Rizin FF 19 live results
Rizin FF 19 takes place Saturday in Japan, and you can join us for live results of all of the action.
Featuring the opening round of the promotion’s lightweight grand prix, Rizin FF 19 takes place at Edion Arena Osaka in Osaka, Japan. The full card streams on Fite TV beginning at 1 a.m. ET.
In the main event, light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka (24-3-1) puts his belt on the line against veteran brawler Fabio Maldonado (25-13).
Additionally, the company kicks off a lightweight grand prix that includes entrants such as current Bellator contender Patricky Freire, UFC veterans Johnny Case and Damien Brown and MMA legend Tatsuya Kawajiri, among others.
Enjoy the fights, everyone.
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Musaev kicks off lightweight GP with first-round finish
In the night’s first lightweight grand prix matchup, Azerbaijan’s Tofiq Musaev unleashed a barrage of powerful kicks to outgun gritty Australian Damien Brown and deliver a statement to the rest of the tournament field.
Musaev left his mark in illegal fashion early on as a powerful inside leg kick landed squarely in Brown’s cup. But “Beatdown” quickly returned to his feet and restarted the matchup. Unfortunately for the Aussie, that errant kick from Musaev didn’t dissuade him from continuing to throw powerful shots as he continually hammered Brown’s body with left roundhouse kicks.
Musaev turned his dominance into a finish as he switched his target from body to head and connected with a left high kick that put Brown on wobbly legs. Spying the finish, the 29-year-old then stepped into boxing range and unleashed a flurry of fists that overwhelmed Brown and forced the referee to step in to halt the contest late in the first round.
Nakamura outclasses Souza
When Marcos Yoshio de Souza stepped into the Rizin ring he had high hopes of a dream debut. But that dream quickly turned into a nightmare as Keita Nakamura proved to be too good for the Brazilian.
Souza’s first offensive move of the night saw an attempted spinning back kick go awry as he slipped and fell to his back. Nakamura pounced, jumped on top and connected with powerful strikes. And although Souza briefly scrambled his way back to his feet, he was met by more powerful strikes as Nakamura sent the Brazilian to the mat once again and peppered him with ground shots until Souza’s corner waved off the fight mid-way through the round to spare their man any further punishment.
Shibasa claims routine win
The opening MMA fight of the night saw Shoma Shibisai defeat Chang Hee Kim with the minimum of fuss via first-round submission. Kim looked to push Shibisai up against the ropes in search of an early takedown, but Shibisai stayed upright, grabbed Kim’s right arm and dragged his man to the mat with a Kimura, forcing the submission a little over a minute into the openweight contest.
MAIN CARD (Fite TV)
Jiri Prochazka vs. Fabio Maldonado
Kai Asakura vs. Ulka Sasaki
Miyuu Yamamoto vs. Seo Hee Ham
Rena Kubota vs. Alexandra Alvare
PRELIMINARY CARD (Fite TV, 1 a.m. ET)
Johnny Case vs. Roberto de Souza – lightweight grand prix opening round
Patricky Freire vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri – lightweight grand prix opening round
Luiz Gustavo vs. Hiroto Uesako – lightweight grand prix opening round
Tofiq Musaev def. Damien Brown via TKO (head kick and punches) – Round 1
Keita Nakamura def. Marcos Yoshio de Souza via TKO (corner stoppage) – Round 1
Shoma Shibisai def. Chang Hee Kim via submission (Kimura) – Round 1