Saturday is going to be a day to enjoy combat sports in several areas from around the world. Part of that will be going down in Japan when Bellator and Rizin come together for a second time.
Bellator X Rizin 2 Will Feature Both Cage, Ring Fights
For the second time, Bellator and Rizin are going to co-promote an entire fight card. This one takes place Saturday live on Showtime and FiteTV pay-per-view from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
As one might expect with co-promotion, both Bellator’s customary cage and Rizin’s ring will be used during the event. In fact, the card will be split up into separate sections to allow for the change.
Bellator’s Portion Features Grand Prix Action
Some changes have been made to the Bellator part of the night. In the new main event, it will be Patricky Pitbull and Roberto de Souza battling in the Lightweight World Grand Prix.
But that is not all.
The inaugural Bellator flyweight title will be on the line when Kyoji Horiguchi and Makoto Takahashi square off.
Kana Watanabe vs. Veta Arteaga, Magomed Magomedov vs. Danny Sabatello and Andrey Koreshkov vs. Lorenz Larkin complete that piece of the action.
Watanabe and Arteaga could be a show-stealer type fight between female flyweights who love to mix it up. Magomedov is a super-stud in the bantamweight ranks, and both Koreshkov and Larkin have their sights set on welterweight gold.
Rizin Will Include Three Title Fights
Rizin officials have packed their piece of the puzzle with three championship matches, including Mikuru Asakura vs. Vugar Keramov for the vacant featherweight belt.
Juan Archuleta will move over from Bellator to challenge Hiromasa Ougikubo for the vacant bantamweight title, while Seika Izawa and Claire Lopez meet for Izawa’s women’s super atomweight championship.
Izawa is someone to keep an eye on, entering with a perfect 10-0 record. She also went unbeaten in jiu-jitsu before shifting her focus to MMA just three years ago.
But Wait, Bellator Planning Even More
The early portion of the night will see Patricio PItbull return to action, taking on Chihiro Suzuki in a catchweight bout. The legend is taking the fight on short notice, but he is always can’t miss television.
Tofiq Musayev, Kenta Takizawa and Daichi Abe are among those also set for entertain the fight-hungry fans.
