We are Rizin

In this Bellator edition of We are RIZIN, Andrew & Christian preview Friday's Bellator 222 card w/ guest TeeptotheJunk. They look at the most important fights on the prelims including RENA's fight and Pico taking on a undefeated prospect. For the main card they look at all the fights including special attention given to the second encounter between Kyoji Horiguchi and Darrion Caldwell w/ Caldwell's BW belt on the line.

In the long awaited RIZIN 16 review show, Andrew, Christian and MLW's Dylan Fox go over the entire show from RIZIN's debut in Kobe. They look at the attendance and TV ratings and analyze if it could be considered a success. As well all the fights are discussed, Andrew PRAISES Kengo, discuss who should be the next Super Atomweight #1 contender, talk about the baffling Yusuku Nakamura vs Topnoi match, and the panel throws love at Kan Nakamura.

In this interview, Andrew talks to Darrion Caldwell who defends his Bellator bantamweight belt against Kyoji Horigucho at Bellator 222 at MSG. Sorry for the audio quality as it was over the phone and I had only 10 minutes to talk to him. Thank you to the fans who submitted questions. Unfortunately in the interest of time I neglected to mention your names. Thanks to TeepTotheJunk, Armaan Younis, and Best Top Lists BG for submitting questions.

In this Shooting the Shit Edition of We are RIZIN, Andrew and Christian talk about the AEW Double or Nothing show, UFC releases and who would make a great or not so great addition to RIZIN, and the new main event of RIZIN 16.

In this huge edition of We are RIZIN, Andrew & Christian are joined by MLW's The Eastern Lariat podcast co-host Dylan Fox. The three discuss the upcoming RIZIN 16 Kobe show. All the fights are discussed including the kickboxing fights that feature virtual unknowns, if Ahmed Ferradji really did get scared to fight Tenshin or if it's possible that there is more to the story, and why RIZIN chose Kobe of all places to have a show.

In this interview, Andrew talks with Kana "The One Man Riot" Hyatt who takes on Mamoru "Fullswing" Uoi at RIZIN 16. Topics include how he got into fighting, preparing for his opponent, training at Team Bodyshop with A.J. McKee, training differently as he gets older and other topics.

In this first ever interview with a fighter from Thailand, Andrew talks to Topnoi Tiger Muay Thai who will be facing Yusaku Nakamura at RIZIN 16 in Kobe. Topics include how he got started as a fighter, training under George Hickman at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, wanting to face Tenshin Nasukawa, and what he has in store for his opponent. Thank you to Che of Tiger Muay Thai for translating during the interview. Apologies the audio isn't up to par at first. It does get better as the interview progresses.

In this interview, Andrew talks to Jake "The Honeybear" Heun about his heavyweight versus Roque Martinez at RIZIN 16. They discuss the fight, switching camps from Thailand to Australia, fighting in Siberia, his tattoos, Top Gun 2, and other topics.

In this interview, Andrew talks to Tim Eschtruth, who takes on Erson Yamamoto at RIZIN 16. Topics include how Eschtruth went from judo to MMA, being a 36-year-old fighter in a young man's sport, his love of tabletop games, preparing for the fight, among many other topics!

In this post fight episode of We are RIZIN, Andrew talks to Damien Brown, fresh off his win at RIZIN 15 against Koji Takeda. Topics discussed include analyzing the fight, Brown's future with RIZIN, Jason Knight, Will Brooks, Brown's new gym, and veterans issues in Australia. Photo courtesy of RIZIN FF.

In this long edition of the We are RIZIN podcast, Andrew and Christian along with special guest Joseph Matos discuss the RIZIN 15 show from Yokohama Arena. Were they happy with the show or did they find it underwhelming? Along with that, they discuss potential future matchups, fight of the night, performance of the night, who should not return in RIZIN, and other JMMA news including Daron Cruickshank's video controversy. NOTE: We recorded this through Discord for the first time. There is a slight echo at times and sometimes the audio levels change but it should be a higher quality audio than when we usually record through Skype. Apologies for any issues you might hear. Photo courtesy of RIZIN FF

In this continuation from ep 41, Andrew and Christian preview the RIZIN 15 show from Yokohama Arena. They look at all the fights, make predictions, talk about which fights they are looking forward to the most. Andrew makes his case for why he doesn't think Taiga is as good as he used to be. Christian makes a case for King Mo. To hear the rest of their hot takes, make sure to listen!

