Rizin 28 has been postponed. The event at the Tokyo Dome will now take place on June 13th as a state of emergency was recently declared in four Japanese cities including the country’s capital.
The first round of the bantamweight Grand Prix will conclude at this event with some of the promotion’s biggest names in action. Kai Asakura and Naoki Inoue will be among the fighters looking to progress to the quarter finals.
The matchups were all announced last month. The first four fights in the opening round will take place at Rizin 29 which, confusingly, takes place a couple of weeks before Rizin 28.
On June 13th former bantamweight champion Asakura (16-3) will take on Shooto Watanabe (22-5-6), UFC veteran Inoue (15-2) goes up against Shintaro Ishiwatari (26-8-4), Yuki Motoya (27-9) faces Ryo Okada (17-4-3) and Takeshi Kasugai (26-7-1) has been matched with Hiromasa Ougikubo (21-5-2).
This will be the first time in 18 years that an MMA event has been held at the Tokyo Dome and Rizin hopes to be able to welcome 25,000 fans, 50% of the stadium’s capacity.
Rizin 28, Tokyo Dome, June 13th
Kai Asakura vs. Shooto Watanabe (Bantamweight Grand Prix Opening Round)
Naoki Inoue vs. Shintaro Ishiwatari (Bantamweight Grand Prix Opening Round)
Yuki Motoya vs. Ryo Okada (Bantamweight Grand Prix Opening Round)
Takeshi Kasugai vs. Hiromasa Ougikubo (Bantamweight Grand Prix Opening Round)
