Now that we've had a day to recover, it's back to the grind. RIZIN continues with Day 2 of its mega-event inside Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, featuring MMA, shootboxing, and kickboxing all in one package.
What happened on Day 1? Click here to find out.
In the main event, "The Last Emperor" himself, Fedor Emelianenko, squares off against former kickboxer Jaideep Singh, best known for knocking out Sergei Kharitonov. Spike TV will air this fight at 10 a.m. ET for those folks with access to the cable television network.
Other fights include Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) champ Gabi Garcia's MMA debut, Kron Gracie's second time in the four-ounce gloves, and a rematch between Bob Sapp and sumo legend Chad "Akebono" Rowan.
Yeah.
Besides that, we've got the conclusion of RIZIN's "heavyweight" grand prix. In the two semifinal bouts, Jiri Prochazka faces Vadim Nemkov and Muhammad "King Mo" Lawal takes on Teodoras Aukstuolis, with the winner of each squaring off later on the card.
In any case, results should start trickling in around 1:00 a.m. ET, and we've got LIVE round-by-round coverage below.
RIZIN 1 Quick Results
Heavyweight GP Final: Muhammad Lawal def. Jiri Prochazka by KO (punch) at 5:09 of Round One
265 lbs.: Fedor Emelianenko def. Jaideep Singh by submission (punches) at 3:02 of Round One
145 lbs.: Kron Gracie def. Asen Yamamoto by submission (triangle choke) at 4:58 of Round One
160 lbs.: Andy Souwer def. Yuichiro Nagashima by TKO (punches) at 5:28 of Round One
Openweight: Kaido Hoovelson def. Peter Aerts by unanimous decision
Shootboxing, Openweight: Bob Sapp def. Chad Rowan by technical decision
Openweight: Gabi Garcia def. Seini Draughn by TKO (backfist and punches) at 2:36 of Round One
K-1 Rules, 125 lbs.: TAKERU def. Yang Ming by TKO (punches) at 3:00 of Round Two
135 lbs.: Soo Chul Kim def. Maike Linhares by unanimous decision
180 lbs.: Brennan Ward def. Ken Hasegawa by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:52 of Round Two
Heavyweight GP Semi-Final: Jiri Prochazka def. Vadim Nemkov by TKO (exhaustion) at 10:00 of Round One
Heavyweight GP Semi-Final: Muhammad Lawal def. Teodoras Aukstuolis by unanimous decision
112 lbs.: Rena Kubota def. Jleana Valentino by submission (flying armbar) at 3:31 of Round Two
RIZIN Fighting Federation 1 Full Results:
Heavyweight GP Final: Muhammad Lawal vs. Jiri Prochazka
Round one: Lots of feinting from Prochazka early on, hard leg kick. He threatens a knee and falls short with a right hand. More low kicks, front kick misses. Prochazka with a body kick. One minute in. Jumping switch kick just misses, leg kicks continue. Mo's not checking these. Takedown attempt by Mo denied. Two minutes in. Prochazka keeping him at bay with kicks. Blast double from Mo and he lands in guard. Solid right hands from Mo. Three minutes in. Mo still landing hard punches and hammerfists, which Prochazka is now wearing. Four minutes in. Prochazka kicks him off and stands, firing a high kick as he does. Lawal level change denied. Five minutes to go.
Prochazka chases after him and Mo destroys him with a counter right. Prochazka goes down face-first and King Mo has won the grand prix.
Final result: Lawal def. Prochazka by KO (punch)
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Fedor Emelianenko vs. Jaideep Singh
Round one: Singh throwing the jab early on the shorter Fedor. Fedor steps into the clinch and gets double underhooks. He's stymied by the ropes and Singh circles out. Fedor blitzes him with hard punches and grabs the rear waistlock, then takes him down and moves to side control. Singh nearly gives up his back as Fedor works ground-and-pound. Two minutes in. Nasty punches by The Last Emperor. Full mount now. Singh just holding on as tightly as he can. Fedor makes some space and clubs him with right hands until Singh submits to strikes.
