Arguably one of the best mixed martial artists competing outside
the
Ultimate Fighting Championship, Kyrgyz standout Rajabali
Shaidullaev preserved his perfect record and became a dual
champion before 48,968 fans at Kyocera Dome Osaka in Japan.
Shaidullaev earned a hard-fought unanimous decision over A.J. McKee in
the Super
Rizin 5 main event. The victory allowed him to retain his
Rizin Fighting Federation featherweight title and capture the
Professional Fighters League championship at 145 pounds.
Rajabali Shaidullaev moves to 20-0 with unanimous decision over
A.J. McKee
Shaidullaev (20-0, 8-0 Rizin) encountered early adversity when a
counter one-two from McKee (25-3, 1-1 Rizin) knocked him off
balance in the opening seconds. Shaidullaev quickly recovered,
slammed McKee to the canvas and landed short elbows and punches
while pinning him against the bottom rope.
McKee answered with an upkick to the face, but Shaidullaev resumed
his attack with punches and elbows.
McKee took Shaidullaev’s back and briefly brought him to the canvas
in the second round. Shaidullaev escaped explosively before forcing
McKee down near the base of a corner post.
McKee attempted to tie up his opponent from the bottom, but
Shaidullaev passed to side control and opened a cut near McKee’s
right eye. McKee briefly regained his footing before being taken
down again, and Shaidullaev spent the remainder of the round
punching from inside the American’s guard.
Shaidullaev entered the third round for the first time in his
professional career but showed no signs of slowing down. He landed
an overhand right and followed it with a takedown.
McKee worked up to one knee and attempted a takedown of his own
before briefly taking Shaidullaev’s back during a scramble. After
returning to their feet, both men pursued a finish, with
Shaidullaev landing the cleaner punches.
McKee secured a late takedown into Shaidullaev’s half guard, where
the fight concluded.
All three judges scored the contest 30-27 for Shaidullaev.
Following the victory, Shaidullaev addressed the crowd and noted
that he has one fight remaining on his current Rizin contract.
Kyoma
Akimoto then entered the ring and respectfully requested the
opportunity to become Shaidullaev’s next—and potentially
final—Rizin title challenger.
Shaidullaev and Rizin CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara appeared receptive to
the proposal. If finalized, the championship bout could take place
on New Year’s Eve.
In the lightweight co-main event, Rizin star Mikuru
Asakura (20-6, 1 NC; 14-5 Rizin) survived a series of
submission attempts before knocking out decorated grappler Shinya Aoki
(49-13, 1 NC; 1-1 Rizin) in the first round.
Competing for Rizin for the first time since the promotion’s
inaugural event in December 2015, Aoki immediately clinched and
pulled guard. He attempted a triangle choke, but Asakura escaped by
slamming him to the canvas.
After the fighters returned to their feet, Aoki jumped onto
Asakura’s back and secured a body triangle as they fell to the mat.
Aoki threatened with a rear-naked choke and then an armbar, but
Asakura turned into his guard and postured up to strike.
The first punch Asakura landed appeared to render Aoki unconscious.
Asakura continued with follow-up punches until the referee stopped
the fight at 2:39 of the opening round.
Much like Aoki’s first Rizin appearance, in which he defeated
Kazushi
Sakuraba, the matchup carried the feeling of a symbolic passing
of the torch. Asakura has endured his own struggles in recent
years, but youth and power were decisive on this occasion.
The main card opened with a featherweight matchup between Ren
Hiramoto (5-3, 5-3 Rizin) and Karshyga
Dautbek (19-4, 1 NC; 5-2, 1 NC Rizin), which ended in a
contentious split decision after three entertaining rounds.
Dautbek landed punches from top position after scoring an early
takedown, but Hiramoto battled back to his feet and exchanged power
shots with him. Dautbek staggered Hiramoto with a hard left hook,
then continued to connect with overhand lefts. He secured another
takedown late in the round and landed more ground strikes.
Dautbek caught a body kick and scored another takedown in the
second round. Hiramoto kicked him away and began attacking his
opponent’s lead leg. Dautbek subsequently struggled to bring the
fight back to the ground, allowing Hiramoto’s confidence to
grow.
Hiramoto’s takedown defense held until the midpoint of the final
round, when Dautbek tripped him near the ropes. The referee
returned the fighters to their feet after the action stalled, but
Dautbek landed a suplex and closed the fight with punches on the
ground.
Hiramoto appeared dejected before the scores were announced, but
two judges awarded him the fight 29-28. The third scored it 29-27
for Dautbek, giving Hiramoto the split decision.
