RIZIN Fighting World Grand Prix 2017 1st Round emanates from Saitama Super Arena this Sunday (July 30, 2017) at 1 a.m. (ET). In the main event, former UFC title challenger Kyoji Horiguchi battles Hideo Tokoro in a bantamweight showdown.
Horiguchi (19-2) will be competing for just the second time since leaving the UFC last year, and he is coming off a unanimous-decision victory over Yuki Motoya at RIZIN 2017 in April. The 26-year-old has won 13 of his last 14 fights, with his lone blemish coming against current UFC flyweight king Demetrious Johnson. Meanwhile, Tokoro (34-29-2) will be looking for back-to-back wins for the first time since 2013. The 39-year-old is coming off a first-round submission victory over Erson Yamamoto at RIZIN Fighting World Grand Prix 2016 in December.
In the co-main event, UFC veteran Anthony Birchak looks to get back on the winning track against Takafumi Otsuka. Birchak (12-4) is coming off a unanimous-decision setback against Tatsuya Kawajiri in April, when he moved up to the featherweight division for that matchup. The 31-year-old is 2-3 in his last five fights. Otsuka (22-13-2) is riding a five-fight unbeaten streak, including a split-decision nod over Koichi Ishizuka at DEEP Cage Impact 2017 in May. The 30-year-old will be facing his first American opponent in his 37-fight career.
Also on the card, former UFC middleweight Tyler King will be making his RIZIN debut against Amir Aliakbari. King (12-5) competed on Season 19 of The Ultimate Fighter, where he lost to Dan Spohn by first-round knockout. The 36-year-old is coming off a first-round knockout loss to Keith Bell at CES 31 back in January. Aliakbari (16-1) heads into this matchup off a first-round TKO victory over Gerônimo Dos Santos for RIZIN back in April. The 29-year-old’s lone setback in his career was to PRIDE legend Mirko Filipović at RIZIN World Grand Prix 2016 back in December.
MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened the betting odds for the following bouts on the RIZIN Fighting World Grand Prix 2017 1st Round card today at Several Bookmakers…
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Rizin FF 6: Bantamweight Grand Prix opening round
JULY 30, 2017
Saitama Super Arena | Saitama, Japan
Sunday 7-30-17 – 1:00 AM ET
Bantamweight Grand Prix Opening Round:
Hideo Tokoro +650
Kyoji Horiguchi -1350
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Bantamweight Grand Prix Opening Round:
Takafumi Otsuka +185
Anthony Birchak -265
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Bantamweight Grand Prix Opening Round:
Keita Ishibashi +365
Khalid Taha -555
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Heavyweight Bout:
Tyler King +335
Amir Aliakbari -505
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Light Heavyweight Bout:
Teodoras Aukstuolis +135
Karl Albrektsson -175
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Lightweight Bout:
Satoru Kitaoka -120
Yusuke Yachi -120
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Also check out my interview with Shinju Nozawa-Auclair who makes her professional debut against Sheena Brandenburg on the prelims
And my interview with Cassie Robb (2-5) who takes on Miyuu Yamamoto (0-2)
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Click below to bet on the fights!