Final result: Emelianenko def. Singh by submission (punches)
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Kron Gracie vs. Asen Yamamoto
Round one: Lots of movement from Yamamoto early on. Side kick to the body. Straight lefts from Gracie and he ties up, clocking Yamamoto with right hands. Counter right from Yamamoto, left from Gracie. They both land shots in the clinch. Dirty boxing by Gracie in the corner. Yamamoto looking for knes to the body. One minute in. Yamamoto shucks him off. Right hand just misses. Gracie pulls guard with a flying armbar. Solid defense by Yamamoto but Gracia winds up on top in side control. Yamamoto sweeps into guard and Kron immediately works for a triangle. Yamamoto snuffs it out. He stands and they resume on the feet. 2-3 by Tamamoto. More dirty boxing on both sides. Nice outside trip by Gracie into side control. Kron slips into mount, Yamamoto sweeps into top position. Great scrambles. Gracie looking for the triangle/armbar. Yamamoto tries to stack him and gets his arm free. GRacie slaps on a tighter triangle this time and Yamamoto's attempt to slam his way free is not successful Submission win for Kron Gracie.
Final result: Gracie def. Yamamoto by submission (triangle choke)
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Andy Souwer vs. Yuichiro Nagashima
Round one: Low kick from Souwer early on. Overhand right lands, then a glancing knee. Nagashima to the body. Another good inside low kick trips Nagashima up. Another one. Lead right and they trade in the clinch until Souwer falls to his back. One mintue in. Souwer looking for deep half guard, can't get it. Tries to regain guard, same result. Now he manages to get full guard. Two minutes in. Nagashima stands over him and kicks at his legs, then tries a stomp. Souwer kicks him off, then rips into him with power punches. Nagashima hits a slick entry into a heel hook, but doesn't seem to have it. Souwer takes top position. Hard ground-and-pound from Souwer. Knees to the head. Four minutes in. Souwer continuing to do damage from the top. Nagashima gets half guard. Brutal knees by Souwer when Nagashima tries to work his way up. Five minutes in.
Souwer stands over him and misses with a stomp, then pulverizes Nagashima with a precise and brutal combination when "Jienotsu" gets back to his feet. Nagashima goes down and Souwer gets the TKO stoppage in his MMA debut.
Final result: Souwer def. Nagashima by TKO (punches)
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Peter Aerts vs. Kaido Hoovelson
Round one: Hoovelson basically just barrels into Aerts, avoiding a flurry of punches and taking him down into half guard in the corner. Hoovelson basically just going nuts with right hands while Aerts, halfway through the ropes, grabs onto them. They restart closer to the center and Hoovelson takes side control. Hoovelson looking for north-south. He might actually be trying the choke. He is! Aw, he didn't get it. Still trying, though. He keeps going for the north-south choke until the bell. Hoovelson ahead after one.
Round two: Hoovelson wades into the clinch and hits an inside trip, only for Aerts to wind up on top in mount. Hoovelson gives up his back and Aerts goes for the RNC, but fails to put in his hooks and gets reversed into guard. One minute in. Aerts looks for an armbar and Hoovelson uses that to pass. This is actually kind of entertaining in a messed-up way. Aerts slips out and they're basically both in the other's front headlock. Hoovelson gets up and a rope break restarts them in the center. Right hand by Aerts, Hoovelson bungles a head-and-arm throw but still winds up on top. He somehow fails to realize he's in position for an arm-triangle and instead tries to hammerfist the snot out of Aerts until the bell. Still Hoovelson.
Round three: Aerts catches him with a right hand coming in but can't stop the bear hug. Hoovelson hits an inside trip against the turnbuckle and they move them towards the center. One minute in, full guard. Hoovelson passes to half guard. Hoovelson whacking away to the body. Ref stands them up with a little under a minute to go. Aerts gets tied up and taken down with an outside trip right away. Round ends in guard. Should be a UD for Hoovelson.
