Former Bellator lightweight champion Patricky `Pitbull` Freire is set to make his official debut as a RIZIN fighter after signing a contract with the Japanese promotion. He is scheduled to compete on the July 27 card taking place in Saitama, Japan.
Freire previously participated in a RIZIN lightweight tournament back in 2019 while representing Bellator. This time, he will enter the RIZIN ring under their banner, facing Shunta Nomura.
In the 2019 Grand Prix, the Brazilian achieved knockout victories against Tatsuya Kawajiri and Luiz Gustavo before falling to Tofiq Musayev in the championship bout. He returned to Japan in 2023, securing another knockout win, this time over the reigning lightweight champion, Roberto Satoshi.
Shunta Nomura holds a professional record of 9-2 with four knockouts. He made his RIZIN debut in March with a technical decision victory over Luiz Gustavo.
The RIZIN.4 event is scheduled to include three championship contests. Bantamweight king Naoki Inoue will defend his belt against Ryuya Fukuda, while super atomweight champion Seika Izawa is set to face Yu Jin Shin.
Featherweight champion Razhabali Shaydullaev, who recently captured the title by knocking out Kleber Koike, is also slated for the event, though his opponent has not yet been announced.
Kleber Koike will also compete on the card in a rematch against Mikuru Asakura. Their previous encounter in June 2021 saw Koike secure a victory via triangle choke. Asakura recently bounced back from previous losses with a TKO win over former champion Chihiro Suzuki.
Additional notable bouts announced for the event include Masanori Kanehara vs. Ya-Man, Karshyga Dautbek vs. Kyoma Akimoto, and Moeri Suda vs. Noel.
