Rizin plans Pacquiao “gimmick” for RIZIN 15

Manny Pacquiao may be planning to duke it out with Keith Thurman on July 15th, but that doesn’t mean he can’t occupy himself in the meantime. Rizin president Nobuyuki Sakakibara shared pictures yesterday of “The Fighting Senator” signing some form of contract.

This almost certainly isn’t for a fight; RIZIN 15 is booked for April 21st, so as Bloody Elbow points out, it’s far likelier that Pacquiao (61-7-2, 39 KO) offers his services outside the ring. He could also just be going to the show to announce a later fight, but who knows?

Honestly, as long as you’re cool with the time zone issues, the show is worth watching. The top two fights are a rematch between light heavyweight knockout artists “King Mo” Lawal and Jiri Prochazka and a co-feature pitting Rizin’s best MMA fighter, Kyoji Horiguchi, against fellow UFC veteran and viral star Ben Nguyen.

Oh, and while we’re talking about Rizin and boxers, remember Tenshin Nasukawa? He got back on track last month with a Baki-pose-to-cartwheel-kick KO.