Final result: Hoovelson def. Aerts by unanimous decision
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Shootboxing: Chad Rowan vs. Bob Sapp
Round one: Akebono pushing forward, forces Sapp to the ropes until the ref separates them. Sapp fires off a combination and Akebono again just lugs him over to the ropes. He actually tries to kick and it is not pretty. They separate again and stare at each other for a bit. Something happened, but I can't tell what. Looks like a cut on Akebono. Eventually, they restart and Akebono shoves Sapp to the ground. Sapp swinging away with wide hooks while Akebono just pushes him around. Akebono just pressing Sapp against the ropes and trying to throw one-handed punches. There's a whole legion of doctors surrounding Akebono to deal with the cut behind his ear. What even. Sapp swings away in the last few seconds. 10-9 Sapp?
Round two: They're STILL trying to mess with the cut. It's not even in a bad spot. What are they doing and why should I care. They finale resume and the same thing happens again. Akabono pressing him against the ropes and eating looping punches from Sapp. Sapp cracking him with right hands over and over while Akebono just leans on him. Now Akebono's bleeding again and they pause the fight again. For God's sake, it feels like they've already spent twenty minutes on this stupid fight. Apparently it's over?
Oh my God, I stayed up until four in the goddamn morning to watch this garbage.
Final result: Sapp def. Rowan by technical decision
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Gabi Garcia vs. Seini Draughn
Round one: Draughn tosses out left hands to start and manages to drop Garcia. The Brazilian makes it to her feet and flails a bit before recovering. Garcia eats another hard left hand while trying to clinch. One minute in. Garcia wades into the clinch, lands some swatting punches. Her technique on the feet is just plain horrid. Draughn's isn't much better but at least she has a rudimentary idea of how to punch. Decent shots by Garcia on the ropes. Two minutes in. Garcia drops her hard with a backfist and quickly pounds her out from half guard. That was...interesting.
Final result: Garcia def. Draughn by TKO (backfist and punches)
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K-1 Rules: TAKERU vs. Yang Ming
Round one: They trade kicks in the early going. Both men go to the legs. Yang with a body kick. TAKERU with punches inside, Yang warned for holding. One minute in. Yang warned again for holding. Teeps from TAKERU, then a solid right hand. Yang looking for combinations, eats a knee to the body. Big knee and right hands by TAKERU. Good punching exchanging and Yang backs him off with a hard left hook. One minute to go. Counter hook by Yang. Right hands and a low kick by TAKERU. They trade power hands. Lead right by TAKERU. Another lead right. He connects with a knee and some hard punches before the bell. 10-9 TAKERU.
Round two: Both men throwing fast punches in the early going. TAKERU looks like he has the edge in power, but Yang is getting in his licks. Solid knee by TAKERU. Glancing head kick by TAKERU, then a 1-2, knee, right hand. Clinch. Hard knee to the body, left hook upstairs. One minute in. Clinch. TAKERU starting to take over with power combinations. Yang eats another hard right straight, knee, left hook. He's landing single shots but can't keep up with TAKERU. TAKERU goes downstairs. Jumping knee, straight right. Brutal combiantion work by TAKERU. One minute to go. TAKERU continuing to walk him down. Yang backs him off with a counter right. Vicious body shots by the Japanese star. Big left hook nearly takes Yang off his feet and a right hand leaves him held up by the ropes. Yang waits until the count of eight to turn around, but the ref calls it anyway. Early stoppage, but TAKERU had taken over.