In this non-RIZIN episode of We are RIZIN, Andrew and Christian talk about Josh Barnnett's UWFi inspired Bloodsport show, which featured Josh Barnett vs Minoru Suzuki in the main event. They also talk about ONE FC's New Era show, their first show in Japan. They also talk about the hype behind the show, if RIZIN has anything to worry about, and the dismal ratings the show got on Japanese TV. They finally cap off by talking about the awesome grappling event Quintet Fight Night 3 show, featuring teams of all women.

In this episode of We are RIZIN, Andrew and Christian talk to the one and only Lenne Hardt, English ring announcer for RIZIN FF. We talk about how she got involved in the crazy world of MMA in PRIDE, her voice acting career in video games and animes, companies that hire impersonators, her favorite fights, her process as a ring announcer, and the RIZIN 15 show coming up Sunday. This is an interview that cannot be missed!

In this interview, Andrew talks with Ben "10" Nguyen who will be debuting at RIZIN 15 versus Kyoji Horiguchi. They talk about his opponent, going from South Dakota to Australia, the UFC Flyweight division, what happened after he was released from UFC, the infamous viral video that go him signed to UFC, video games and which ones he is playing, being a Twitch streamer, and his favorite memes.

Andrew interviews RIZIN 15 fighter Damien "Beatdown" Brown who will be taking undefeated Japanese fighter Koji Takeda. Topics include what are his thoughts on his opponent, a RIZIN Lightweight tournament, how much longer he plans to fight, why he doesn't watch movies, the opening of his gym, Diego Brandao, and other topics.

In this special interview, Andrew talks with the legend Dan "The Beast" Severn. Topics discussed the differences in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, why he doesn't watch NCAA wrestling, wrestling in UWFi, the Bloodsport show and his match with Frank Mir, and the current well being of Don Frye.

In this edition of We are RIZIN, Andrew and Christian preview Josh Barnett's shoot style Bloodsport card for Wrestlemania week. The card includes Josh Barnett, Minoru Suzuki, Frank Mir, Dan Severn and many others. They go over all the fights on the card and pick who they think will win. Also discussed is the strong rumors of RENA going to ONE, open line from listeners, and the Quintent show featuring King Reina and Miyuu Yammamoto.

In this non-RIZIN edition of the We are RIZIN Podcast, Andrew talks to "The Bone Collector" Dominic Garrini. Garrini will be taking on "The New York Bad Ass" Phil Baroni at Josh Barnett's Bloodsport pro wrestling show during Wrestlemania week, Thursday April 4, in New Jersey. They discuss how he got into Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, earning his purple belt, transitioning into pro wrestling, addressing Phil Baroni's trash talking of him on social media, and why he thinks he can beat Baroni in their match.

In this unique edition of We are RIZIN, the show becomes We are RISEin. Hosts Andrew Benjamin and J. Christian Gary review the recent RISE show that featured Tenshin Nasukawa in the main event. They also shoot the shit discussing a bunch of other topics in MMA. They talk aboout PEDs, the recent DEEP show, the Wrestling Observer Awards and lack of JMMA representation, the retirement of Jushin "Thunder" Liger, Josh Barnett's Bloodsport and a host of other topics.

In this interview with RIZIN LHW fighter Jiri Prochazka, we talk about his upcoming fight with King Mo for the inaugural LHW title. We talk about his preparation for the fight, the wackiness of his RIZIN 14 fight with Brandon Halsey, and why he's not interested in the fighting Cro Cop anymore.

In this post RIZIN 14 fight interview, Andrew talks to Johnny "Hollywood" Case about his RIZIN 14 win over Yusuke Yachi. Andrew dissects the fight and talks to Case about his strategy during the fight, the Lightweight GP, possible future opponents and Case's thoughts on the Floyd Mayweather vs Tenshin Nasukawa fight.

