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

By Martial Arts Videos May 4, 2025
Martial Arts News 4 total views, 1 today

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.

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