With Kyoji Horiguchi no longer holding the title, RIZIN is set to crown a new flyweight champion. The promotion has revealed the names of 10 competitors who will participate in the upcoming 125-pound grand prix tournament.
The tournament`s opening round is scheduled for July 27 in Japan as part of the Super RIZIN 4 event, which will take place at the Saitama Super Arena. While the official brackets are still pending announcement, the confirmed field of fighters includes: 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 also feature other significant bouts. The main event is a rematch between former featherweight champion Kleber Koike and Japanese standout Mikuru Asakura. Title defenses are also on tap, with Naoki Inoue defending his belt against Ryuya Fukuda and Seika Izawa facing Yu Jin Shin for her title. Additionally, Patricky Pitbull is slated to return to RIZIN action against Shunta Nomura.
Jose Torres (13-4-1), a veteran of the UFC and former champion in Brave CF and Titan FC, is among the grand prix contenders. He previously competed in RIZIN, securing a split decision win over Makoto Shinryu in December 2024. His return to Japan follows a decision loss to Dias Yerengaipov in a Brave CF bout.
Hiromasa Ougikubo (27-8-2) brings significant experience to the bracket at 38 years old. In his recent RIZIN outings, he earned decision victories against notable opponents John Dodson and Makoto Shinryu. Ougikubo is a past RIZIN tournament winner, having defeated bantamweights Naoki Inoue and Kai Asakura on the same night in December 2021. He also boasts a victory over future UFC champion Alexandre Pantoja from their time on The Ultimate Fighter in 2016.
Makoto Shinryu (19-4-1, 1 NC) secured a decision win over Yuki Ito in his latest fight in May, bringing his RIZIN record to 5-3. He has previously challenged Kyoji Horiguchi for the title on two occasions; their first bout ended in a no contest due to an eye poke, followed by Horiguchi winning the second by submission.
Yuki Ito (18-6) aims to rebound from his recent loss to Makoto Shinryu, which ended his five-fight winning streak. That impressive run included a victory over veteran Masatoshi Ueda in 2024. A former DEEP flyweight contender, Ito holds an 8-2 record in his RIZIN appearances under the RIZIN banner.
Yuki Motoya (37-13, 1 NC) is a highly experienced RIZIN fighter, having competed over 20 times for the promotion. His notable victories include wins over Rogerio Bontorin, Justin Scoggins, and two wins against Shinobu Ota. Motoya is dropping down to flyweight after challenging Naoki Inoue for the bantamweight title in March, a rematch he lost by split decision.
Erson Yamamoto (5-7), nephew of the late Japanese fighting icon Norifumi `Kid` Yamamoto, has fought almost exclusively under the RIZIN umbrella. Since his 2015 debut loss to Kron Gracie and a subsequent loss to Manel Kape, his record has been mixed. However, he enters the grand prix following a second-round submission victory over Daichi Tomizawa.
Alibek Gadzhammatov (5-0) made a strong RIZIN debut in November 2024, securing a knockout win over Daichi Kitakata. The undefeated Dagestani prospect, who has compiled a perfect professional record since 2021, has finished all of his fights and has never gone to a decision.
Hiroya Kondo (11-13-1), who has had an inconsistent career path, enters the grand prix on the strength of consecutive victories over Yuya Shibata and Tatsuki Shinotsuka. These recent wins have improved his RIZIN promotional record to 3-3.
Nkazimulo Zulu (16-7-1), a former two-division champion in Africa`s EFC promotion, most recently challenged Kyoji Horiguchi for the title on the New Year`s Eve card, losing a competitive decision. Known as `Zulu Boy`, he boasts an impressive finishing rate, with 87% of his wins coming via stoppage, split evenly between seven knockouts and seven submissions.
Takaki Soya (13-6-1) recently had back-to-back contests against former UFC title challenger John Dodson in RIZIN. Soya secured a decision victory in their MMA rematch after previously losing to Dodson under bare-knuckle boxing rules.
