RIZIN announces BARUTO vs. Jérôme Le Banner

RIZIN FF has announced the debut of Kaido Höövelson, better known as; BARUTO. He will take on combat sports legend Jérôme Le Banner on December 31.

30-year-old Baruto (0-0) will be making his MMA debut following his run as a sumo-wrestler which gained him popularity in Japan. After suffering some injuries, Hoovelson has transitioned to MMA and has trained under the supervision of world class fighters like Peter Aerts and Akira Shoji.

42-year-old combat sports legend Le Banner (3-2-1, 81-22-2 KB) has been fighting professionally for almost 20 years but has not competed in MMA since December of 2010 where he lost to Satoshi Ishii via decision. He went 2-0 in kickboxing this year, including a…