The new RIZIN bantamweight champion is Kai Asakura. The Japanese fighter managed to get the belt after defeating Juan Archuleta through a brutal knee that led to his TKO win at RIZIN 45.
The finish in slow motion!
📡 Watch on @FITEtv !🔻https://t.co/eEpfmslhPp pic.twitter.com/zEJwkpI1eE
— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) December 31, 2023
Asakura defeated the American opponent at the 3:20 mark of Round 2 after both sides showed competitive exchanges of shots. However, Archuleta’s journey ended after missing landing a punch, which gave the Japanese a chance to send the counter knee finish to his chest to conclude the fight.
For Asakura, the victory is perfect as he’s the only one eligible for the belt after Archuleta was stripped of it for missing weight before the fight. According to the rules of the promotion company, if Archuleta was the one who won, the bout would be given a No Contest status.
The bantamweight champ first secured the belt in August 2020 after defeating Hiromasa Ougikubo. However, Asakura lost it to Kyoji Horiguchi in December of the said year, giving him three years to finally redeem himself and regain the belt.
As for Archuleta, the loss could add to his worries with Bellator now under PFL. Prior to the fight, “The Spaniard” expressed his frustration about PFL’s uncertain answer when he asked about his earlier agreements with Bellator, including a fight with Patchy Mix. The fighter hopes to fight Mix after defeating Asakura, but with this defeat, it is unknown what will be next for the 36-year-old, who hopes to continue fighting for RIZIN while keeping his position at Bellator.
In related news, here are the other results of RIZIN 45:
Main Card
- Kyoji Horiguchi defeated Makoto Shinryu via submission (rear-naked choke, 3:44 mark of Round 2)
- Kai Asakura defeated Juan Archuleta via TKO (3:20 mark of Round 2)
- Kleber Koike defeated Yutaka Saito via submission (guillotine choke, 1:21 mark of Round 3)
- Ren Hiramoto defeated Ya-Man via unanimous decision
- Seika Izawa defeated Miyuu Yamamoto via submission (rear-naked choke, 0:37 mark of Round 2)
- Mikio Ueda defeated Tsuyoshi Sudario via TKO (0:55 mark of Round 2)
- Hiromasa Ougikubo defeated John Dodson via unanimous decision
- Vince Morales defeated Yuki Motoya via unanimous decision
- Shinobu Ota defeated Ryusei Ashizawa via TKO (2:21 mark of Round 1)
- Kouzi defeated Kota Miura via TKO (0:59 mark of Round 2)
- Igor Tanabe defeated Shinsho Anzai via submission (rear-naked choke, 1:32 mark of Round 1)
- Hiroya Kondo defeated Jo Arai via TKO (2:53 mark of Round 2)
- Yuta Kubo defeated Rukiya Anpo via submission (rear-naked choke, 4:28 mark of Round 1)
Preliminary Card
- Suguru Nii defeated Satoshi Yamasu via KO (1:03 mark of Round 2)
- Tatsuki Shinotsuka defeated Daichi Tomizawa via unanimous decision (kickboxing)
- Ryujin Nasukawa defeated Jongmin Shin via TKO (2:16 mark of Round 2)
- Joe Hiramoto defeated Yushi Sakura via unanimous decision