Final result: TAKERU def. Yang by TKO (punches)
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Soo Chul Kim vs. Maike Linhares
Round one: Kim comes out aggressively and grabs the Thai plum when Linhares shoots. They exchange knees to the body against the ropes. Linhares gets him down to his knees in the corner. Kim makes it up and both men dig to the body inside. One minute in. Knees to the thigh from Kim. Linhares looks for a single-leg, can't get it before the ref separates them. Body kick by Linhares and they again trade knees. Kim's seem harder. Two minutes in. Body shots by Linhares met by a low kick. Kim again enters the clinch and goes to work with knees to the thigh until the ref splits them up. Linhares tries a spinning back fist, ties up. Three minutes in. Linhares still looking for a takedown, eating knees from Kim while not landing as many in return. More knees by Kim to the legs and body. Four minutes in. The ref separates them. Linhares tries a head kick, gets put back in the clinch and subjected to further knees. Linhares nearly hits a trip but Kim rolls through and stands. Kim keeping up the attrition. Five minutes in.
Ref separation, back to the clinch and the knees continue to pile up. Four minutes to go. Another ref separation. Kim changes levels and runs the pipe with a single-leg. Linhares catches an attempted soccer kick and stands, only to get tied up again. Three minutes to go. More knees; Kim given a yellow card for inactivity, not sure if I agree with that. Kim shoots in and completes another single-leg. Linhares scrambles back to his feet. Kim catches a body kick and Linhares completes a takedown, which Kim quickly stands from. Two minutes to go. Clinching against the turnbuckle. Ref separates them. Back to the clinch right away. One minute to go. More knees from both sides until the ref separates them. Right hand by Linhares, clinch again. Kim winning thus far.
Round two: They come out swinging, then clinch within ten seconds. Linhares looks for a low-single, eats a knee as Kim defends. Body kick by Kim, clinch again. One minute in. Kim lands a good left straight before re-entering the clinch. Kim given another yellow card for inactivity. Linhares comes out with a teep and nearly trips over himself trying to spin. Back to the clinch again. Two minutes in. Linhares shoots, more clinching. Kim changes levels and completes a double-leg into guard. Hard punches by the Korean. Two minutes to go.
Soccer kick and knees by Kim on the way up. He completes another takedown. More solid punches and he passes to side control. Soccer kicks on the way up, then he dumps Linhares once again. One minute to go. Kim looks for a flying stomp. More soccer kicks as they stand. Kim scores yet another takedown before the bell. Kim way ahead.
Round three: Kim comes out looking for takedowns, gets one quickly. Ground-and-pound from the former ONE champ. Nasty left hand as he passes. One minute in. Kim makes it to mount and starts dropping shots. Linhares manages to roll free and block a soccer kick, only to get taken down yet again. Hammerfists by Kim. Two minutes in. Linhares tries to invert without siccess. Kim looking for mount again, can't get it. Two minutes to go.
Solid soccer kick from Kim and Linhares tries to shoot. Kim eventually winds up on his back against the ropes. Linhares looks to take the back. No dice but he does keep top position. One minute to go. Half guard for Linhares. He falls back for a desperation leglock, can't get it and eats soccer kicks. Kim ducks a spinning back fist for one final takedown. Should be a win for Kim.
Final result: Kim def. Linhares by unanimous decision
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Brennan Ward vs. Ken Hasegawa
Round one: Ward wearing shoes, so he is not allowed to kick. Body kick and left hand by Hasegawa, who changes levels and grabs a bodylock against the ropes. Ward defending well thus far and the ref breaks them up. Head kick attempt, left hand lands for Hasegawa. Counter hook and counter right by Ward. Another counter right seems to rattle Hasegawa, who comes back with a hard right of his own and looks for a takedown. Hasegawa looking for the single-leg. He completes it, but Ward manages to reverse and slap on a guillotine. Good scramble and a knee by Ward on the way up. Hard right hand by Hasegawa. Ward ties up and takes Hasegawa to the ropes, where my stream crashes. When it comes back, there's in the center of the ring trading punches. Ward looks for a takedown, countered by the whizzer. Four minutes in. MASSIVE counter hook by Ward melts Hasegawa, but the Japanese veteran shoots in and takes him down into half guard. Haswgawa pinning down an arm with his shin, takes side control. Elbows by Hasegawa. Five minutes in.
