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Undefeated Rajabali Shaidullaev Wins Title in 62 Seconds at Rizin โ€˜Otoko Matsuriโ€™

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A new Rizin Fighting Federation featherweight champion was crowned in quick and emphatic fashion in the main event of Rizin โ€œOtoko Matsuriโ€ in Tokyo. Undefeated Kyrgyz standout Rajabali Shaidullaev knocked out defending champion Kleber Koike Erbst in just 62 seconds to become Rizinโ€™s newest 145-pound titleholder.

Shaidullaev (14-0, 4-0 Rizin) traded strong leg kicks with Koike (34-8-1, 1 NC; 9-3, 1 NC Rizin) early in the fight before marching forward and backing Koike up against the ropes. He stunned Koike with a right hook to the temple and then dropped him face-first to the mat with a second right hand that landed on the top of Koikeโ€™s head. Koike clinging to consciousness, referee Minoru Toyonaga waved off the fight at the 1:02 mark of the opening round to crown Shaidullaev as the new champion. All 14 of the 24-year-oldโ€™s victories have come inside the distance, and he has yet to see the third round in his pro career.

A dejected Koike protested the stoppage, but the ruling was a fair one and the 17-year veteran will once again have to fight his way back to the title if he wishes to reclaim the championship that is proving to be difficult for anyone to hold on to for long.

After contemplating retirement, former two-time featherweight title challenger Mikuru Asakura (18-5, 1 NC; 12-4 Rizin) made a triumphant return to action in front of a loud and supportive fanbase in tonightโ€™s co-main event. Asakura scored a third-round TKO victory over former Rizin featherweight champion Chihiro Suzuki (13-6, 1 NC; 8-4, 1 NC Rizin) when the doctor stopped the fight due to a bad cut above Suzukiโ€™s eye.

Asakura employed a smart gameplan during the first two rounds by taking Suzuki down and pinning him against the base of a corner post. This tactic allowed Asakura to punch from top position while preventing Suzuki from getting back to his feet, and Asakura was well ahead on the scorecards as the fight entered the third and final round. Asakura landed two hard knees and Suzuki fired back with a wild right hook. Suzuki sustained a cut above his left eye from a right hand, and Asakura put Suzuki on the mat once again. Blood poured out of the cut and time was called. The cut was deemed to be too severe for Suzuki to continue, and the fight was officially stopped at the 1:56 mark of Round 3.

Asakura, who remains one of the most popular combat sports athletes in Japan, was relieved and thrilled with tonightโ€™s victory. The fan-favorite notched his first in more than two years, placing himself immediately back into title contention in the talent-rich division.

In a featured battle between two of the promotionโ€™s brightest prospects, 19-year-old Kyoma Akimoto (8-1, 3-1 Rizin) rebounded from his first pro loss and took a unanimous decision victory over Ryo Takagi (8-3, 2-2 Rizin) at featherweight.

Takagi initially used his reach advantage well, but Akimoto began to time his movements and he landed straight left hands and two knees. Takagi could not take Akimoto down, and the round ended with both fighters throwing body kicks. Takagi attacked Akimotoโ€™s lead leg with kicks in the second round until Akimoto tripped him and hopped on his back. Takagi fought off a rear-naked choke and a heel hook, and the round concluded with him on top landing punches.

Akimoto was aggressive to begin the final round, drilling Takagi with a fierce combination that opened him up to the takedown. Takagi scrambled well enough to turn the tables and ground his opponent, where he quickly pursued his own rear-naked choke. Time expired before Akimoto could trapping Takagi in a modified twister. All three judges scored the bout in favor of Akimoto, who showed improvements tonight after his loss on New Yearโ€™s Eve.

In the first of four featherweight bouts on the main card, heavy-handed striker Kyohei Hagiwara (9-10, 8-8 Rizin) made quick work of Taisei Nishitani (6-9, 0-3 Rizin), whose quest for his first victory with the organization was once again thwarted. Hagiwara stuffed Nishitaniโ€™s early takedown attempts and punished him with knees to the body. Hurting Nishitani with two right hands, Hagiwara floored his foe with a vicious left hook to procure the victory 3:36 into the opening stanza.

The 2025 Rizin Heavyweight Grand Prix kicked off with three of four quarterfinal bouts, with the fourth scuttled due to a knee injury for Islambek Baktybek Uulu ahead of his match with Alexander Soldatkin. While the opening round proved less-than-stellar, the lone bright spot came in the form of a 63-second TKO victory for Mikio Ueda (5-2, 4-2 Rizin), who stopped the more experienced Shoma Shibisai (10-4, 1 NC; 5-3 Rizin) with leg kicks. All five of Uedaโ€™s wins have come via knockout, who went on to state his plan of putting on exciting performances since the other combatants did not.

In other grand prix bouts, Jose Augusto (11-4, 1 NC; 1-0 Rizin) topped Tsuyoshi Kamiyama (9-4, 9-4 Rizin) on the scorecards unanimously in an uneventful fight, while Marek Samociuk (8-4, 1-0 Rizin) picked up a workmanlike decision against the overweight Daniel James (15-8-1, 1 NC; 0-1 Rizin). To further raise the stakes, the organization announced that the winner of the grand prix will take on Ryan Bader at the annual New Yearโ€™s Eve gala event.

Rounding out the MMA action, Makoto Takahashi (19-4-1, 1 NC; 5-3 Rizin) took a unanimous decision win over Yuki Ito (18-6, 8-2 Rizin) in a 130-pound catchweight contest; Daisuke Nakamura (35-28-1, 2-1 Rizin) submitted Taisei Sakuraba (1-1, 1-1 Rizin) with an armbar 2:01 into Round 2 in lightweight action; Danny Sabatello (15-4-1, 1-0 Rizin) knocked out fellow bantamweight Shinobu Ota (7-5, 6-5 Rizin) with punches at the 20-second mark of Round 3 after Ota dazed himself landing a slam takedown; Hiroya Kondo (10-13-1, 3-3 Rizin) mauled Tatsuki Shinotsuka (0-1, 0-1 Rizin) at flyweight and forced Shinotsukaโ€™s corner to throw in the towel 2:11 into the encounter; Takaki Soya (13-6-1, 4-2 Rizin) upset John Dodson (24-15, 2-2 Rizin) via unanimous decision in their flyweight endeavor; Erson Yamamoto (5-7, 4-7 Rizin) hit a face crank on Daichi Tomizawa (1-1, 1-1 Rizin) at the 1:24 mark of Round 2 in a flyweight affair; 125er Joe Hiramoto (2-1, 2-0 Rizin) defeated Toki Tamaru (0-1, 0-1 Rizin) via unanimous decision; Yuga Nakaya (2-1, 1-0 Rizin) won his promotional debut against Hiro Sasaki (3-4, 0-1 Rizin) via unanimous decision at 165 pounds; and Vinicius Tsuchihashi Silveira (2-1, 1-0 Rizin) outpointed Takao Ueda (13-9-7, 0-1 Rizin) at featherweight.

In non-MMA matches, Koji Tanaka and Sina Karimian fought to a time-limit draw after three 3:00 rounds in an open-weight boxing match; Taio Asahisa knocked out Yoshiya โ€œUzatsuyoโ€ Mogi with a head kick at the 1:16 mark of Round 2 in 139-pound kickboxing action; and Futa Hashimoto opened the card by defeating Daichi Akahira via unanimous decision in a kickboxing bout at 127 pounds.

This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com

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