Wand can return to the stage that made him famous. Photo: Pride
The former president of Pride, Nobuyuki Sakakibara, promises to shake up the world of MMA with Rizin Fighting Federation, a new Japanese MMA event that will make its debut in December. In addition to hiring the legend Fedor Emelianenko as his main star, the director already dreams of Brazilian Wanderlei Silva, an idol on Japanese soil who is suspended from performing in the United States and is in litigation with the UFC.
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“The Japanese public would be more excited about signing Wanderlei than Fedor, but Wanderlei still has a contractual relationship with the UFC. If he breaks this bond, we will certainly talk to him. I'll be the first to look for you. Of course I want every fighter who shone in Pride in Rizin. We looked for several of them, like (Ricardo) Arona, but he said he has a knee injury and has no plans to return”, revealed Sakakibara in an interview with PVT.
Master category
Nobuyuki Sakakibara also revealed ambitious plans. The director is considering the possibility of creating a category for fighters over 45 years old. The 'new' division could count on names like Royce gracie, Ken Shamrock and even the president of Jungle Fight, Wallid Ismail.
“We are thinking of making aMaster class' shortly. It would be a category over 45 years old, to give the chance to those who want to fight. You see the example of Dan Henderson at 45 years old and still fighting at a high level. I found Royce gracie in the USA and he said he was ready to fight. Ken Shamrock was also interested. We can, for example, pit Wallid against Royce gracie”, added Sakakibara,
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