Hasegawa landing knees to the head from side control, plus elbows. He moves to north-south and lands another knee before returning to side. Four minutes to go. Ward gives up turtle position but manages to stand, only to get slammed down once more. Ward trying to stand with the turnbuckle, nearly falls through the ropes and they separate them. Three minutes to go. They resume on their feet in the center and Hasegawa quickly shoots again. Ward defending against the ropes. Two minutes to go. Ward still defending the takedown and the ref separates them. Ward just slinging right hands and manages to hurt Hasegawa. Hasegawa shoots and Ward reverses into side control. Big right hand by Ward and Hasegawa scrambles out of a ninja choke, taking side control. Hasegawa drops a right hand and lets him stand before the bell. Hasegawa winning thus far.
Round two: Ward sprawls on an early shot and again looks for a guillotine. Hasegawa tries a high-crotch, denied by the ropes. He manages to throw Ward down, but Wardd stands and hits a lovely sacrifice throw in return. Hasegawa makes it up and Ward again takes top position. One minute in. Hasegawa gives up his back and Ward goes palm-to-palm with the RNC, flattening Hasegawa out and drawing the tap.
Final result: Ward def. Hasegawa by submission (rear-naked choke)
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Heavyweight GP Semifinal: Jiri Prochazka vs. Vadim Nemkov
Round one: Nemkov aggressive early, tossing out kicks and punches. Low kicks from Prochazka in return. Hard right hand catches Nemkov as h changes levels, but he manages to slam Prochazka down. Prochazka turns into him and Nemkov locks up a guillotine. Nice scramble ensues and they return to their feet. Nemkov hits another takedown when Prochazka tries to advance. Full guard. Prochazka looks for an armbar. Two minutes in. Nemkov stacking him, staying out of danger. He pulls up and manages to slip his elbow free, then comes down punching. Fun fight thus far. Nice punches by Nemkov. Three minutes in. Prochazka tries to toss up his legs for an armbar and eats a barrage of punches. Nemkov passes to side control, which allows Prochazka to stand. Prochazka tosses out front kicks, eats a glancing head kick in return. Nemkov with a spinning back kick and straight right. Four minutes in. Nemkov shoots again but this time, Prochazka reverses into mount. Nemkov gives up his back and Prochazka slips in both hooks. Five minutes in.
Nemkov dislodges a hook, Prochazka gets it back and looks to isolate an arm. Nemkov manages to turn back into his guard, then postures up and drops punches until Prochazka stands. Hard punches on both sides. Nemkov shoots and narrowly avoids the reversal, landing in mount himself. Nemkov moving his mount higher. Might be looking for an arm. S-mount now and he falls back for the armbar. Three minutes to go. Great defense by Prochazka and he winds up on top. Terrific fight thus far. Prochazka stands and lands a stomp. Soccer kick and diving right hand, landing in side control. Two minutes to go. Full mount for Jiri Prochazka, then the back. He's looking for the choke but can't get it under the chin. One minute to go. Nemkov scrambles through and takes side control. North-south now. Prochazka just avoids a soccer kick as he stands up. Nice punching exchange. Hard knee by Prochazka. Nemkov's level changes don't look great. Prochazka looks for a flying knee and gets taken down at the bell. Neither man is going to have anything left for Mo, but what a fight.
Vadim Nemkov cannot continue. Jiri Prochazka advances to the finals to face King Mo.
