RIZIN 28 fight announcements and elbow rule changes

More fight announcements and elbow rule changes were explained at a press conference in Tokyo ahead of RIZIN 28. Chairman Nobuyuki Sakakibara told those in attendance information about the upcoming event at Tokyo Dome. Here are the best of the announcements.

Firstly, there is confirmation that the event in Tokyo will have around 10,000 spectators present. The Japanese fans always provide an excellent atmosphere so this is welcome news. The fights will be available on PPV at LIVENow for international viewers and live on Fuji TV if you are in Japan.

There was a major announcement regarding the RIZIN rule set going forward. From now on, elbows will be allowed in all RIZIN fights, with no restrictions on the angle of the elbow. Alongside soccer kicks and grounded knees, surely the RIZIN rule-set is now the best in the MMA world.

Sakakibara also announced a cosmetic change for the RIZIN 16-man bantamweight Grand Prix. Instead of the usual green gloves, competitors in the GP will be wearing a red variant, which will be available on the RIZIN store.

Fight announcements

Four fights were announced by Sakakibara at the press conference. First of all, RIZIN will soon have a new lightweight champion as Azerbaijani fighter Tofiq Musaev takes on Brazilian ace Roberto Satoshi Souza. Both men are on long winning streaks – 12 and 7 respectively – so it promises to be a great matchup.

Former sumo wrestler Tsuyoshi Sudario will return to the RIZIN ring to try and extend his unbeaten record when he takes on Shoma Shibisai. Also, there will be a featherweight matchup between Yutaka Saito and Vugar Keramov. Both Musaev and Keramov are already in the country and in quarantine ahead of the event.

Finally, Sakakibara announced he is trying to secure a fight for Tenshin Nasukawa at the Tokyo Dome event. Bringing MMA back to the Tokyo Dome is a huge deal, so RIZIN want to put on the best show possible.

RIZIN 28 is live on the 13th June 2021. The fight card (so far) is below.