The full lineup for the Rizin bantamweight Grand Prix was released this afternoon. 16 of the countries too 135lbers will compete including former champion Kai Asakura.
Other notable names in the tournament include UFC veteran Naoki Inoue, former Deep bantamweight champion Yuki Motoya and reigning Shooto bantamweight champion Ryo Okada. The Grand Prix will also feature veterans Masakazu Imanari, Takafumi Otsuka and Shintaro Ishiwatari.
The fighters were entered into a complicated draw system and the first round matchups are as follows:
Kuya Ito vs. Yuto Hokamura
Kai Asakura vs. Shooto Watanabe
Takafumi Otsuka vs. Hiroki Yamashita
Alan Yamaniha vs. Kazuma Kuramoto
Ryo Okada vs. Yuki Motoya
Shintaro Ishiwatari vs. Naoki Inoue
Takeshi Kasugai vs. Hiromasa Ougikubo
Kenta Takizawa vs Masakazu Imanari
There will be four fights on May 23rd at Rizin 28 which is set for the Tokyo Dome, and four fights on May 30th at Rizin 29 which is set for the Maruzen Intec Arena in Osaka. The winner gets 10 million yen (approximately 90,000 USD) and the runner up receives 5 million yen.
The semi finals and final of the Grand Prix will take place on December 31st. Asakura was given the opportunity to pick his opponent but declined, accepting the result of the draw.
