Efter att flera av det stora MMA-organisationerna tvingats ställa in eller flytta fram sina planerade galor berättar nu den japanska organisationen RIZIN FFs VD, Nobuyuki Sakakibara, att han vill se samarbeten med Bellator, UFC och ONE Championship i sommar. Detta i syfte att skapa någonting som kan ses som ett OS för kampsport.
Internationellt samarbete
Det var i en intervju med den japanska tidningen “Gong Magazine” som Sakakibara berättade att han vill se ett samarbete mellan de stora organisationerna inom MMA. Han jämförde det även med tidigare galor då bland annat K1 och PRIDE samarbetade.
As a federation, Rizin is calling for the co-operation of all the promotions to come together to make a stack of dream matchups. Of course, Scott Coker from Bellator is in, and I’d like to put it to the UFC and others too. This would be an excellent time to bring Conor McGregor in. ONE Championship would also be great to have on board, but don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that as if we’re above them. In 2002 Dynamite! happened with the joint effort of K-1, Pride, and Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye. That was nearly 20 years ago so we’re proposing a ‘Midsummer Martial Arts Festival’ with everyone involved.
Sakakibara nämnde att han visserligen inte förfrågat någon av organisationerna ännu men att han ändå ville lyfta idéen. Idéen till samarbetet kom då flera arenor som var till för OS i Tokyo inte kommer att användas under sommaren, då OS sköts upp till 2021. Sakakibara lämnade även dörren öppen för att samarbeta med mindre japanska organisationer om inte de stora internationella är villiga att samarbeta.
I won’t know until I ask, but I can’t be shy about it. We haven’t faced these circumstances before, so now I think it’s the right time to take action together but to be honest, the specifics of that are yet to come. Of course, assuming the coronavirus situation eases off, we want to first do one show this summer. If the new Olympic Stadium is not being used, it would be a waste, so we feel it would be right to do a ‘Martial Arts Olympics’ in Japan. The Saitama Super Arena, Yoyogi Stadium and the new Ariake Arena will be unused this summer so we’d like to make good use of them. The Tokyo Olympics postponement, may give us the opportunity to give the martial arts world a dream show. It really doesn’t even have to be called a Rizin event. Give it a one-off title, set up various dream matches, and make it a reality. K-1, Rise, Shoot Boxing, and other promotions can come together and be united as one. I feel this is the right timing. It’s a time to put aside selfishness and pride, and do something now.
Inspiration för fighters
Sakakibara tror även en stor gala under sommaren skulle kunna inspirera många fighters som i nuläget inte har några matcher att se fram emot.
I don’t want the recent press conference announcement of cancellations to end on a negative note. I don’t want the fans to think the lights have gone out, so we’re going to work together. We have common goals, so I’ve made a proposal. The next three or four months will see things shaping up. An event would give them the fighters motivation for the summer. It would give them goals even with the gyms empty right now. Their bodies are their income, so they can’t rest. If that doesn’t happen, autumn, and if that doesn’t happen, New Year’s Eve. That all depends on the coronavirus situation, so we have to be flexible, but first of all I’m suggesting three to four months from now.
Titelmatch i bantamvikt
Sakakibara passade även på att kommentera titelbilden i bantamvikt för Rizin, då den tidigare mästaren Manel Kapé nyligen skrev kontrakt med UFC.
After all the drama in the bantamweight division it’s pity that Kape is leaving. He was an important part, but the division is stacked so now we have to fill the hole he left. I think that we’ll create a new story, so we’re considering options while also listening to the fans’ opinions. We won’t do an interim belt, it’ll be a championship match with Hiromasa Ogikubo who was next in line to challenge the title. The question is who, and we’re still thinking about it. Victor Henry and Kai Asakura are both good options and I think Patrick Mix would give a great fight. The bantamweight division really is a treasure trove right now, so please look forward to what we have in store.
RIZINs ekonomi
Till sist nämnde Sakakibara även att coronaviruset kan få stora konsekvenser ekonomiskt för RIZIN och att det inte är säkert att organisationen kommer att överleva.
We’re doing our best to set things up in the next three months but if the situation continues longer we won’t be able to survive. Without any support from the government it may be necessary to go to crowd funding and get help from all the fans who have a shared interest. Fans who love martial arts might be able to help us survive this tough time and with the right timing we can do our best to give back to the fans with a Martial Arts Midsummer Festival.
När nästa RIZIN gala kan bli av är i nuläget osäkert.
