Wand and Sakuraba will meet again in Japan. Photo: Reproduction
An event that has been known as the successor to the legendary PRIDE, Rizin has just announced the return of one of the greatest idols of the Japanese public to the rings of the country in which he was renowned. The Brazilian Wanderlei Silva was selected for a doubles grappling match in which he will face none other than Kazushi Sakuraba.
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President of Rizin and former director of PRIDE, Noboyuki Sakakibara did not give further details about how the so-called doubles grappling duel will be promoted, but promised a “grappling with extreme rules” confrontation – although he did not make it clear what that means in practice. Wand's pairing has not been confirmed, while Sakuraba will fight alongside compatriot Hideo Tokoro.
Wanderlei is currently suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission until 2017, in a sentence reduction – which was previously his permanent ban from MMA. The sanction, however, does not apply to duels of grapple nor to fights of any kind held in places that do not have sports regulations, as is the case in Japan.
In MMA, Sakuraba and Wanderlei faced each other three times in the now-defunct PRIDE, and the Brazilian got the better of them all by knockout.
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