A huge heavyweight match-up has been announced for RIZIN’s 12/29 event, and it comes in the form of Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs. James Thompson.

The bout was announced by Nobuyuki Sakakibara on Twitter.

Tsuyoshi “TK” Kohsaka vs. James Thompson opens 12/29 RIZIN card

TK vs Thompson is confirmed! This fight is scheduled for the 1st fight on the 29th. Witness the way of TK!#rizinff pic.twitter.com/LdY1ExSNSG

— 榊󠄀原信行 Nobuyuki Sakakibara (@nobu_sakakibara) November 20, 2015

Kohsaka (26-18-2) has fought a who’s-who of MMA veterans. Names like Fedor Emelianenko, Randy Couture, Mark Hunt, Frank Shamrock, Ricco Rodriguez, Pedro Rizzo and both Nogueira brothers. Kohsaka is perhaps most known for his 2000 victory over Fedor Emelianenko, where the fight was ruled a TKO after Kohsaka cut Emelianenko with an illegal elbow.

The English-born striker Thompson (20-15, 1NC) is a former rugby player and bodybuilder who has been a professional MMA fighter since 2003. Throughout his career he has competed against the likes of Kimbo Slice, Alexander Emelianenko, Don Frye, Alistair Overeem, Mariusz Pudzianowki, Brett Rogers, Bob Sapp, Dan Severn and Hidehiko Yoshida, among others. He has finished 18 of his 20 win, including 11 knockouts and 7 submission.

This heavyweight bout opens the December 29 card in Saitama, Japan. Other bouts confirimed for the night include Shinya Aoki vs. Kazushi Sakuraba as well as Kron Gracie vs. Erson Yamamoto.

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