While there have been no official reports that would suggest it directly, a new promotional poster for the upcoming September 25th Rizin FF event has many speculating about the possibility of a rematch between two legendary MMA heavyweights.
On Thursday afternoon, MMA legend Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic took to social media, where he posted the photo of the new Rizin FF promotional poster for their 9/25 event that features himself and fellow legendary MMA heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko.
It should be noted, however, that the 9/25 event features the beginning of the promotion’s innagural “Grand Prix” event, which is a tournament that is expected to feature participation from the likes of Wanderlei Silva, as well as the aforementioned Fedor and Cro Cop.
In fact, Rizin FF officials have also expressed desire in obtaining the services of another familiar face from PRIDE’s past, the promotion responsible for some of the best “Grand Prix” tournament events in history, as former PRIDE executive Nobuyuki Sakikibara has offered an invitation to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson to compete in the tourney.
Rizin FF’s Open Weight Grand Prix tournament kicks off with their 9/25 event. Other fighters included in the tournament will be former PRIDE heavyweight star Kazuyuki Fujita and sumo champion Kaido Hoovelson. Four of the 16 fighters who will compete in the tournament will be receiving an automatic bye to the quarterfinals, which is scheduled to take place as part of the December 29 event. The tournament is scheduled to wrap-up at the big year-end New Year’s Eve event, a national tradition in Japan, on December 31.
Non-tournament matches scheduled for the opening round show on September 25 includes Daron Cruickshank vs. Andy Souwer, as well as women’s fights with Gabi Garcia and Kanako Murata fighting different opponents in individual bouts.
