RIZIN 29 is now one of the many events to have been shifted around due to the pandemic. The event, which was first set to happen on May 30th, is now scheduled to take place on June 27th, as announced by the promotion on Wednesday.
The plan is for the event to remain at the Maruzen Intec Arena Osaka in Osaka, Japan.
The change in plans for RIZIN was announced just hours after the ongoing state of emergency in a large portion of Japan was extended to May 31st.
Measures for the state of emergency have big implications for live sporting events, limiting crowds to 50% of the building’s capacity or 5,000 attendees, automatically opting for whichever figure is smaller.
The state of emergency covers Tokyo and Osaka, two areas that RIZIN plans to hold their next events.
Wednesday’s announcement marks the third time RIZIN has changed an event’s date due to the pandemic. The promotion’s debut at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo has now been delayed twice, first being set for March and now being targeted for June 13th.
The promotion is now adamant that their Tokyo Dome debut will happen at the current projected date, promising to do the show even if it means no live crowd could attend.
The RIZIN 29 lineup currently has four fights from the opening round of the promotion’s Bantamweight Grand Prix. It also includes a four-man kickboxing tournament, which includes notable names Kouzi and Taiju Shiratori.
The card will also see the return of promotional veteran Yusuke Yachi, who will fight Yuki Kawana in a lightweight bout.
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