Along with the Bellator versus RIZIN fights that were added to Bellator Japan, a few other matchups were also announced on Thursday in Japan.
Set for Bellator Japan is a rematch between strawweight Haruo Ochi and Jarred Brooks. The two were set to face off at RIZIN 19, but a head collision ended the fight in under a minute. They will have a second chance to compete for the linear strawweight championship at Bellator Japan. Brooks picked up a win against Victor Altamirano in October at a Michigan local event.
Also set for Bellator Japan is Yusuke Yachi facing Hiroto Uesako. Yachi has been a big name is RIZIN despite not winning in his last three fights. Uesako is also trying to get back in the win column after losing to Luiz Gustavo at RIZIN 19.
While not billed as a RIZIN versus Bellator fight, former RIZIN fighter Ryuichiro Sumimura will face Jon Tuck on the show. Sumimura returned to MMA after a 14-month absence to get a win on a DEEP Impact show in October. Tuck was set to make his Bellator debut back in September, but his opponent, Brandon Girtz pulled out due to injury.
Bellator Japan will also see Krazy Bee Gym’s “Princess Bee” AI face RIZIN fighter Andy Nguyen. Nguyen is 1-2 in RIZIN, recently facing Miyuu Yamamoto at RIZIN 13.
Here’s how Bellator Japan looks so far:
- Fedor Emelianenko (38-6) vs. Rampage Jackson (38-13)
- Benson Henderson (28-8) vs. Michael Chandler (19-5)
- Lorenz Larkin (21-7) vs. Keita Nakamura (35-10-2)
- Ilara Joanne (9-4) vs. Kana Watanabe (8-0-1)
- Goiti Yamauchi (24-4) vs. Daron Cruickshank (22-12)
- Haruo Ochi (19-7-2) vs. Jarred Brooks (15-2)
- Ryuichiro Sumimura (14-7) vs. Jon Tuck (10-5)
- AI (5-1) vs. Andy Nguyen (6-8)
- Yusuke Yachi (20-9) vs. Hiroto Uesako (16-8)
JackWannan.com 