Rizin is preparing to end 2017 with a bang because the promotion is going to be holding a pair of events over the next three days.
Things will kick off with Rizin 8 and the weigh-ins for the event were held early this morning, but that didn’t stop a lot of craziness from taking place.
To start off with, female competitor Gabi Garcia missed weight for her bout against retired pro wrestler Shinobu Kandori. Garcia came in at a total of 235.8 pounds for a fight that was set for 209.4 pounds, missing weight by 26.4 pounds.
This lead to a shouting match betweeen Kandori and Garcia, which Fightful’s own Showdown Joe Ferrero (who is a color commentator for both Rizin events) wrote about on Twitter:
#RizinFF Update: Gabi Garcia was 12 kgs over. Opponent Shinobu Kandori freaked out and started yelling “this is a disgrace”. Sakikibara came on stage and said “competitionwise, we cannot make this happen.” Stay tuned.
— Joe Ferraro (@ShowdownJoe) December 28, 2017
There is no word yet on whether or not the fight between Garcia and Kandori will take place.
The other altercation took place between UFC veteran Ian McCall and Manel Kape, who are competing in the Rizin Bantamweight Grand Prix. Following their weigh-ins (both made weight), a quick physical altercation took place after Kape slapped McCall in the back of the head.
Showdown Joe also took to Twitter to comment on the altercation:
#RizinFF Update: at the weigh in, Manel Kape smacked Ian McCall while they were facing the crowd. McCall retaliated with a punch.
— Joe Ferraro (@ShowdownJoe) December 28, 2017
With all due respect, Kape was out of line.
McCall also took to Twitter to comment on the situation:
It was a slap. If my hand was closed he would have dropped https://t.co/SE8zcJh1pu
— Ian McCall (@Unclecreepymma) December 28, 2017
In an update, Garcia has been pulled from the show.
Rizin 8 takes place on Friday, December 29 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan with Kyoji Horiguchi and Gabriel Oliveira headlining. Fightful will provide quick results of the event once it is over, while the event does air live on Fite TV.
