RIZIN 19 went down Saturday morning (in the west), and fans of the Japanese MMA promotion were given quite a treat. The launch of the Lightweight Grand Prix saw a number of exciting fights transpire, including Patricky Pitbull vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri. That ended with a flying knee by Brazil’s Pitbull, and some follow-up strikes to seal the deal.

It was far from the only finish Saturday. Osaka fans got to witness finishes in all four of the grand prix quarterfinal bouts. Johnny Case ended Roberto Satoshi Souza’s night in a finishing sequence including a soccer kick. Tofiq Musayev put Damien Brown down with a head kick. Luis Gustavo won via doctor’s stoppage.

In fact only two fights on the entire RIZIN 19 card went to decisions, both kickboxing contests.

The main event between Jiri Prochazka and Fabio Maldonado, meanwhile, ended with Prochazka finishing the Brazilian pugilist in under two minutes. Kai Asakura, making a short turnaround, was also victorious. He walked away with a TKO after Ulka Sasaki suffered a jaw injury in their co-main event fight.

Check below for a gallery of highlights featuring all of the night’s action, courtesy of RIZIN FF. Visit our RIZIN 19 live coverage page for full results.

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RIZIN Fighting Federation is in action this weekend, with the opening round of their lightweight grand prix. RIZIN 19 is part of an action-packed two days for MMA fans, with the UFC, Bellator MMA, PFL, ONE Championship, and RIZIN all hosting events.

Weigh-ins for RIZIN 19 at the Edion Arena in Osaka, Japan went down Friday. Results are below.

RIZIN 19 Weigh-In Results:

Jiri Prochazka (97.90kg / 215.8lb) vs. Fabio Maldonado (99.85kg / 220.1lb)
Kai Asakura (60.85kg / 134.2lb vs. Ulka Sasaki (60.80kg / 134.0lb)
Miyuu Yamamoto (48.95kg / 107.9lb) vs. Seo Hee Ham (48.95kg / 107.9lb)
RENA (50.70kg / 111.8lb) vs. Alexandra Alvare (49.80kg / 109.8lb)

Johnny Case (70.95kg / 156.4lb) vs. Roberto Satoshi Souza (70.70kg / 155.9lb) – Lightweight Grand Prix Opening Round
Patricky “Pitbull” Freire (70.90kg / 156.3lb) vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri (70.90kg / 156.3lb) – Lightweight Grand Prix Opening Round
Luiz Gustavo (70.55kg / 155.5lb) vs. Hiroto Uesako (70.80kg / 156.1lb) – Lightweight Grand Prix Opening Round
Tofiq Musayev (70.60kg / 155.6lb) vs. Damien Brown (70.70kg / 155.9lb) – Lightweight Grand Prix Opening Round

K-Taro Nakamura (76.95kg / 169.6lb) vs. Marcos Yoshio (76.90kg / 169.5lb)
Taiju Shiratori (61.90kg / 136.5lb) vs. (Taiga：62.00 / 136.7lb)
HIROYA (76.20kg / 167.9lb) vs. (Takuma Konishi：76.85kg / 169.4lb)
Shoma Sibisai (107.40kg / 236.8lb) vs. Chang Hee Kim (163.25kg / 359.9lb)
Seiki Ueyama (56.00kg / 123.5lb) vs. Taisei Umei (56.00kg / 123.5lb)

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RIZIN Fighting Federation has officially announced its next show, RIZIN 19. On Wednesday, the Japanese MMA promotion and heir apparent to PRIDE distributed a press release unveiling the key players on the card, which will take place October 12 at the Edion Arena in Osaka, Japan. Among them, Bellator mainstay Patricky Pitbull, who will take part in the lightweight grand prix. And the debut of light heavyweight Fabio Maldonado, who had returned to the boxing world of late.

In addition to Pitbull (21-8), the RIZIN lightweight grand prix will consist of Johnny Case (26-6-1), Luiz Gustavo (9-1), Tatsuya Kawajiri (37-13-2), Tofiq Musaev (15-3), Roberto de Souza (9-0), Damien Brown (19-12) and Hiroto Uesako (16-7). Opening round match-ups have yet to be determined, and will be announced at a later date.

Maldonado (25-13), meanwhile, will be making his debut for the Japanese promotion against light heavyweight champ Jiri Prochazka (24-3-1). Prochazka won the title against King Mo back in April at RIZIN 15.

Also on the card, former UFC fighter Keita Nakamura (34-10-2) will make his RIZIN debut opposite BJJ ace Marcos Sauza (8-1). Rena Kubota returns as well, taking on Canada’s Shawna Ram (1-0), who will be in just her second pro fight.

