| Fighting Network Rings | |
| Type: | Private |
| Foundation: | 1991 1995 2008 |
| Trade Name: | RINGS |
| Founder: | Akira Maeda |
| Industry: | Professional wrestling promotion Mixed martial arts promotion |
| Key People: | Akira Maeda |
| Defunct: | 1995 February 15, 2002 ) |
Fighting Network Rings, trademarked as RINGS, is a Japanese combat sport promotion that has lived three distinct periods: shoot style puroresu promotion from its inauguration to 1995, mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion from 1995 to its 2002 disestablishment, and a revived MMA promotion from 2008 onward.
RINGS was founded by Akira Maeda on May 11, 1991, following the dissolution of Newborn UWF. At that time, Maeda and Mitsuya Nagai were the only two people to transfer from UWF, wrestlers such as Kiyoshi Tamura, Hiromitsu Kanehara and Kenichi Yamamoto would later also transfer from UWF International.
Despite starting out as a shoot style professional wrestling promotion, RINGS showcased primitive MMA fights, as early as 1991, and notably promoted shoot style wrestling matches alongside these legitimate fights on the same cards. Beginning in 1995, RINGS ceased promoting their product as professional wrestling and following founder Akira Maeda's retirement in 1999, the promotion transitioned into a full-fledged MMA promotion.
In its early years, the promotion often brought in fighters and professional wrestlers from Shooto, Pancrase, and Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi to compete against RINGS fighters.
Maeda retired from active duty in 1998, leaving Tamura as the top star, but the collapse of UWF International and the subsequent rise of PRIDE provided competition that proved to be too much for the promotion. On February 15, 2002, RINGS ceased activity.[1]
Many Japanese RINGS stars, including Masayuki Naruse, Wataru Sakata and Hiroyuki Ito, made the transition back into traditional puroresu (although Naruse continued to compete sporadically in MMA). Kiyoshi Tamura, Hiromitsu Kanehara, Yoshihisa Yamamoto and Tsuyoshi Kosaka continued competing in MMA, most notably for PRIDE. Mitsuya Nagai began a career in kickboxing before returning to traditional puroresu. The MMA promotion ZST was founded in November 2002 to accommodate former Japanese RINGS fighters who remained competitors in mixed martial arts.
Following the dissolution of Hero's and the conclusion of Maeda's involvement with FEG, Maeda revived the RINGS brand for a new series of MMA events named The Outsider. The first RINGS The Outsider event occurred on March 30, 2008. Over a dozen Outsider events have been held since.[2]
The brand was resurrected once more on January 22, 2012 with Battle Genesis: Vol. 9; the event was sanctioned by fellow mixed martial arts promotion ZST.[3] The previous RINGS Battle Genesis event, Volume 8, took place on September 20, 2001.
| No. | Name | Date | Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center | 1 |  Kiyoshi Tamura | January 21, 1998 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| align=center | 2 |  Tariel Bitsadze | May 29, 1998 | Sapporo, Japan | |
| align=center | 3 | Kiyoshi Tamura | May 22, 1999 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| align=center | 4 | Gilbert Yvel | April 20, 2000 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Title was vacated on June 13, 2000 when Yvel signed with Pride FC. | |||||
| align=center | 5 |  Fedor Emelianenko | February 15, 2002 | Yokohama, Japan | Wins title on promotion's final event. |
| Title dissolved when original promotion closed on February 15, 2002. | |||||
| No. | Name | Date | Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center | 1 | Fedor Emelianenko | August 11, 2001 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Title dissolved when original promotion closed on February 15, 2002. | |||||
| No. | Name | Date | Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center | 1 | Masayuki Naruse | August 13, 1997 | Kagoshima, Japan | |
| Naruse vacates the title on February 24, 2001; title dissolved when original promotion closed on February 15, 2002. | |||||
| No. | Name | Date | Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center | 1 |  Ricardo Arona | August 11, 2001 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Arona vacates the title on September 22, 2001 after signing with Pride FC; title dissolved when original promotion closed on February 15, 2002. | |||||
RINGS' system was largely much inspired by organizations such as the National Wrestling Alliance and FIFA, and featured fighters from different countries organized into stables. These foreign fighters would then compete against RINGS' Japanese competitors and against each other.
Australia – Chris Haseman, Elvis Sinosic Georgia – Zaza Tkeshelashvili, Tariel Bitsadze, Amiran Bitsadze Russia – Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Kopylov, Bazigit Atajev, Nikolai Zuyev, Mikhail Illoukhine, Volk Han Brazil – Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Ricardo Arona, Renato Sobral, Gustavo Machado, Renzo Gracie
United States – Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, Kerry Schall, Bobby Hoffman, Jeremy Horn