like a tournament.
Rizin Fighting Federation made a trio of big
announcements on Thursday ahead of what it plans to be a massive
fall. For starters, it put Rizin 54 on the books, which is set to
go down at the Toyota Arena in Tokyo on Aug. 11. No fights are
official for the event, although it did schedule the first round of
the 2026 heavyweight tournament for that date.
Three of the four big men are official for that tournament, with
Rizin possibly hashing the fourth member out at an upcoming
Landmark event. First repping the largest standard weight class
will be karateka Mikio Ueda
(5-3), who put himself on the map in 2021 by attempting to complete
the 100-man kumite where he had to fight and defeat 100 different
fighters in consecutive combat. Ueda reached the 60th athlete and
the doctor ruled he could no longer continue. As a Rizin fighter,
the 30-year-old has notched four knockouts under its banner, but
all three of his defeats have been by stoppage as well.
The second heavyweight up for a prize of 5 million yen—this
currently converts to about $31,337—is another fighter who largely
made his bones as a Rizin fighter. Just 3-0 as a professional,
Osaka, Japan’s King
Edokpolo will be entering into the heavyweight tournament. His
pro debut came in March 2024, where he stomped out a man who called
himself Terry
Wakanda in 32 seconds. A pair of knockouts in the Rizin ring
propelled him into this large opportunity.
A Rizin staple takes third
Taking the third spot, with matchups still to be determined, will
be Rizin veteran Tsuyoshi
Kamiyama (9-4), also known as “Tsuyoshi Sudario,” a sumo who
once reached the juryo division back in 2018. Leaving that sport
behind in 2019 in part due to his poor conduct towards teammates
and staff, the 28-year-old signed onto MMA in 2020 and has not
looked back. All 13 of his pro outings have come in the Rizin ring
or cage, with eight of nine victories by knockout.
The fourth and final athlete has yet to be selected. The promotion
did add that it has booked a heavyweight tilt on June 6 at Rizin
Landmark 14 between Ryo Sakai
(15-14) and “Takakenshin” Satoshi
Kamiyama (3-4)—the latter the younger brother of the
aforementioned “Sudario.”
Finally, Rizin set the date for a celebration event called
“Naniwa’s Super Revival Festival,” which will feature athlete
appearances, fan events and other activities typical for an expo
surrounding an MMA event. It will kick off on Sept. 10 at the
Kyocera Dome in Osaka, and the promotion has indicated that
Mikuru
Asakura, Ren
Hiramoto, Ren
Sugiyama, Yutaka
Saito, Chihiro
Suzuki and Rena Kubota
will all be present. Super
Rizin 5 will take place following the festival’s
conclusion.
📣#RIZINヘビー級グランプリ
開催🎊JAPANトーナメント1回戦は#RIZIN54
トヨタアリーナ大会で実施🔥🆚参戦決定選手#スダリオ剛#エドポロキング/@kingedokpolo#上田幹雄/@mikiomma
※残り1枠は決定次第、随時発表いたします。📅8/11(火・祝)
🏟TOYOTA ARENA TOKYOhttps://t.co/aNq7Vvl5vf… pic.twitter.com/AwKHJzf3gh— RIZIN FF OFFICIAL (@rizin_PR)
April 23, 2026