“King” Ryan Garcia vs “Demolition Man” Rukiya Anpo
Hard-hitting boxing superstar “King” Ryan Garcia will make a special return to the ring and bring his one-of-a-kind all-action style overseas for an end-of-year attraction as RIZIN and FANMIO present a special exhibition showdown against Japanese kickboxing sensation Rukiya Anpo on Monday, December 30 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT (U.S. date and time) live from Tokyo, Japan.
The event is co-promoted by RIZIN and FANMIO, and available worldwide on FANMIO PPV, excluding Japan. End-of-year combat sports have a proud and storied history in Japan, with huge events taking place around New Year’s Eve annually. Garcia vs. Anpo will add to that much-celebrated tradition as FANMIO helps bring it to worldwide audiences with one of America’s biggest boxing stars, Garcia.
This matchup will see Garcia go up against the biggest and strongest opponent of his career in the highly-acclaimed kickboxing champion Anpo, who announced his presence on the big stage with a sensational performance against boxing legend Manny Pacquiao in a July exhibition.
Now entering the squared circle once again, Anpo can cement his place in Japanese combat sports history against the internationally-recognized social media superstar Garcia, who’s always backed up the talk that made him world famous with skill and passion in the ring.
The fascinating contrast of styles will be fought at 153-pounds, with full boxing rules implemented across eight two-minute rounds.
“I’m looking forward to knocking Anpo out for trying to knock out the legend Manny Pacquiao,” said Ryan Garcia. “Manny is past his prime and for him to try to knock him out rubbed me the wrong way. I will knock him out and teach him a lesson of respect.”
“I surpass Ryan in size, speed, power, everything,” said Rukiya Anpo. “If he goes into this match feeling like a party, it’s definitely going to be a beatdown. I’m going to beat the shit out of an arrogant, cocky Ryan and show America who the real bad boy is.”
The pay-per-view presentation will begin at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and will be available for purchase worldwide at FANMIO.com/PPV, excluding Japan. Fans can also purchase through the FANMIO App, which is available globally via smart televisions and mobile devices via Apple iOS and tvOS devices, Android Mobile, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, Vizio Smart TV, Google TV and Chromecast. A jam-packed lineup of exciting undercard bouts leading up to Garcia vs. Anpo will be announced in the coming weeks.
RIZIN has established themselves as a major force in Japan’s New Year’s Eve combat sports tradition by putting on mega events for the last 10 years. Now partnering with FANMIO, this year’s event will be world-class promotion and delivered to a global audience. RIZIN and FANMIO plan to collaborate on putting together large and exciting combat sporting events throughout 2025 and 2026.
“We’re incredibly excited about the future working with RIZIN, Japan’s biggest combat sports company and there’s no better way to launch our partnership than with Ryan Garcia vs Rukiya Anpo,” said Solomon Engel, FANMIO CEO. “This is definitely an intriguing fight with Ryan’s power and Anpo’s significant size advantage. We look forward to having an amazing event that everyone will enjoy on December 30. Make sure to tune in.”
“We are delighted to celebrate our 10th New Year’s Eve event by hosting this super fight,” said Nobuyuki Sakakibara, RIZIN CEO. “We’re happy to partner with Fanmio to make this event spectacular and deliver it to fans worldwide.”
Fight fans across the globe will be stunned watching these two young superstars from the US and Japan showcase their skills in an action packed boxing showdown where the results are unknown. This fight will be nothing but entertaining and expect an electrifying knockout. This is a fight you don’t want to miss.
The 26-year-old Ryan Garcia sports an outstanding record of 24-1 with 20 KOs and will compete in an exhibition for his first boxing action since his April fight against Devin Haney.
A native of Victorville, California, Garcia was undefeated in his first 23 professional fights following a stellar amateur career. As he rose through the rankings, Garcia’s star exploded across social media and translated to packed venues as he became one of boxing’s true crossover stars.
His lone defeat came in a 2023 mega-event against three-division champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis, as their years-long rivalry culminated in the ring with an event that sold over a million pay-per-views.
A native of Himeji, Japan who was trained in karate from an early age alongside his younger brother Riku Anpo, Rukiya Anpo has risen to superstardom in Japan with his kickboxing prowess and earned himself the “Demolition Man” moniker as he’s taken out opponent after opponent.
In 2019, he became a kickboxing world champion by defeating Kaew Fairtex in back-to-back fights to capture the super lightweight title. His accolades throughout his kickboxing career also include earning second place in the 2021 Welterweight Grand Prix, in addition to 2018 and 2020 Fight of the Year and 2017 KO of the Year awards. He debuted with RIZIN in 2023, fighting Buakaw Banchamek to a draw before defeating Sho Patrick Usami.
Following his boxing debut in the special exhibition against Pacquiao, Anpo will bring his experience, size advantage and the inspiration from his legions of Japanese fans into the ring as he looks to upset the heavy-handed Garcia in his opponent’s first fight outside of North America. With two all-action styles set to meet in the center of the ring, Garcia vs. Anpo promises fireworks to close out the year.