Tofiq Musaev is leaving Rizin. Reports in Azerbaijan state that the recently crowned lightweight Grand Prix champion is owed money by the Japanese promotion and plans to take his talents elsewhere.
Musaev holds a record of 18-3 and has won his last 14 fights. It makes him one of the most sought after free agents in the MMA world.
The 30 year old says he has still not been paid the prize money he earned after winning the Grand Prix at Rizin 20,
“I had to make a decision to leave due to the fact that the organization still has not paid me a fee for winning the Grand Prix. And already 6 months have passed,” he was quoted as saying.
Musaev says he has not been short of offers,
“We already have offers from UFC, Bellator and ONE FC. We will accept the proposal that suits us the most,” he said.
Musayev’s trainer, Ruslan Efendiyev, went into a little bit more detail about the offers his fighter was considering,
“Everyone is talking about the UFC, but they offer their newcomers 12,000 USD (to show) and another 12,000 in case of victory. Yes there are bonuses for knockout or spectacular fights but by comparison Rizin pays three times as much and ONE FC offers an even better deal.”
Musaev fought five times for Rizin and won every bout. He was last seen in action on New Year’s Eve, beating both Johnny Case and Patricky Freire to win the promotion’s first ever lightweight Grand Prix.
Rizin has not held a single event since the coronavirus, or Covid-19 crisis begun. By contrast the UFC is up and running with shows taking place every week and ONE Championship put on two fight cards in Shanghai last weekend.
