Rumored Opponent For Kota Ibushi MMA Debut Revealed

A rumored opponent has been revealed for Kota Ibushi’s mixed martial arts debut in Japan’s Rizin Fighting Federation.

Having confirmed his departure from NJPW and taken his first bookings for Game Changer Wrestling in the United States, Ibushi is also branching out into the mixed martial arts world.

According to Asia MMA, Ibushi will face Manny Pacquiao, who signed with Rizin in late 2022 .

Manny Pacquiao is a legendary boxer and former Senator for the Phillipines.

He is the only boxing champion in history to have won major championships in eight different weight classes, having won twelve world titles across them.

Asia MMA quotes the Tokyo Sports (in Japanese) story that:

“Kota Ibushi has been approached with an offer to be Pacquiao’s first opponent in the Rizin ring.”

The site would go on to state that:

“It seems talks over a fight between Ibushi and Pacquiao are at a very preliminary stage.

“According to Tokyo Sport the ruleset is yet to be determined.”

Back in the wrestling world, Tony Khan recently spoke about the possibility of signing Ibushi.

Ibushi had recently spoken about his plans for the future, saying he wanted to have his own company.

He also revealed he had received “really big offers from AEW and all over the world.”

Quotes from Asia MMA.

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