RIZIN announced the switch in a press conference held Friday. RIZIN FF chief Nobuyuki Sakakibara said of the change that “it’s very unfortunate about Dan Henderson, but I’m very excited to have Frank Shamrock come to Japan and step in our ring.”

“Frank Shamrock is one of the fighters that never crossed paths with Pride” he explained. “Even though there was a lot of talk, a lot of rumors, he was definitely one of the fighters that never stepped in the Pride ring. So I’m very excited to see how he’s going to [perform]. Hopefully Frank sticks around.”

You can catch the press conference below.

Sakuraba (26–17–1 (2)), who was recently inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, returned to MMA in December 2015 under the RIZIN banner, losing to Shinya Aoki. Since then, he has stuck to grappling matches, fighting to a draw alongside Hideo Tokoro against Wanderlei Silva and Kiyoshi Tamura last year. The match against Shamrock will be his second grappling match in RIZIN; he also fought to a draw against Renzo Gracie at Metamoris V in 2014.

Shamrock (23–10–2) has not fought in MMA since a loss to Nick Diaz in 2009. At one time, Sakuraba vs. Shamrock was a dream fight for MMA fans, but one that never materialized. Shamrock also happens to hold a win over the man he is replacing, Dan Henderson, in submission grappling bout at The Contenders in 1997.

Jerome LeBanner was also announced as appearing at the event in his first MMA fight since 2010. He’ll take on DEEP champion Roque Martinez in the only heavyweight bout on the card.

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The crown jewel of the RIZIN Autumn Grand Prix card will be the promotion’s first women’s grand prix, to be held at atomweight. The first round will see promotional standout RENA (a.k.a. Rena Kubota) face current King of the Cage atomweight champ Andy “The Crasian” Nguyen. Kubota (4-0) has finished all four of her opponents under the RIZIN banner since making the jump to MMA from kickboxing in 2015. Nguyen (5-3), meanwhile, won the KOTC atomweight crown at KOTC Groundbreaking in May against Bi Nguyen. She’ll also be defending her title this weekend at KOTC: Counterstrike against Canadian Melissa Sophia Karagianis in a rematch of their 2015 bout.

RIZIN Chairman Noboyuki Sakakibara said in regards to the Grand Prix that “we are very excited to be able to hold the first ever woman’s GP, and we believe that with having the total amount of 10 million Japanese yen prize money, this is the biggest woman’s tournament in the world. I hope that we could continue this for the next 5, 10 years and look back at this event and say that this was the beginning.”

Saori Ishioka vs. Kanna Asakura is also set for the opening round of the atomweight grand prix.

For fans of Pride, a grappling bout between MMA legends Sakuraba and Dan Henderson will no doubt turn heads as well. The match is set to be held under RIZIN grappling rules. Sakuraba previously fought to a draw while partnered with Hideo Tokoro against Wanderlei Silva and Kiyoshi Tamura in a grappling match at RIZIN FF 1 in April 2016. Hendo, meanwhile, recently dropped a submission loss to Jon Jones at Submission Underground 2 last December.

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Jon Anik hosted the evening, which honored the four men for their achievements in the sport. Kazushi Sakuraba, who has long been considered one of the greatest fighters of his era, peppered his acceptance speech (via translator) with a little bit of humor, saying that “I can’t express how deeply moved I am to receive this honor. Up to this point, I’ve lived a life without awards and titles. It’s been a little while since the last time I won something, and it was the first prize in a bingo game.”

Taking on a more serious tone, he added “When a fan sees me face off against a much larger opponent, and it inspires them to take on difficult challenges, as a professional, nothing makes me happier. I fought for the love of my fans, I fought tooth and nail to give them a show they enjoy, one that they deserve. Thank you, and thanks from the bottom of my heart to everyone at UFC who have allowed me to be here and have bestowed upon me this great honor.”

Sakuraba (26–17–1 (2)), who became known as the Gracie Hunter along the way to defeating four members of the legendary Brazilian family, fought in just one UFC event, UFC Japan in 1997. He faced Marcus Silveira twice that night, with the first bout ending in a No Contest. The second won Sakuraba the event’s heavyweight crown. In Pride, however, he became a legend, usually facing much larger opponents.

Joe Silva took time out to thank the original founders of the UFC, including the Gracie family, and Campbell McLaren, in his acceptance speech. Maurice Smith talked about his humble beginnings, and told those present, many of whom he felt probably didn’t know him, that “I had a great career, twenty plus years. I stopped fighting in 2013, that puts me at 57 years old. I lost one, I won one. Now my time is done, and at the end of the day, I get this acknowledgment, this accolade. So I want to thank again Joe Silva, the Fertittas both Frank and Lorenzo, Dana White, and all the people who have supported to help me get here.”

Smith (14-14) won the UFC heavyweight championship against Mark Coleman at UFC 14 in 1997, and defended it once against Tank Abbott before losing the belt to Randy Couture at UFC Japan.

The youngest inductee, Urijah Faber (34–10), may go down in history as the best UFC fighter to never win a belt in the promotion. However, he captured the WEC featherweight championship and defended it five times over his illustrious career. Faber clearly still feels deeply connected to the sport and is still moving on from active competition, stating “It’s always been about having fun for me, it really has, and I always said I’m going to stop when it stops being fun, and it didn’t quite stop being fun.”

Faber later added that “I want to thank everybody that has a positive attitude out there and has good energy, and thank you for being part of this experience. It’s just the very beginning for me.”

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