Legendary heavyweight fighter Mirko Cro Cop is returning from a self-imposed retirement to take on Tsuyoshi Kohsaka at Rizin 9 this December.
Rizin President Nobuyuki Sakakibara made the announcement through Instagram:
Cro Cop (35-11-2-1NC) won the Rizin 2016 Openweight Grand Prix, defeating Amir Aliakbari in the finals by first round knockout. Cro Cop hasn?t suffered a defeat in well over four years, with that last loss coming to UFC veteran Aleksei Oleinik at Legend Part 2: The Invasion. Cro Cop is in the midst of an seven fight winning streak, which includes wins over Bellator MMA veteran King Mo and UFC veteran Gabriel Gonzaga.
Kohsaka (27-19-2) has won just one of two in Rizin competition, defeating James Thompson. Kohsaka is also returning to action after a year layoff and his last bout came at Rizin 3 in December of 2016. Kohsaka has been competing in professional MMA for over 22 years, which includes a four pack of appearances in the UFC. He holds a controversial victory over Fedor Emelianenko.
Rizin 9 takes place on Monday, December 31 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan with no main event announced at this time. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which streams live on Fite TV.