We are just a few weeks away from the end of 2015, and this year, the combat sports scene in Japan is alive and well on New Year’s Eve. December 31 has a long-standing tradition as a hotbed of action in Japan for MMA and kickboxing (and professional wrestling). After a few dormant years, the Japanese NYE tradition is back.
Leading the way is Rizin FF, headlined by the return of Fedor Emelianenko vs. an opponent yet to be announced. Today, Rizin announced more details on their three day extravaganza, set for December 29-31.
In one of the big Rizin fights, Japanese legends Bob Sapp and Akebono will meet in a rematch from their 2003 fight. That fight was one of the biggest in Japanese combat sports history, and was contested under K-1 rules with Sapp winning via 1st round KO. Today it was revealed that their rematch at Rizin would be contested under Shootboxing rules – for those unfamiliar with Japan’s Shootboxing organization, that means basically kickboxing, but takedowns and standing submissions are allowed (still no ground fighting). Sapp is 11-17 as a kickboxer and has not fought since 2013. Akebono is 1-8 in kickboxing, with no fights since 2006.
Also announced was King Mo’s opponent for the Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament – he’ll be taking on Brett McDermott. The 5-2 McDermott is representing BAMMA in this fight.
For kickboxing fans, they also added K-1 star Hiroya vs. Akiyo “Wicky” Nishiura in a good fight, plus one of the best fighters in Japan today, TAKERU, taking on Yang Ming.
Here’s the fight card so far:
RIZIN FF FIGHT CARD