πππππππππ πΊπΈπ―π΅
Bellator MMA and @tweet
Introducing the biggest promotion of the summer! π₯ What fight are you most excited about?
#bilatorxerizin 2 | Sunday, July 30 | π Saitama Super Arena
pic.twitter.com/0y1v3TzUMe– Bellator MMA (BellatorMMA)
May 27, 2023
Bellator MMA and the Rizin Fighting Federation have worked well in recent years, and that relationship will continue with a dual promotion event in Japan on July 30th.
Unlike the previous iteration on New Year’s Eve, the upcoming card will consist of two separate events, with Bellator’s bouts taking place in a cage and Rizin’s fights taking place in a ring. However, it is rare to see two promotions working in such a collaborative manner in this day and age. According to Bellator President Scott Coker, it should revolutionize the sport.
“It’s unbelievable,” Cocker said at a press conference to promote the upcoming event. βThe last time I saw [Rizin president] Nobuyuki Sakakibara, we were in Paris together for a fight two weeks ago. We had a press conference at the Eiffel Tower which I thought was incredible until I saw the crowd here today. This is really cool. When I think of mixed martial arts, I always think of Japan. This was really Mecca, when I was growing up as a promoter, all eyes were on Japan, all the best fighters in the world fought here.
“One day I said, ‘I’m going to go over there and we’re going to do some work together when I get into the mixed martial arts business,’ so when Sakakibara came back, I was really excited that we could do things like I’m going to do it on July 30th, something that hadn’t been done before where Two organizations coming together to create one fan show that’s going to be truly amazing. I really feel like this has to be the future of mixed martial arts.”
The featured match for the Bellator portion of the card is the Lightweight Grand Prix clash between AJ McKee and Patricky Freire. Additionally, Kyoji Horiguchi would meet Makoto Takahasi for the inaugural Bellator flyweight crown. On Reisen’s side, Juan Archuleta will face Kai Asakura for the Japanese organization’s bantamweight title.
“We could have brought this anywhere in the world,” Cocker said of the Grand Prix competition. “We thought about doing it in Los Angeles or doing it in New York but [Sakakibara] And our dialogue continued, we thought this was the perfect fight for Japan. AJ would call me every week asking “when do I fight”, but we had to wait a month and it got better. I think fans in Japan will have a great show on July 30th.”
Cocker praised Sakakibara for allowing Bellator to team with Rizin in a doubles home event.
“On July 30, you’ll see Dorian, and I want to thank Nobuyuki Sakakibara for letting us come here and be a part of this,” Coker said. βHe really doesn’t have to.β He was a great leader… I would say he would go on to be one of the greatest fight promoters of all time.
βHe’s been a great mentor to me, even though he doesn’t know it, so any chance I have of coming here to work with him I always say yes. We’ve been planning this event for the past four months and we’re going to do something really cool at Saitama Super Arena on the 30th. July. I’m looking forward to having a great fight with my fighters, and it’s going to be a fun event to watch.”