{"id":40454,"date":"2026-09-10T14:03:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T14:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sherdog.com\/news\/news\/Rajabali-Shaidullaev-improves-to-200-and-becomes-double-champ-at-Super-Rizin-5-202749"},"modified":"2026-09-10T14:03:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T14:03:27","slug":"rajabali-shaidullaev-improves-to-20-0-and-becomes-double-champ-at-super-rizin-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/rajabali-shaidullaev-improves-to-20-0-and-becomes-double-champ-at-super-rizin-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Rajabali Shaidullaev improves to 20-0 and becomes double champ at Super Rizin 5"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n

Arguably one of the best mixed martial artists competing outside
\nthe
\nUltimate Fighting Championship<\/a>, Kyrgyz standout Rajabali
\nShaidullaev<\/a> preserved his perfect record and became a dual
\nchampion before 48,968 fans at Kyocera Dome Osaka in Japan.<\/p>\n

Shaidullaev earned a hard-fought unanimous decision over A.J. McKee<\/a> in
\nthe Super
\nRizin 5<\/a> main event. The victory allowed him to retain his
\n
\nRizin Fighting Federation<\/a> featherweight title and capture the
\n
\nProfessional Fighters League<\/a> championship at 145 pounds.<\/p>\n

\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Rajabali Shaidullaev moves to 20-0 with unanimous decision over
\nA.J. McKee<\/h2>\n

Shaidullaev (20-0, 8-0 Rizin) encountered early adversity when a
\ncounter one-two from McKee (25-3, 1-1 Rizin) knocked him off
\nbalance in the opening seconds. Shaidullaev quickly recovered,
\nslammed McKee to the canvas and landed short elbows and punches
\nwhile pinning him against the bottom rope.<\/p>\n

McKee answered with an upkick to the face, but Shaidullaev resumed
\nhis attack with punches and elbows.<\/p>\n

McKee took Shaidullaev\u2019s back and briefly brought him to the canvas
\nin the second round. Shaidullaev escaped explosively before forcing
\nMcKee down near the base of a corner post.<\/p>\n

McKee attempted to tie up his opponent from the bottom, but
\nShaidullaev passed to side control and opened a cut near McKee\u2019s
\nright eye. McKee briefly regained his footing before being taken
\ndown again, and Shaidullaev spent the remainder of the round
\npunching from inside the American\u2019s guard.<\/p>\n

Shaidullaev entered the third round for the first time in his
\nprofessional career but showed no signs of slowing down. He landed
\nan overhand right and followed it with a takedown.<\/p>\n

McKee worked up to one knee and attempted a takedown of his own
\nbefore briefly taking Shaidullaev\u2019s back during a scramble. After
\nreturning to their feet, both men pursued a finish, with
\nShaidullaev landing the cleaner punches.<\/p>\n

McKee secured a late takedown into Shaidullaev\u2019s half guard, where
\nthe fight concluded.<\/p>\n

All three judges scored the contest 30-27 for Shaidullaev.<\/p>\n

Following the victory, Shaidullaev addressed the crowd and noted
\nthat he has one fight remaining on his current Rizin contract.
\nKyoma
\nAkimoto<\/a> then entered the ring and respectfully requested the
\nopportunity to become Shaidullaev\u2019s next\u2014and potentially
\nfinal\u2014Rizin title challenger.<\/p>\n

Shaidullaev and Rizin CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara appeared receptive to
\nthe proposal. If finalized, the championship bout could take place
\non New Year\u2019s Eve.<\/p>\n

In the lightweight co-main event, Rizin star Mikuru
\nAsakura<\/a> (20-6, 1 NC; 14-5 Rizin) survived a series of
\nsubmission attempts before knocking out decorated grappler Shinya Aoki<\/a>
\n(49-13, 1 NC; 1-1 Rizin) in the first round.<\/p>\n

Competing for Rizin for the first time since the promotion\u2019s
\ninaugural event in December 2015, Aoki immediately clinched and
\npulled guard. He attempted a triangle choke, but Asakura escaped by
\nslamming him to the canvas.<\/p>\n

After the fighters returned to their feet, Aoki jumped onto
\nAsakura\u2019s back and secured a body triangle as they fell to the mat.
\nAoki threatened with a rear-naked choke and then an armbar, but
\nAsakura turned into his guard and postured up to strike.<\/p>\n

