Animoca Brands Japan partners with XANA to support global Web3 expansion of popular martial arts event BreakingDown
17 February 2025 - Animoca Brands Japan, a strategic subsidiary of Animoca Brands, today announced it has entered into a partnership with XANA LLC (hereafter, XANA), the company behind the Web3 metaverse XANA. Under this partnership, Animoca Brands Japan will support the global development of XANA BreakingDown (tentative name), a Web3 game currently launched in closed alpha that is being developed by XANA, based on the popular martial arts event BreakingDown.
BreakingDown is a popular mixed arts event in Japan, with fighters from diverse backgrounds competing in one-minute rounds. Launched in 2021 by Asakura Mirai, a mixed martial artist, businessman, and popular YouTuber with over 3.4 million subscribers, BreakingDown’s unprecedented style has garnered significant attention, quickly establishing itself as a highly entertaining event with a large fan base. It also broadcasts a wide range of content, including audition videos, pre-competition press conferences, match livestreams, and behind-the-scenes footage. The official BreakingDown Japanese YouTube channel now has over 206,000 subscribers and its videos have been watched over 110 million times.
XANA was the main sponsor of the martial arts competitive events BreakingDown 7.5, 8.5, and 9.5. and also launched the official “XANA x BreakingDown Avatar NFT” collection in collaboration with BreakingDown. The first sale for this collection sold out 5,000 NFTs within 10 minutes, and the second sale sold out 100 NFTs in just 1 minute.
In January 2024, XANA released the closed alpha of the official BreakingDown Web3 game, tentatively named XANA BreakingDown and available exclusively to holders of XANA x BreakingDown Avatar NFTs.
Animoca Brands Japan plays the role of gateway between Japan and the rest of the world, accelerating mass adoption of Web3 by supporting the global expansion of Japanese intellectual property (IP) and content in the Web3 domain, as well as the Japanese expansion of overseas projects.
Animoca Brands Japan will leverage its position as a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, which has over 540 portfolio companies, and its expertise gained from previous partnerships to support global marketing efforts for XANA BreakingDown.
Yuji Mizoguchi, COO of BreakingDown and CEO of XANA JAPAN, commented: “XANA BreakingDown fuses the popular entertainment value of BreakingDown with XANA's Web3 technology. The aim of this project is to elevate the appeal of the unique fighting entertainment of BreakingDown to the Web3 sphere. We are confident that our partnership with Animoca Brands Japan will be a strong catalyst at the intersection of fighting games and Web3, and we look forward to further accelerating the global expansion of BreakingDown events.”
Rio Takeshi Kubo, XANA CEO, commented: “After a year and a half of development, XANA BreakingDown is available to the public. We are deeply honored to partner with Animoca Brands Japan to support the global expansion of the Web3 game of BreakingDown, a major Japanese IP that transcends the boundaries of martial arts. We have great respect for their passion and innovation. We are confident that Animoca Brands' strong global network and track record will facilitate the global success of this project and further expand the remarkable possibilities of Web3.”
Kensuke Amo, CEO of Animoca Brands Japan, commented: “We are delighted to be able to support the global Web3 expansion of BreakingDown, one of Japan's largest martial arts events. Animoca Brands Japan supports the global expansion of Japanese IP and content in Web3 to better connect Japan and the world. BreakingDown is a well known Japanese IP with a large and enthusiastic fanbase, and we believe it presents an excellent opportunity to accelerate mass adoption of Web3.”
About the Web3 game “XANA BreakingDown” (tentative name)
XANA BreakingDown is a Web3 game based on “BreakingDown”, one of the largest mixed martial arts events in Japan. It is a new genre of game that combines the excitement of real matches with Web3 gaming. The game is currently available exclusively to holders of XANA x BreakingDown avatar NFTs as a closed alpha version.
About BreakingDown
BreakingDown is a new mixed martial arts entertainment event where fighters with various backgrounds, such as boxing, karate, kudo, judo, Nippon Kempo, sumo, and systems, compete to determine the strongest fighter in one-minute, one-round bouts. As the name of the tournament “BreakingDown” suggests, which means “continuing to break down” the conventional image of martial arts and martial artists, the appeal is that the players who are aiming to make it to the top put all their effort into these super-short 1-minute battles, and the outcome is something that no one can predict.
The CEO of BreakingDown is Asakura Mirai, a mixed martial arts fighter who is also a popular YouTuber with over 3.4 million subscribers (as of January 2025). Special advisors of BreakingDown include Asakura Kai and Shirakawa Rikuto, who are both mixed martial arts fighters.
BreakingDown website/official SNS
Official website: https://breakingdown.jp
Official X: https://twitter.com/breakingdown_jp
Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breakingdown_jp
Official YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingDown_official
Official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/discover/BreakingDown
BreakingDown CLUB official App
AppStore: https://apps.apple.com/jp/app/id6443653254
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.breakingdown.bdown
About XANA
Where a Billion Dreams Meet Reality. XANA is a leading global AI-driven Layer-1 infrastructure for the metaverse, empowering billions to engage in a seamless Web3.0 cross-reality economy. XANA is trusted by over 100 major institutions, local governments, global brands, and top IPs.
Official website: https://xana.net/app
About Animoca Brands Japan
Founded in 2021, Animoca Brands Japan (corporate name: Animoca Brands K.K.) is the strategic subsidiary in Japan of Animoca Brands Corporation Limited, a leading global Web3 company. Animoca Brands Japan was established to support the global Web3 strategies of Japanese intellectual property and content holders such as major publishers, brands, education, sports teams, athletes, artists, and game companies. Animoca Brands Japan provides a platform that combines IPs with blockchain technology, and supports IP holders to build their own ecosystem through a full stack of Web3 services, providing a bridge between Japanese IPs and global fans.
For more information, please visit https://www.animocabrands.co.jp or follow on X.