Japanese star Mikuru Asakura had the last laugh in the main event of Super RIZIN 4 with a decision victory over former champion Kleber Koike this Sunday in Saitama, Japan.
The two met in a key featherweight bout and Asakura, who was choked out by the Brazilian back in 2021, had the better start this time around as Koike was unable to keep him on the ground. Koike relied on guard pulls going forward, but Asakura was the aggressor. Asakura finished strong with ground and pound shots and a flying stomp
attempt, and was declared the winner via split decision.
One of the biggest names in RIZIN, Asakura now hopes to earn another title shot after coming up short in previous attempts in 2020 and 2023, when he lost to Yutaka Saito and Vugar Karamov. RIZIN announced Sunday that the championship will be on the line in the main event of RIZIN 51 on Sept. 28, with Rajabali Shaidullaev defending it against Viktor Kolesnik in Nagoya.
Shunta Nomura defeated former Bellator lightweight champion Patricky Pitbull in the co-main event, leaving the Brazilian with his face covered in blood to capture a decision victory. RIZIN champion Roberto Satoshi was watching the action from ringside and entered the ring to face off with Nomura, and RIZIN president Nobuyuki Sakakibara announced the title match for RIZIN 51.
The card was expected to feature a pair of championship matches, but Yu Jin Shin missed weight badly for her shot at atomweight queen Seika Izawa. They agreed to compete up a weight class, and Shin also missed that new weight limit. Izawa still went on to fight, and made short work of the opponent with an arm-triangle choke in just over two minutes. The other title bout went the distance, with Naoki Inoue defending his bantamweight throne in a decision over Ryuya Fukuda.
Super RIZIN 4 featured the heavyweight grand prix semifinals, with Marek Samociuk and Alexander Soldatkin advancing to the final. Samociuk won a decision over Bellator veteran Jose Augusto, and Soldatkin knocked out Mikio Ueda in the second round.
Five flyweight contests marked the beginning of the company’s grand prix, which will crown a new 125-pound titleholder. Hiromasa Ougikubo won a decision over Jose Torres, and Yuki Motoya topped Hiroya in three rounds to advance. The other flyweights victorious were Makoto Takahashi, Alibek Gadzhammatov and Yuki Ito.
Check the complete Super RIZIN 4 results below.
- Mikuru Asakura def. Kleber Koike via split decision
- Shunta Nomura def. Patricky Pitbull via unanimous decision
- YA-MAN def. Masanori Kanehara via KO — Round 3, 2:51
- Kuoma Akimoto def. Koki Akada via submission (rear-naked choke) — Round 1, 2:57
- Naoki Inoue def. Ryuya Fukuda via unanimous decision
- Seika Izawa def. Yu Jin Shin via submission (arm-triangle choke) — Round 1, 2:24
- Tatsuya Ando def. Ji Yong Yang via submission (rear-naked choke) — Round 2, 3:52
- Moeri Suda def. Noeru Narita via submission (armbar) — Round 2, 3:02
- Alexander Soldatkin def. Mikio Ueda via TKO — Round 2, 3:05
- Marek Samociuk def. Jose Augusto via unanimous decision
- Makoto Takahashi def. Erson Yamamoto via submission (guillotine choke) — Round 1, 2:55
- Alibek Gadzhammatov def. Takaki Soya via TKO — Round 3, 2:39
- Yuki Ito def. Nkazimulo Zulu via unanimous decision
- Hiromasa Ougikubo def. Jose Torres via unanimous decision
- Yuki Motoya def. Hiroya via unanimous decision
- Takahiro Ashida def. Naoki Tanaka via unanimous decision
- Satoshi Kamiyama def. Masashi Inada via TKO — Round 2, 2:28
- Shogo Kuriaki def. Taiga Kawabe via unanimous decision
More from mmafighting.com:
- UFC Abu Dhabi Results: Whittaker vs. De Ridder
- UFC Abu Dhabi results: Bryce Mitchell survives early knockdown, grounds Said Nurmagomedov to win decision
- UFC Abu Dhabi predictions
- UFC Abu Dhabi live blog: Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder
- Reinier de Ridder admits it’s ‘not looking good for ONE Championship,’ thankful UFC is keeping him busy
- ‘Title shot next is delusional’: Pros react to Reinier de Ridder’s win over Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi
- Aaron Pico has new opponent for UFC 319 co-main event