Final result: Prochazka def. Nedkov by TKO (exhaustion)
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Heavyweight GP Semifinal: Muhammad Lawal vs. Teodoras Aukstuolis
Round one: Mo wearing wrestling shoes for this fight. They trade jabs. Nice 1-2 by Aukstuolis. Aukstuolis tries to advance and Mo changes levels, chaining his way to a rear waistlock. Aukstuolis repeatedly grabs the ropes to defend and successfully does so, circling off. Crisp hook from the Lithuanian. Mo's jab has some heat behind it. Hard counter right by Mo met by a left hook; Aukstuolis' shiner is not looking good. Two minutes in. Double jab from Mo. Aukstuolis answers in kind after a bit. Hard lead uppercut lands for Mo, three minutes in. Almost all boxing so far, favoring Lawal. Jabbing the body, then back upstairs. 1-1-2 lands for him. Check hook. Four minutes in. Aukstuolis falls short with a left hook, lands a counter jab. Mo waves him on. Another stiff jab from Mo, who weaves away from a counter combination. Five minutes in.
Aukstuolis' hair is flaring up every time Mo jabs him; kinda mesmerizing. Lead right connects for King Mo, then a solid body shot. Four minutes to go. Mo doing work with the jab, eats a left hand as they exchange. Mo continues to taunt him. Mo nearly ducks into an uppercut, continues owning the fight with his jab. He shoots in, can't complete it. Three minutes to go. Yet more stiff jabs, right hand behind one. Lead hook connects amidst the jabs. Two minutes to go. Aukstuolis lands a hook around the guard, his first decent shot in a while. Hard right cross by Mo. 1-3 lands for the American, glancing right by Aukstuolis in return. One minute to go. Mo digs to the body. 1-2-3 by Aukstuolis, nothing clean. All Lawal thus far.
Round two: Aukstuolis lands a body shot early. Still no answer for King Mo's jab. 1-2 connects for the Lithuanian, who's now putting together decent shots. Mo shoots in and slams him to the mat, but can't keep him there. One minute in. Back to the jabs. Mo's won this fight thus far almost entirely with the jab and solid defense. Mo goes for a single-leg and sweeps Aukstuolis to the mat. Full guard. Two minutes in. Mo landing some solid ground-and-pound. Aukstuolis just trying to control his wrists. Two minutes to go.
Mo alternating between whacking away with short punches and diving into guard with bigger bombs. These are hard punches by Mo, who passes to half guard. One minute to go. Aukstuolis scrambles up, Mo dumps him right back down and takes side control. Dominant performance by Lawal.
Final result: Lawal def. Aukstuolis by unanimous decision
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Rena Kubota vs. Jleana Valentino
Round one: Alright, let's get this show on the road.
Valentino hopping around, light on her feet. Rena flicks out a low kick. Slow start to the fight as Valentino maintains distance. Counter left by the Italian. Low kick lands. One minute in. Rena tries to pressure, can't. Kicks from Rena and a right up top. She catches a body kick and takes Valentino down, landing in scarfhold. Side control now. Valentino kicks her off, eats punches on the way back up. Straight left and body kick from Valentino. Two minutes in. High kick by Rena, then a nice counter combo. They trade left hands. Low kicks by Kubota, Valentino catches one. Two minutes to go.
Rena looking for long kicks, eats a left straight and comes back with a 1-2. Brief clinch, Valentino lands a hook on the exit. Whiffed spinning back fist. Counters by Valentino off a caught kick. Nice punches by the Italian. Rena locks up and hits a head-and-arm throw in response. One minute to go. Valentino again kicks her off before she can get much done. Straight lefts connect for Valentino. She's getting the better of the striking thus far. I have her up at the end of the round.
Round two: Kick exchange to start. Rena tries to go high. Low kick exchange. Glancing head kick from Rena. Counter hook lands for her after taking a straight. One minute in. Valentino still finding success at range, connects with more left hands. Rena looking to counter but getting beaten to the punch. Body kick and left hand again for Valentino. Good combination by the Italian. Rena rushes and pulls guard, but can't sweep into top position before they stand. Two minutes in. Rena eats a right hook, then hits another head-and-arm throw into scarfhold. Valentino makes space and stands once more. They tie up and Rena goes for a flying armbar. Valentino not defending properly and that costs her the fight. Great submission by Rena Kubota
Final result: Kubota def. Valentino by submission (flying armbar)
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