RIZIN is set to crown a new champion in the flyweight division following the departure of Kyoji Horiguchi. The promotion has unveiled a field of 10 competitors for the upcoming 125-pound grand prix tournament.
The opening round of this tournament is scheduled for July 27th in Japan, taking place at the Saitama Super Arena as part of the Super RIZIN 4 event. While the official brackets are still pending announcement, the confirmed participants are Jose Torres, Makoto Shinryu, Yuki Ito, Hiromasa Ougikubo, Yuki Motoya, Erson Yamamoto, Alibek Gadzhammatov, Hiroya Kondo, Nkazimulo Zulu, and Takaki Soya.
The Super RIZIN 4 card will be headlined by a rematch between former featherweight king Kleber Koike and popular local fighter Mikuru Asakura. Other notable bouts include Naoki Inoue and Seika Izawa defending their respective titles against Ryuya Fukuda and Yu Jin Shin, and Patricky Pitbull making his return to the promotion to face Shunta Nomura.
Jose Torres (13-4-1), an experienced fighter with a UFC background and former champion in Brave CF and Titan FC, is confirmed for the grand prix. He previously competed in RIZIN once, securing a split decision victory over Makoto Shinryu in December 2024. His return to Japan follows a decision loss to Dias Yerengaipov under the Brave banner.
Hiromasa Ougikubo (27-8-2), one of the most seasoned participants at 38 years old, recently earned decision wins against notable opponents John Dodson and Makoto Shinryu. He is a former RIZIN tournament winner, having defeated bantamweights Naoki Inoue and Kai Asakura on the same night in December 2021. His history also includes a victory over future UFC champion Alexandre Pantoja during the 2016 season of The Ultimate Fighter.
Makoto Shinryu (19-4-1, 1 NC) most recently secured a decision victory over Yuki Ito in May, bringing his RIZIN promotional record to 5-3. He has challenged Kyoji Horiguchi for the title twice; the first bout ended in a no contest due to an eye-poke, followed by a submission loss in the rematch.
Yuki Ito (18-6) aims to bounce back after Makoto Shinryu ended his impressive five-fight winning streak, which included a win over veteran Masatoshi Ueda in 2024. A former DEEP flyweight contender, Ito has won eight of his ten bouts contested under the RIZIN banner so far.
Yuki Motoya (37-13, 1 NC) has a significant history with RIZIN, having competed in the ring over 20 times. His notable victories include wins over fighters like Rogerio Bontorin, Justin Scoggins, and two victories against Shinobu Ota. He is moving down to flyweight after challenging Naoki Inoue for the bantamweight title in March, a rematch he lost via split decision.
Erson Yamamoto (5-7) is the nephew of the late Japanese fighting legend Norifumi Yamamoto. Almost all of his professional MMA fights have taken place under the RIZIN promotion. He has faced difficulties since his 2015 debut loss to Kron Gracie, including a loss to Manel Kape some years later, but enters the tournament following a second-round submission victory over Daichi Tomizawa.
Alibek Gadzhammatov (5-0) made a strong RIZIN debut in November 2024, stopping Daichi Kitakata by knockout. He has maintained a perfect professional record in his native Russia since 2021. The 23-year-old Dagestani fighter boasts a finishing rate of 100%, never having gone to a decision in his professional career.
Hiroya Kondo (11-13-1) has had a less consistent career path but enters the grand prix following back-to-back victories over Yuya Shibata and Tatsuki Shinotsuka, improving his promotional record to 3-3.
Nkazimulo Zulu (16-7-1), a former two-division champion in Africa`s EFC promotion, fell short against Kyoji Horiguchi in a hard-fought championship decision on the latest New Year`s Eve card. Known as “Zulu Boy,” he has secured an impressive 87 percent of his victories by stoppage, split evenly between seven knockouts and seven submissions.
Takaki Soya (13-6-1) has faced John Dodson twice consecutively under the RIZIN banner, securing a mixed martial arts decision victory over the former UFC title contender after losing their previous encounter under bare-knuckle boxing rules.
