The full lineup for the Rizin Lightweight Grand Prix is out. The quarter finals will take place at the Edion Arena in Osaka on October 12th with the draw to be made at a later date.
Most of the participants are familiar faces to Rizin fans but Brazilian lightweight Patricky Freire will be representing Bellator in the tournament. The full lineup is:
Patricky Freire
Johnny Case
Luiz Gustavo
Tatsuya Kawajiri
Tofiq Musaev
Roberto de Souza
Damien Brown
Hiroto Uesaki
Freire (21-8) is joined by Johnny Case (26-6-1) Luiz Gustavo (9-1), Tatsuya Kawajiri (37-13-2), Tofiq Musaev (15-3), Roberto de Souza (9-0), Damien Brown (19-12) and Hiroto Uesako (16-7). The draw for the quarter finals will be made next week.
There are currently four fights on the Rizin 19 card. In a 100kgs catchweight contest reigning light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka (24-3-1) will be taking on Brazil’s Fabio Maldonado (25-13).
After suffering a surprise defeat at Bellator 222 earlier this year Japanese strawweight Rena Kubota (8-3) returns to home soil. She faces Canadian striker Shawna Ram (1-0) in another catchweight contest at Rizin 19.
Road FC 105lbs champion Seo Hee Ham (21-8) will be looking to make it back to back Rizin wins. She faces Miyuu Yamamoto (5-3) in a super atomweight contest between two fighters hoping to secure a title shot.
The fourth matchup revealed this afternoon is in the welterweight division. It pits Keita Nakamura (34-10-2) against Marcos Souza (8-1). Both men will be making their promotional debuts and looking to make their mark in a weight category that Rizin hasn’t put much focus on up to this point.
Rizin 19, Osaka, October 12th
Jiri Prochazka vs. Fabio Maldonado (100kgs)
Seo Hee Ham vs. Miyuu Yamamoto (49kgs)
Marcos de Souza vs. Keita Nakamura (77kgs)
Rena Kubota vs. Shawna Ram (51kgs)