In this interview conducted in September of last year (I mistakenly say October like a dope), we talk to Russian fighter Vitaly Shemetov. "The Dancing Russian" is looking to fight in RIZIN and has created social media buzz around his desire to fight for the promotion. We talk about how he started in MMA, why he wants to fight in RIZIN (hint: there's a love story involved), and who he wants to fight if given the opporunity.

In this episode of "We are RIZIN," Andrew and Christian review RIZIN's 2018. The inaugural "Soccer Kick Awards" are held to award the various fights and fighters of RIZIN. They also discuss their RIZIN RESOLUTIONS; what they hope to see RIZIN do or not to do in 2019. And at the end, Andrew details the We are RIZIN listener contest to give away the pictured RIZIN 11/12 program.

In Part two of this RIZIN 14 review show, Andrew Benjamin, J. Christian Gary, TeepToTheJunk & Joseph Matos discuss the triple main event portion of the show. The three discuss the two championship matches, who could be future challengers for the champs, the much talked about Tenshin vs Floyd Mayweather Exhibition Boxing match including the BS theories it was a worked match.

In this first part of the review of the RIZIN 14 main card, Andrew Benjamin, J. Christian Gary, TeepToTheJunk, & Joseph Matos talk about all the fights before the title matches. They discuss the results, futures of the winners and losers, who should fight Gabi Garcia next, the potential participants in the LW GP, and the wackiness that happen in the Jiri Prochazka vs Brandon Halsey match.

In this first part of the review of RIZIN 14, Andrew Benjamin and J. Christian Gary w/ special guests TeeptotheJunk and Joseph Matos review the Yarennoka card that preceeded the RIZIN 14 main card. All of the fights are discussed, which fighters we would like to see return, and the future of Crusher Tatsuya Kawajiri in MMA after his match with Satoru Kitaoka in the main event.

In this episode of "We are RIZIN" we talk to one of the lightweight winners of at RIZIN 14, Damien "Beatdown" Brown. We talk about his fight with Daron Cruickshank, possible future opponents he's interested, answer Twitter fan questions, and talk about possibly fighting in Bellator.

In part 2 of the RIZIN 14 preview, we focus entirely on the Floyd Mayweather vs Tenshin Nasukawa 3 round exhibition match. Note this was recorded before the announcement it would not be made legally available to North Americans. We talk about how the fight can go, give our picks about who wins or if it goes to a draw, what this fight does for RIZIN and the future of Tenshin after this fight.

In this episode, Andrew and Christian Gary (@chrisgary92) are joined by special guests Teep to the Junk (@teeptothejunk) & Joseph Matos (@seawrestling) to cover the final RIZIN of 2018, RIZIN 14. They talk about all the fights on the main card (Pt 2 has Floyd/Tenshin), talk a little a bit about the Yarennoka card preceding the main card, and give thoughts on RIZIN not announcing a way for westerners to watch legally as of the recording.

In this two-part interview piece, Andrew to Justin Scoggins who will be facing Yuki Motoya at in a catchweight 130 pound match and Johnny "Hollywood" Case who faces Yusuku Yachi in a lightweight match. In the first part, Andrew interviews Johnny "Hollywood" Case. We talk about his start as a MMA fighter, which includes starting his career with two losses, his time in UFC & PFL, the origins of the "Hollywood" name and his plan to beat opponent Yusuke Yachi. In the 2nd part, Andrew interviews Justin Scoggins. Scoggins is a former UFC fighter who fought in the flyweight division. In this interview, we talk about his start in MMA, his opponent, wanting to do kickboxing after this fight, thoughts on Mayweather vs Tenshin and many other topics. In the 2nd part,

In this interview, Andrew talks to Australian fighter Damien "Beatdown" Brown about his upcoming RIZIN 14 debut against Daron Cruickshank in a lightweight bout. We talk about his start in MMA, the Australian MMA scene, fighter pay, and who would he like to fight next in Rizin.

In what was news no one was expecting to hear, at a RIZIN 14 press conference today, it was announced that undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather will be taking on Tenshin Nasukawa on their New Year's Eve show. Andrew and Christian talk about their thoughts as well the western MMA media jumping on the RIZIN bandwagon when a few weeks ago they wouldn't cover Kyoji/Tenshin.