One year after they were initially scheduled to meet in a title
fight, former lightweight champion Roberto
Satoshi de Souza (21-4, 14-3 Rizin) and leading contender
Shunta
Nomura (10-3, 2-1 Rizin) finally shared the ring.
Nomura sprawled near a corner and denied de Souza’s takedown
attempts until midway through the opening round. De Souza
eventually forced him into a seated position against the corner
post and landed punches while standing over him.
Nomura prevented de Souza from securing a rear-naked choke, but the
former champion appeared to have established an early lead.
The fight remained standing in the second round, with both men
landing leg kicks and long jabs. De Souza connected with two right
hands, while Nomura opened a cut beside his opponent’s right eye
with a lead left hook.
After a brief exchange of power punches in the final round, de
Souza took Nomura down into half guard. He eventually secured back
control and kept Nomura trapped in a body triangle until the final
bell.
All three judges scored the bout 29-28 for de Souza. After earning
the unanimous decision, de Souza revealed that he had suffered a
dislocated shoulder early in the fight. If medically cleared in
time, he could return on New Year’s Eve and potentially challenge
for the lightweight title he lost the previous year.
Featherweight veteran Yutaka
Saito (22-9-2, 5-5 Rizin) spoiled the return of Ren “Ya-Man”
Sugiyama (3-3, 3-3 Rizin), who competed for the first time
since suffering a career-threatening orbital injury.
Saito ducked beneath a right hand and took Sugiyama down into half
guard early in the fight. He advanced to side control before taking
Sugiyama’s back late in the round. Sugiyama survived a rear-naked
choke attempt and made it to the bell.
The second round followed a similar pattern, with Saito controlling
Sugiyama on the ground. Saito again pursued a rear-naked choke, but
Sugiyama refused to submit. When Sugiyama briefly stood, Saito
climbed onto his back and dragged him down again.
Saito knocked Sugiyama off balance with a knee in the final round
and scored another takedown. Sugiyama had no answer for Saito’s
grappling, and the former champion controlled him with a body
triangle for more than two minutes.
All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for Saito, who earned a
dominant unanimous decision.
Former Rizin featherweight champion Vugar
Karamov (22-7, 8-4 Rizin) returned to the win column with a
unanimous decision over Ryo Takagi
(11-4, 5-3 Rizin).
Karamov took Takagi’s back and dragged him to the canvas after
landing punches near a corner. Takagi briefly stood, but Karamov
scored another takedown and threatened with an arm-triangle choke.
He transitioned to a rear-naked choke and then a guillotine, but
Takagi escaped each submission attempt.
Karamov recovered from two eye pokes early in the second round.
Takagi later countered a takedown with a guillotine choke and
returned to his feet near a corner. He then surprised Karamov with
a trip but could not keep the Azerbaijani grounded for long.
Karamov added two takedowns in the final round and controlled
Takagi against a corner post. He scored one final takedown late in
the fight, preventing Takagi from finding the knockout he
needed.
The judges scored the contest 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 for
Karamov.
Natalia
Kuziutina (11-1, 2-0 Rizin) moved closer to a women’s super
atomweight title opportunity by submitting Rizin star Rena Kubota
(15-7, 14-6 Rizin).
Kubota entered with heavy tape around her left knee, which
Kuziutina immediately targeted with kicks. Kuziutina followed with
rapid uppercuts before forcing Kubota to the canvas and landing
knees to the head.
Kubota returned to her feet near a corner, where Kuziutina attacked
her left leg with another knee. She then dragged Kubota back to the
mat, landed additional knees and attempted an armbar.
Kubota’s right eye swelled significantly between rounds, with
replays indicating that the damage resulted from an accidental
clash of heads.
Kuziutina immediately took Kubota down in the second round and
landed knees from the north-south position. She then secured a
one-arm guillotine and advanced to mount, tightening the choke
until Kubota tapped at 3:14.
The event began with a lightweight kickboxing match between
Hide
Meison Usami and Noah Bey,
contested with open-finger gloves.
Usami opened with chopping leg kicks and two straight left hands
that forced Bey backward. Bey frustrated his opponent with lateral
movement but landed little offense of his own, while Usami closed
the round with a flying switch kick.
Bey found more success with leg kicks in the second round, leaving
visible damage on both of Usami’s legs. Usami caught one of Bey’s
kicks, and Bey responded with a spinning backfist.
Bey switched stances in the final round and used his leg kicks to
set up a right hand. Usami then dropped him with a lead right hook.
Bey beat the standing eight count, but Usami caught a body kick and
floored him again with a left cross.
Bey returned to his feet, and both men exchanged punches before the
final bell. Usami’s two late knockdowns secured him a unanimous
decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 30-25.