On July 16, Rizin Fighting Federation (RIZIN FF) owner, Nobuyuki Sakakibara, announced at a press conference that RIZIN FF would be hosting a 14-man openweight tournament starting on Sept. 25 in Tokyo.

The tournament will feature both the former PRIDE Grand Prix champion Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, and the former PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva, who will one of two men to receive a bye in the first round. Cro Cop will be in it from the start and will take on Myung Hyun Man in a first round fight.

This weekend, the 2016 World Grand Prix will get underway and it is set to take place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The fight night will feature all six o the first round fights and an additional seven other bouts with the likes of Kron Gracie, Miyu Yamamoto, Gabi Garcia, and Daron Cruickshank all featuring.  
Just like back in the good ol' days of PRIDE, all fights will take place in a ring rather than a cage.
 

Isn't Cro Cop banned?

Cro Cop had previously announced his retirement in November 2015 citing shoulder problems prohibiting him to train. He had also admitted using a human growth hormone during a random USADA test.

He said he'd taken it to aid his rehab in preparation for a fight with Anthony Hamilton which was booked for UFC's show on Nov. 28 2015 in Seoul, South Korea. He subsequently announced his retirement, but was suspended at the time for two years under the UFC's new testing policy.

Japanese MMA is not regulated, nor are there drug tests for steroids and other PEDs, so fighters suspended in countries like the U.S., Canada and Brazil can compete. Rizin have chosen not to adhere to Cro Cop's current ban.
 

How is the tournament configured?

The tournament features two seeded fighters Cro Cop and Wanderlei Silva who have been kept on separate sides of the draw. There is also one fighter still to be named who will take on Wanderlei in the quarterfinals in December--both these fighters received a bye in the first round.
All fighters who win this weekend will progress onto the finals which are taking place on December 29 and December 31.
 
RIZIN FF World Grand Prix 2016: 1st Round Fight Card

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Kron Gracie  vs.  Hideo Tokoro 145 lbs
Miyu Yamamoto  vs.  Rena Kubota 108 lbs
Mirko Filipovic  vs.  Hyun Man Myung 265 lbs
Kazuyuki Fujita  vs.  Baruto Kaito 265 lbs
Andy Souwer  vs.  Daron Cruickshank 157 lbs
Kizaemon Saiga  vs.  Asen Yamamoto 137 lbs
Jiří Procházka  vs.  Mark Tanios 265 lbs
Karl Albrektsson  vs.  V. Moldavsky 265 lbs
Amir Aliakbari  vs.  João Almeida 265 lbs
T. Aukštuolis  vs.  Szymon Bajor 265 lbs
Minoru Kimura  vs.  Charles Bennett 148 lbs
Kanako Murata  vs.  Kyra Batara 115 lbs
Gabrielle Garcia  vs.  D. Yarbrough 265 lbs
 

How can I watch?

The bad news is that RIZIN FF are yet to confirm any plans for this weekend's event to be broadcasted anywhere for viewers outside of Japan. We have reached out to the organization for an update on this.

Viewers in Japan can watch the RIZIN FF World Grand Prix 2016: 1st Round on live on Fuji TV starting at 19:00 local time.

Tokyo -- 15:00 JST
London -- 07:00 BST
New York -- 02:00 EDT
Las Vegas -- 23:00 PDT (Sept. 24)