The first-round pairings for Rizin FF’s lightweight grand prix tournament have been announced, with Bellator’s 155-pound star Patricky Freire drawn to face a former UFC veteran in his first matchup as he looks to punch his ticket to the semi-finals.
Freire (21-8 MMA) will make his promotional Rizin FF debut in the tournament as he looks to extend his five-fight win streak at the expense of 41-year-old veteran Tatsuya Kawajiri (37-13 MMA, 2-3 Rizin), who booked his place in the tournament after handing Russian Ali Abdulkhalikov the first defeat of his MMA career at Rizin FF 17 in July.
Pitbull tweeted his reaction to the draw, saying: “I’m honored to face such a legend. Hope it’s a dream fight for the fans with all our pride on the line. I will be rising to the occasion! Look forward to it!”
The other first-round matchups see America’s Johnny Case (26-6 MMA, 2-0 Rizin) take on Roberto Souza (9-0 MMA, 2-0 Rizin), while Azerbaijan’s Tofiq Musaev (15-3 MMA, 2-0 Rizin) faces off against Australia’s Damien Brown (19-12 MMA, 2-0 Rizin) and Brazil’s Luiz Gustavo (9-1 MMA, 1-1 Rizin) meets Japan’s Hiroto Uesako (16-7 MMA, 1-0 Rizin).
All four first-round matchups will form part of the fight card at Rizin FF 19, which takes place at the Edion Arena in Osaka, Japan on Oct. 12. Relive the draw, as it happened, via the official video below.
Confirmed Rizin FF lightweight grand prix matchups include:
- Tofiq Musaev vs. Damien Brown
- Johnny Case vs. Roberto Souza
- Patricky Freire vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
- Luiz Gustavo vs. Hiroto Uesako
