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    RIZIN Fighting Federation: History, Weight Classes, How to Watch (2026)

    Guide to RIZIN Fighting Federation, Japan's leading MMA and kickboxing promotion and modern successor to PRIDE: history, divisions, and how to watch.

    RIZIN Fighting Federation is Japan's largest combat sports promotion and the most prominent modern successor to the legendary PRIDE Fighting Championships, which dominated MMA in the early 2000s before its 2007 collapse and acquisition. Founded in 2015 and based in Tokyo, RIZIN stages mixed martial arts in a circular ring rather than a cage, alongside kickboxing bouts contested under K-1-style rules. Major cards, including the annual New Year's Eve event and the RIZIN Landmark series, take place across Japan, with marquee shows held at venues such as the Saitama Super Arena and the Tokyo Dome.

    History

    RIZIN was founded in 2015 by Nobuyuki Sakakibara, the former president of Dream Stage Entertainment, the company behind PRIDE. After PRIDE was sold to Zuffa in 2007 and Japanese MMA largely fragmented across promotions such as Sengoku, Dream, and Pancrase, Sakakibara assembled investors and broadcasters to launch a flagship promotion that would revive the spectacle of PRIDE for a new generation. The first event, RIZIN Fighting World Grand Prix 2015 IZA: Saraba no Toki, took place on 29 and 31 December 2015 at the Saitama Super Arena, headlined by a one-night openweight tournament featuring Fedor Emelianenko's return to Japan.

    In its early years RIZIN leaned heavily on PRIDE nostalgia and signed many returning veterans, including Fedor Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop, Wanderlei Silva, and King Mo Lawal, alongside Japanese stars such as Kazushi Sakuraba, Takanori Gomi, and Tenshin Nasukawa. The promotion's New Year's Eve cards quickly re-established themselves as a Japanese television tradition, drawing major viewership on Fuji TV and later other partners. Tenshin Nasukawa's exhibition kickboxing bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr. at RIZIN 14 on 31 December 2018 brought the promotion unprecedented global attention.

    Weight classes

    RIZIN's MMA weight classes broadly mirror international standards but include several Japanese-style lighter divisions:

    • Atomweight: 49 kg / 108 lb — Kanna Asakura, Ayaka Hamasaki, Seika Izawa
    • Strawweight: 52 kg / 115 lb — Rena Kubota
    • Flyweight: 57 kg / 126 lb — Kai Asakura, Kyoji Horiguchi, Makoto Takahashi
    • Bantamweight: 61 kg / 135 lb — Kyoji Horiguchi, Hiromasa Ougikubo, Juan Archuleta
    • Featherweight: 66 kg / 145 lb — Mikuru Asakura, Kleber Koike Erbst, Vugar Karamov
    • Lightweight: 71 kg / 156 lb — Tofiq Musayev, Roberto Souza, Patricky Pitbull
    • Welterweight: 77 kg / 170 lb — Yusuke Yachi, Johnny Case
    • Middleweight: 84 kg / 185 lb — Kyle Aguon, Jiri Prochazka (former champion before moving to UFC)
    • Light Heavyweight: 93 kg / 205 lb — Jiri Prochazka, Jake Heun
    • Heavyweight: over 93 kg / over 205 lb — Roque Martinez, Tsuyoshi Sudario

    How to watch

    In Japan, RIZIN events are broadcast by Fuji TV and other terrestrial partners depending on the card, with full streams available on Abema and U-NEXT. Internationally, RIZIN has historically streamed events on its own RIZIN.tv platform and on partner services. In the United States, RIZIN cards have streamed on TrillerTV (formerly FITE TV), and select co-promoted events with Bellator MMA were available on Showtime in the US and DAZN internationally. The annual 31 December show usually carries the widest international distribution of any RIZIN card.

    Notable champions and influential fighters

    • Kyoji Horiguchi — Two-division RIZIN champion at flyweight and bantamweight; also a former Bellator champion
    • Tenshin Nasukawa — Generational Japanese kickboxer; undefeated in kickboxing before transitioning to professional boxing in 2023
    • Mikuru Asakura — Former featherweight tournament winner and one of Japan's biggest crossover stars
    • Kai Asakura — Mikuru's younger brother and former RIZIN bantamweight champion
    • Roberto "Satoshi" Souza — Brazilian-Japanese lightweight champion known for his elite jiu-jitsu
    • Kleber Koike Erbst — Brazilian-Japanese featherweight champion with a long submission-heavy win streak
    • Tofiq Musayev — Azerbaijani lightweight Grand Prix winner with knockout power
    • Seika Izawa — Dominant atomweight champion regarded as one of the best women's MMA fighters in Asia

    RIZIN's blend of ring-based MMA, K-1 kickboxing, Japanese spectacle, and Grand Prix tournaments offers something distinct from the cage-based promotions in North America.

    الأسئلة الشائعة

    Is RIZIN really the successor to PRIDE?

    RIZIN was founded in 2015 by Nobuyuki Sakakibara, the former president of Dream Stage Entertainment, the company that owned PRIDE Fighting Championships before its 2007 sale to Zuffa. Many early RIZIN events featured returning PRIDE-era stars such as Fedor Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop, Wanderlei Silva, and Kazushi Sakuraba, and the promotion deliberately revived PRIDE traditions including the annual New Year's Eve card, openweight Grand Prix tournaments, and ring-based MMA rather than a cage. While RIZIN does not own the PRIDE trademark, it is widely regarded as PRIDE's spiritual and organizational successor in Japan.

    Why does RIZIN use a ring instead of a cage?

    RIZIN uses a circular roped ring rather than a cage primarily to preserve the visual identity of Japanese MMA, which has been ring-based since the days of Shooto, Pancrase, and PRIDE in the 1990s and 2000s. The ring affects strategy in several ways: fighters can fall through the ropes, prompting referee resets that interrupt ground sequences and clinches, and wall-and-stall tactics common in cage MMA are harder to execute. Some fighters thrive in this environment, while others accustomed to the cage take time to adjust.

    When is RIZIN's New Year's Eve event?

    RIZIN's flagship annual card is held every 31 December in Japan, continuing a tradition pioneered by PRIDE and K-1 in the early 2000s when Japanese terrestrial networks aired competing combat sports specials on New Year's Eve. The card usually takes place at the Saitama Super Arena or another major Tokyo-area venue and typically features RIZIN's biggest fights of the year, often including title bouts, Grand Prix finals, and superfights against international stars.

    How can I watch RIZIN outside Japan?

    Outside Japan, RIZIN events have historically streamed on the promotion's own RIZIN.tv platform and on TrillerTV, formerly known as FITE TV, in the United States and many other markets. Selected co-promoted cards with Bellator MMA, before Bellator's 2024 sale to the Professional Fighters League, aired on Showtime in the US and DAZN internationally. The annual 31 December event tends to receive the broadest international distribution of any RIZIN card.