RIZIN Loses 44 Million Yen Lawsuit Over No Pork Cutlet Controversy
The battle in the courtroom between the mixed martial arts organization “RIZIN” and the unique CM powerhouse “Nishitan Clinic” was won by “Nishitan Clinic.”
“Wait, we can’t display our logo during Mayweather’s fight!?”
Seiji Nishimura (54), the representative of “Nishitan Clinic” (Excom Global Co., Ltd.), who sat at ringside, couldn’t believe his ears.
On September 25, 2022, at the Saitama Super Arena, the main event of the mixed martial arts event “Super RIZIN” featured a match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. (48) and Mikuru Asakura (32). Nishimura’s clinic, Nishitan Clinic, had paid a sponsorship fee of 44 million yen, with the plan to display their logo on the referee’s chest and back.
However, as Nishimura took his seat ringside, he was told by a RIZIN (operated by Dream Factory Worldwide) representative, “Due to Mayweather’s wishes, the logo cannot be displayed on the referee’s chest.” This was an unexpected turn of events.
The dispute led to a lawsuit, and on February 17, the Tokyo District Court ordered RIZIN to pay 21.78 million yen.
Many readers might have seen the TV commercials for Nishitan Clinic, featuring Hiroshi Go (69) and the comedy trio “3ji no Heroin,” dancing to the rhythm of “Tan, Tan, Nishitan.” Nishimura, always considering the advertising effect, had high hopes for the contract with RIZIN.
Mayweather, a boxing legend with a 50-0 undefeated record, was a major draw. When matched with Asakura, one of Japan’s top fighters, the event became a high-value sporting spectacle. Nishimura decided to invest in the sponsorship with hopes for significant exposure at such a prominent event. The reason for the 44 million yen sponsorship fee was the value he placed on the logo being displayed on the referee’s chest.
“About 80% of the footage from the match shows the referee facing forward. And in the most important scene, when the referee makes the decision after the match, they’re obviously facing forward. Plus, those images are used by various media outlets.
So, the RIZIN contract was based on the logo being on the referee’s chest. If the logo was absent, it would be like ordering a tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) set and only receiving rice, miso soup, and pickles—without the tonkatsu. Who would order a tonkatsu set knowing there’s no tonkatsu?” (Nishimura)
After the match, there were several discussions between Nishimura’s side and RIZIN, and Nishimura demanded a refund of 33 million yen from the 44 million yen sponsorship. However, RIZIN offered only a refund of 11 million yen. The discussions broke down, and Nishimura filed a lawsuit demanding the return of the full 44 million yen, plus 4.4 million yen in legal fees, totaling 48.4 million yen in damages.
They never promised to display it on the chest and back
The sponsorship contract was signed about three weeks before the event. The main content of the agreement was that the “Nishitan Clinic” logo would be displayed on the chest and back of the referee shirts for all four matches, including the three preliminary matches, during the “Super RIZIN” event.
However, while the logos were displayed on the chest and back in the preliminary matches, the logo was missing from the chest during the main event, the fourth match. In the trial, RIZIN made the following claim:
“In this contract, the defendant (RIZIN) did not promise to display the logo on the chest and back of the referee shirts for all matches in the event” (from the defendant’s argument in the judgment).
However, in RIZIN’s presentation materials (sponsorship sales sheet), it was clearly stated:
“We will display your designated logo on the chest and back of the referee shirts for SUPER RIZIN. It will be a popular item that will be prominently visible during the match and especially during the decision phase.”
Additionally, the design confirmation process also assumed the logos on both the chest and back, and the Tokyo District Court rejected RIZIN’s argument.
“I thought it was malicious when they argued ‘we didn’t promise’ after confirming the chest logo design in sales materials and emails,” said Mr. Nishimura.
Another point that Mr. Nishimura is upset about involves RIZIN suing him for defamation regarding his comments in a December 2022 article in “Bunshun Online.”
“During the trial, the judge encouraged a settlement. The judge was fair and trustworthy, so I was considering settling. But RIZIN said, ‘If you agree to settle, we will drop the defamation lawsuit.’ Considering that they sued only me and not Bunshun, I felt they had filed the defamation lawsuit to pressure me into settling. Naturally, I rejected the settlement. By the way, the settlement amount the judge suggested was about 16 million yen, far lower than the 21.78 million yen in the judgment.”
The Tonkatsu didn’t have its center
In the ruling, it was determined that RIZIN was at fault for negligence in the contract conclusion. RIZIN had failed to secure confirmation from Mayweather’s side regarding the chest logo during contract negotiations and neglected their duty to inform Nishimura about the possibility of not being able to display the logo on the chest, violating principles of good faith.
Additionally, regarding Nishimura’s claim about the “tonkatsu set” where the tonkatsu did not come out, the judge stated:
“In the statement of the plaintiff (Nishimura), there is mention that not having the chest logo displayed in the 4th match was like ordering a tonkatsu set and not receiving the tonkatsu. However, objectively speaking, this should be understood as not receiving a few slices of the best part of the tonkatsu, rather than the entire tonkatsu being absent.” (From the judgment)
Thus, the judge concluded that “it was not that the tonkatsu was completely absent, but rather the best part of it wasn’t served.” The court then ordered RIZIN to pay 2.178 million yen out of the 4.84 million yen Nishimura had requested, including legal fees.
After the ruling, RIZIN appealed, and Nishimura also filed a cross-appeal to request a favorable change in the first-instance ruling.
“If, at the initial stage, they had apologized and said, ‘We don’t have the money to return now,’ we could have treated the 3.3 million yen as a loan or taken other actions. We would have never gone to court. If they had responded with sincerity, we would still be on good terms with RIZIN as a sponsor.”
On the other hand, when asked about their thoughts on the trial’s outcome, the reason for appealing, and whether they made any conditions during the settlement negotiations, RIZIN responded:
“As the case is currently pending in court, we refrain from commenting on the details of the lawsuit.” (Dream Factory Worldwide PR Department)
The second round of this dispute will be decided soon.
The presentation materials submitted by RIZIN clearly stated that the logos would be displayed on both the chest and back.
Interview and text： Shinsuke Sakai Photo： Courtesy of President Nishimura