Korea’s Seo Hee Ham, another UFC alum, will also be appearing, opposite Miyuu Yamamoto.

The post RIZIN 19 Announced, Including Lightweight Grand Prix Participants, Debut of Fabio Maldonado appeared first on Cageside Press.

Cageside Press will bring you live results from the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, Ontario for Lee Baxter Promotions annual The Takeover event on Friday, March 29, 2019. It’s boxing with a little MMA twist sprinkled in, as former UFC light heavyweight Fabio Maldonado, who has fought both Stipe Miocic and Fedor Emelianenko throughout his career, steps in the ring Friday night.

Maldonado had an excellent career in boxing prior to setting foot in the octagon, and though he fought as recently as last year in MMA (and served as an FNG champion for a time), he has also returned to the sweet science since his release from the UFC. Now 26-1 as a boxer, he meets Oleksandr Teslenko at The Takeover.

Lee Baxter Promotions — The Takeover Full Results:

*records will be updated as the fights conclude

Tanja Ovsenik (2-0-0) def. Gisela Noemi Luna (0-3-0) via unanimous decision (39-37, 40-36, 40-36).

Oleksandr Voytenko (3-0-0) def. Adrian Arenas (4-8-0) via TKO (1:46) in round three.

Ross Mylet (5-0-0) def. Alejandro Palomero (8-5-1) via unanimous decision (57-56, 57-56, 57-56).

Nick Fantauzzi (8-0-0) def. Maximiliano Agustin Corso (6-3-1) via unanimous decision (58-56, 58-56, 58-56).

Amanda Galle (1-0) def. Perla Esmeralda Rojas (1-5-0) via unanimous decision (39-37, 40-36, 40-36)

Patrice Volny (14-0-0) def. Nicolas Holocapfel (10-1) via corner stoppage at the end of round two.

Oleksandr Teslenko (16-0-0) def. Fabio Maldonado (26-2-0) via unanimous decision (98-92, 98-92, 98-92).

Custio Clayton (16-0-0) def. Demarcus Corely (51-33-1) via TKO (0:37) in round six.

Main event: Stanyslav Skorokhod (18-2-0) def. Jose Luis Zuniga (16-4-1) via knockout (1:16) in the second round.

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Fight Nights Global has been putting together some solid cards as of late. It appears the promotion’s debut in Brazil will be no exception. In advance of today’s FNG 85 (featuring controversial ex-UFC submission specialist Rousimar Phalares), the promotion has announced that FNG 87 will feature current light heavyweight champion Fabio Maldonado taking on Nikita Krylov. That card takes place May 5 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

🔥🇧🇷FIGHT NIGHTS GL0BAL 87

🗓May 5. ⏰5:00 p.m.

📌 Sao Paulo. "Corinthians". pic.twitter.com/uWsO1hUNQi

— FIGHT NIGHTS GLOBAL (@fngmma) March 28, 2018

Maldonado (24–11), also a professional boxer, is a native of Sao Paulo who was popular with UFC fans for his unrelenting style. Moving up in weight to fight future champion Stipe Miocic, and essentially taking on all comers, Maldonado spent five years in the promotion before his eventual release. Overall, the undefeated boxer went 5-6 in the company. Post-UFC, he signed on with FNG, and immediately faced heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko. The controversial fight was seen by many as being won by Maldonado; questionable reffing and an even more questionable result was eventually appealed by the fighter. The world mixed martial arts association later ruled the fight a draw, a decision not recognized by the Russian MMA union, who oversaw the bout.

The Brazilian has won his last two fights, capturing the vacant FNG light heavyweight title against Kurban Omarov in September. Now, he’ll face Nikita Krylov, one of the best light heavyweights not currently signed by a major promotion.

Krylov’s exit from the UFC was one of the bigger defections in recent years. After starting his career in the promotion at heavyweight, he dropped down to 205lbs and immediately made an impact. Moving into the top ten in the division, Krylov went on a five fight win streak between 2015 and 2016. He’d eventually suffer a loss to Misha Cirkunov, then depart the company in early 2017. The move shocked many; Krylov, for his part, stated a desire to compete closer to his home in the Ukraine.

That saw him fighting under the FNG banner. The former UFC star won all three of his bouts in 2017, including a KO (via knee) finish of former Bellator MMA 205lb champ Emanuel Newton. Now, he’s got a shot at a title against Maldonado, albeit in enemy territory in Maldonado’s native Brazil.

FNG 87 takes place at the Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo, Brazil on May 5.

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