might want to defend it right away. It all depends on how things are playing out in the Bellator lightweight division.”
Freire is currently enjoying the best stretch of his career, having won his last six fights in a row. The Pitbull Brothers team in Brazil has slowly become one of the most top MMA gyms in the country, home to the likes of Patricky and his brother Patricio, former UFC flyweight and current bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo, and middleweight contender Paulo Costa.
“Without a doubt, I feel I’m at the apex of my career,” Freire said. “I’m feeling very motivated. I’m feeling great – physically, technically, strategically, and mentally. I’m on the longest winning streak of my career. Of my last six wins, four have been by knockout. Good things keep happening. I’m ready keep it going. Be sure of that.
“I’ve never trained as hard as this in the past. The one new element is a new physical conditioning coach, since my debut in Japan. I haven’t changed my team or teammates. There was no reason to change a winning team.”
At Rizin FF 20, Freire takes on 23-year-old Gustavo, who took out Hiroto Uesako at Rizin FF 19 to also advance to the grand prix semifinals. The winner moves on to try and capture the grand prix title with a second fight later in the same night. Freire isn’t looking his past his first assignment, though.
“Luiz is a young, aggressive, very dangerous fighter, but he still has a lot to learn,” Freire said. “There are still a lot of holes in his game. I have a sparring partner who’s trained with him. The weaknesses he identified are the same ones I’d seen myself.”
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.
