Bellator MMA’s Brennan Ward to Meet Ken Hasegawa at Rizin’s New Year’s Eve Event

Bellator welterweight contender Brennan Ward will square off with Japanese prospect Ken Hasegawa at Rizin Fighting Federation’s New Year’s Eve event.

The fledgling promotion announced the contest, which will be contested at pound catch-weight, on Thursday. Additionally, Rizin revealed two more bouts for its Dec. 29 card, as Hinata Watanabe will face Kazuyuki Miyata in a lightweight affair, while Kirill Sidelnikov will lock horns with Carlos Toyota at heavyweight. Watanabe-Miyata will be a mixed-rules bout, with the fighters competing under both kickboxing rules and MMA rules for at least one round.

Rizin FF takes place on both Dec. 29 and Dec. 31 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The extravaganza features the return of Fedor Emelianenko on the New Year’s Eve bill, although an opponent for “The Last Emperor” has yet to be announced.

Ward, 27, has won three straight under the Bellator banner, finishing Curtis Millender, Roger Carroll and Dennis Olson inside of a round in 2015. Hasegawa, meanwhile, is 10-0 as a professional, including a first-round submission of Ryuta Sakurai at Deep 71 “Impact” in February.