Rizin 1 Bout Order Announced; Prochazka vs. Fujita Gets Top Billing Over Wanderlei, Sakuraba

The fight card and bout order have been locked in for Sunday’s Rizin Fighting Federation event in Nagoya, Japan.

The main event of Rizin 1 will see New Year’s Eve grand prix runner-up Jiri Prochazka square off against Japanese veteran Kazuyuki Fujita in a 242-pound catchweight fight. The bout structure will follow the Pride FC model, with an opening round of 10 minutes followed by two five-minute rounds.

Several other fighters from Rizin’s inaugural events are featured on the main card, with tournament competitor Vadim Nemkov taking on Karl Albrektsson in the light heavyweight co-main event. Lithuanian standout Teodoras Aukstuolis will face recent Fedor Emelianenko opponent Jaideep Singh at a catchweight of 216 pounds, while Brazilian jiu-jitsu star Gabi Garcia will make her sophomore MMA appearance in an open-weight tilt against Russia’s Anna Malyukova.

Rounding out the main card is a tag-team grappling match which pits Wanderlei Silva and Kiyoshi Tamura against Kazushi Sakuraba and Hideo Tokoro, plus a 112-pound Shoot Boxing bout between champion Rena Kubota and Chute Boxe striker Cyndi Alves.

The show’s undercard will see former UFC lightweight Daron Cruickshank make his post-Octagon debut against ex-Shooto titleholder Shinji Sasaki. At heavyweight, “Huggy Bear” Chris Barnett will go up against the man known as “Baby Fedor,” Kirill Sidelnikov.

Bellator MMA puncher Hisaki Kato is set for a 180-pound catchweight affair against experienced Deep veteran Yuta Watanabe, while reigning Deep flyweight ace Yuki Motoya faces Brazilian prospect Allan Nascimento. The MMA portion of the event will open with the debut of wrestler Kanako Murata, who faces Natalya Denisova at 117 pounds.

The show will begin with a trio of kickboxing bouts, each set for three rounds of three minutes: Tetsuya Yamato vs. Hiroto Yamaguchi at 141 pounds; Danilo Zanolini vs. Norihisa Amimoto at 161 pounds; and Yuya Yamato vs. Yuki at 132 pounds.

View the complete fight card for Rizin 1 here.