Rizin 45 Weigh-in Results: Juan Archuleta Comes in Heavy, Stripped of BW Title

By Martial Arts Videos December 30, 2023
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All did not go as planned during weigh-ins for Rizin Fighting
Federation’s year-end extravaganza.

Bantamweight champion Juan
Archuleta tipped the scales at 140.6 pounds for his title
defense against Kai Asakura
(134.4) in the evening’s co-main event, and as a result, has been
stripped of the 135-pound belt.

According to a release from the Japanese promotion: “In the event
that both parties reach a mutual agreement, a no contest rule is
the likely scenario, which would result in the crowning of a new
champion, contingent upon Kai Asakura emerging victorious.
Conversely, should Juan Archuleta emerge as the winner, the bout
will be declared a no contest.”

Archuleta later revealed in a statement
on social media that an illness prevented him from competing his
weight cut.

“Sorry this happened nothing I can do about getting sick,”
Archuleta wrote. “I did my best to make weight and still step on
the scale knowing I was going to have my title taken away. But I
don’t want my fans who pay hard working money to miss this fight.
So I did my best and came up short.”

Rizin
45 takes place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan and is
headlined by a flyweight championship showdown between Kyoji
Horiguchi (125) and Makoto
Takahashi (125.6). The event is available via pay-per-view on
Fite TV for
$19.99. Everyone else on the card made weight without issue.

Horiguchi is a former Bellator bantamweight champion and UFC
flyweight title challenger. The American Top Team product took a
two-bout winning streak into his most recent outing, when his first
clash against Takahasi at Bellator vs. Rizin 2 ended via no contest
in just 25 seconds due to an accidental eye poke.

Prior to his abbreviated first meeting with Horiguchi, Takahasi had
been victorious in 10 straight fights. During that stretch, the
23-year-old known as “Shinryu” earned wins in Rizin, Bellator, Deep
and Cage Fury Fighting Championships.

A former Bellator 135-pound title holder, Archuleta claimed Rizin
gold with a three-round verdict against Hiromasa
Ougikubo at Super Rizin 2 on July 30. “The Spaniard” has won
four straight contests — including three under the Rizin
banner.

Asakura, meanwhile, has been victorious in four of his last five
Rizin appearances. Most recently, the 29-year-old Japan Top Team
representative scored a third-round knockout of Yuki Motoya
at Rizin 42 on May 6.

Rizin 45 Weigh-in Results:

Kyoji
Horiguchi (125) vs. Makoto
Takahashi (125.6)
Juan
Archuleta (140.6)* vs. Kai Asakura
(134.4)
Kleber
Koike Erbst (145.2) vs. Yutaka
Saito (145.1)
Ren
Hiramoto (145.3) vs. Ren
Sugiyama (145.1)
Seika
Izawa (107.2) vs. Miyuu
Yamamoto (107.6)
Tsuyoshi
Kamiyama (262.1) vs. Mikio Ueda
(243.6)
Hiromasa
Ougikubo (125.4) vs. John Dodson
(125.5)
Yuki
Motoya (134.4) vs. Vince
Morales (133.9)
Shinobu
Ota (134.4) vs. Ryusei
Ashizawa (134.4)
Kota
Miura (143) vs. Koji Tanaka
(143.1)
Igor
Tanabe (169.5) vs. Shinsho
Anzai (169.5)
Jo Arai
(125.3) vs. Hiroya
Kondo (124.8)
Yuta
Kubo (153.8) vs. Rukiya Anpo
(153.9)
Satoshi
Yamasu (144.9) vs. Suguru Nii
(145.1)
Tatsuki Shinotsuka (132.1) vs. Daichi Tomizawa (131.8) — kickboxing
rules
Ryujin
Nasukawa (118.7) vs. Jong Min
Shin (118.6)
Yushi
Sakura (133.6) vs. Joe
Hiramoto (133.8)

*Archuleta missed weight and has been stripped of his
bantamweight title.

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