Finally it is here. The RIZIN 13 review show. Hosts Andrew and Christian talk about the highly anticipated show including the awesome Horiguchi/Tenshin kickboxing match, the AMAZING Bob Sapp/Ossuna match, and discuss future opponents for the winners and losers. The two also discuss the Twitter exchange among MMA users whether the western MMA media has an obligation to cover JMMA.

We Are Rizin 19: Jake Heuen Interview by We are Rizin

We Are Rizin 18: Rizin 13 Preview by We are Rizin

In this two part interview, we talk with RIZIN heavyweight and DEEP Megaton Champion Roque Martinez. In the first part, which was recorded shorty after his win over Samurai Mark Hunt at RIZIN 12, we talk about his RIZIN debut against Jerome Le Banner, the slugfest he has with Samurai Mark Hunt, Guam, his fight camp Spike 22 and training with Miyuu Yamamoto. In part two, which was recorded on 9/13/2018, we talk about his RIZIN 13 fight against MMA legend Mirko Cro Cop. We talk about his training, the weight and round stipulations by Cro Cop's camp, if he feels that he is being fed to the Croation knockout artist, and the status of his DEEP Megaton Championship.

In this interview Andrew talks with the Minnesota Wrecking Machine and Invicta FC matchmaker Kaitlin Young. We talk about her win over King Reina at Rizin 12, her return to MMA, competing in Japan for the first time and many other fight related topics.

Before there was RIZIN, there was PRIDE FC. Without PRIDE, there would be no RIZIN. Even to this day, PRIDE is talked about with much reverance and praise. Bringing us some of the most legendary moments in MMA including Fedor vs Cro Cop, Rampage Jackson powerbombing his way to a win, and the infamous hunting of the Gracies by Kazushi Sakuraba, author Lee Daly chronicles the history of the Japanese promotion. To support the Indiegogo campaign, go here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/before-a-fall-a-history-of-pride-fc#/

Hosts Andrew & Christian dicuss the latest Rizin show, Rizin 12 from Nagoya. They discuss the fights which included two surprising outcomes. Andrew discusses why he thought it was a thumbs in the middle show while Christian talks why it was a thumbs up. Also discussed is the recent news of Rizin annoucning and an expansion on the number of shows being put on and whether it is a good move or not.

In this episode, we have two post fight interviews taken in the Rizin 11 media room. First is an interview with Rizin FF CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara with voiceover from a translator. Followed by that is LW fighter Daron Cruickshank after his win over Tom Santos.

In this review of the latest Rizin show, Christian Gary and Andrew Benjamin talk about one of the best MMA shows of the year. We talk about our favorite fights, potential upcoming match ups and also a worst fight of the year candidate. Also Andrew talks about being credentialed for media at the show.

WE ARE RIZIN #12: Rizin 11 Preview by We are Rizin

WE ARE RIZIN #11: Interview with Jair Rozenstruik by We are Rizin

Hey everyone. In this episode, we are joined by special guest Christian Gary from Focus Fights. We review the awesome Rizin 10 show, talk about potential fights the competitors may have, talk a little about Road FC 47 and discuss the recently announced Rizin 11 match Horiguchi vs Ogikubo.

WE ARE RIZIN #9: Rizin 10- Fukuoka Preview by We are Rizin

In this double header interview we talk to women's super atomweight fighters Alyssa Garcia & Melissa Karagianis about their upcoming fights at Rizin 10, how they got started in MMA, thoughts on their respective opponents and other topics!

In this interview, we catch up with Rizin BW fighter Ian McCall. We talk about McCall parting ways with the UFC, his Rizin debut fight against Manel Kape, why Kape is "piece of shit," and his thoughts on his upcoming fight on May 5 against Kyoji Horiguchi. Follow Ian McCall on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Unclecreepymma

WE ARE RIZIN #6: Interview with Shinju Auclair by We are Rizin

In this special post-fight analysis interview, we talk to #1 Women's Lightweight fighter Cindy Dandois. We analyze her fight with King Reina, what it was like being in Japan for the first time, and talk about who she would like to fight in the future. Would she rematch King Reina? Cyborg? Gabi Garcia? Meghan Anderson again?