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Bellator ended 2022 on a high note as they completed a clean sweep over Rizin in their highly anticipated cross-promotional MMA event at Rizin 40. The event took place at the Saitama Super Arena and featured top fighters in both promotions.
There were a total of 5 cross-promotion fights and each of them went the distance. The promotion's President Scott Coker will be thrilled with the result as he has bragging rights over Rizin President Nobuyuki Sakakibara in terms of which promotion is the superior.
MMA journalist Ariel Helwani tweeted that the event was entertaining and loved how Rizin handled the production, writing:
"Bellator sweeps Rizin to end the year in MMA. 5-0 for 'em. Ends with a fun AJ McKee win (and the PRIDE theme song, which is a nice touch). And that does it for the year in MMA 2022."
Former featherweight champion A.J. McKee completed a clean sweep for his promotion after defeating Rizin lightweight champion Roberto 'Satoshi' de Souza via unanimous decision. Reigning featherweight champion Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire also defeated Rizin featherweight champion Kleber Koike Erbst via unanimous to win the champion vs. champion bout.
Other bouts saw Kyoji Horiguchi defeat Hiromasa Ougikubo via unanimous decision, Juan Archuleta defeat Soo Chul Kim via split decision, and Gadzhi Rabadanov defeat Koji Takeda via unanimous decision.
Coker thanked all his fighters for taking part in the event and Rizin for coming together to produce an exciting cross-promotion event for the fans, writing:
"Thank you @nobu_sakakibara and all @rizin_PR fighters for a fantastic challenge tonight at #BellatorvsRizin. @ajmckee101, @PatricioPitbull, @jarchmma, @kyoji1012, & Rabadanov made @BellatorMMA proud!"
Bellator have big plans for 2023
Bellator will look to carry the momentum from their clean sweep over Rizin into the new year as they have big plans for 2023.
On February 4th, the promotion will make its debut on CBS, where reigning heavyweight champion Ryan Bader will defend his title against Fedor Emelianenko. The bout will be a rematch of their 2019 encounter, which saw Bader defeat 'The Last Emperor' via first-round knockout to win the heavyweight Grand Prix.
2023 will also see the conclusion of their bantamweight Grand Prix. Interim bantamweight champion Raufeon Stots defends his title against Patchy Mix in the finals as well as the start of the lightweight Grand Prix.
It will be interesting to see whether Rizin 40 will set the stage for more cross-promotional MMA events with other major promotions. The event proved that cross-promotion can be successful and that not every fight needs to be champion vs. champion.
