By FCF Staffwill

Ryan Bader was on hand at RIZIN’s Otoko Matsuri event in Tokyo, Sunday, and jumped in the ring to announce he will fight at the promotion’s New Year’s Eve card.

The former Bellator light-heavyweight and heavyweight champ will fight the winner of RIZIN’s ongoing heavyweight grand-prix.

The tourney has seen fellow Jose Augusto, Marek Samociuk and Mikio Ueda advance to the semifinals. A quarterfinal bout featuring Islambek Baktybek Uulu and Alexander Soldatkin that was booked for Sunday was cancelled.

Bader (31-8), who is now 41, hasn’t competed since February, 2024, when he was stopped by former PFL heavyweight tourney winner, Renan Ferreira. The former UFC contender has gone 3-2 in his last 5 fights.