The first punch Asakura landed appeared to render Aoki unconscious.
\nAsakura continued with follow-up punches until the referee stopped
\nthe fight at 2:39 of the opening round.<\/p>\n

Much like Aoki\u2019s first Rizin appearance, in which he defeated
\nKazushi
\nSakuraba<\/a>, the matchup carried the feeling of a symbolic passing
\nof the torch. Asakura has endured his own struggles in recent
\nyears, but youth and power were decisive on this occasion.<\/p>\n

The main card opened with a featherweight matchup between Ren
\nHiramoto<\/a> (5-3, 5-3 Rizin) and Karshyga
\nDautbek<\/a> (19-4, 1 NC; 5-2, 1 NC Rizin), which ended in a
\ncontentious split decision after three entertaining rounds.<\/p>\n

Dautbek landed punches from top position after scoring an early
\ntakedown, but Hiramoto battled back to his feet and exchanged power
\nshots with him. Dautbek staggered Hiramoto with a hard left hook,
\nthen continued to connect with overhand lefts. He secured another
\ntakedown late in the round and landed more ground strikes.<\/p>\n

Dautbek caught a body kick and scored another takedown in the
\nsecond round. Hiramoto kicked him away and began attacking his
\nopponent\u2019s lead leg. Dautbek subsequently struggled to bring the
\nfight back to the ground, allowing Hiramoto\u2019s confidence to
\ngrow.<\/p>\n

Hiramoto\u2019s takedown defense held until the midpoint of the final
\nround, when Dautbek tripped him near the ropes. The referee
\nreturned the fighters to their feet after the action stalled, but
\nDautbek landed a suplex and closed the fight with punches on the
\nground.<\/p>\n

Hiramoto appeared dejected before the scores were announced, but
\ntwo judges awarded him the fight 29-28. The third scored it 29-27
\nfor Dautbek, giving Hiramoto the split decision.<\/p>\n

One year after they were initially scheduled to meet in a title
\nfight, former lightweight champion Roberto
\nSatoshi de Souza<\/a> (21-4, 14-3 Rizin) and leading contender
\nShunta
\nNomura<\/a> (10-3, 2-1 Rizin) finally shared the ring.<\/p>\n

Nomura sprawled near a corner and denied de Souza\u2019s takedown
\nattempts until midway through the opening round. De Souza
\neventually forced him into a seated position against the corner
\npost and landed punches while standing over him.<\/p>\n

Nomura prevented de Souza from securing a rear-naked choke, but the
\nformer champion appeared to have established an early lead.<\/p>\n

The fight remained standing in the second round, with both men
\nlanding leg kicks and long jabs. De Souza connected with two right
\nhands, while Nomura opened a cut beside his opponent\u2019s right eye
\nwith a lead left hook.<\/p>\n

After a brief exchange of power punches in the final round, de
\nSouza took Nomura down into half guard. He eventually secured back
\ncontrol and kept Nomura trapped in a body triangle until the final
\nbell.<\/p>\n

All three judges scored the bout 29-28 for de Souza. After earning
\nthe unanimous decision, de Souza revealed that he had suffered a
\ndislocated shoulder early in the fight. If medically cleared in
\ntime, he could return on New Year\u2019s Eve and potentially challenge
\nfor the lightweight title he lost the previous year.<\/p>\n

Featherweight veteran Yutaka
\nSaito<\/a> (22-9-2, 5-5 Rizin) spoiled the return of Ren \u201cYa-Man\u201d
\nSugiyama<\/a> (3-3, 3-3 Rizin), who competed for the first time
\nsince suffering a career-threatening orbital injury.<\/p>\n

Saito ducked beneath a right hand and took Sugiyama down into half
\nguard early in the fight. He advanced to side control before taking
\nSugiyama\u2019s back late in the round. Sugiyama survived a rear-naked
\nchoke attempt and made it to the bell.<\/p>\n

The second round followed a similar pattern, with Saito controlling
\nSugiyama on the ground. Saito again pursued a rear-naked choke, but
\nSugiyama refused to submit. When Sugiyama briefly stood, Saito
\nclimbed onto his back and dragged him down again.<\/p>\n

Saito knocked Sugiyama off balance with a knee in the final round
\nand scored another takedown. Sugiyama had no answer for Saito\u2019s
\ngrappling, and the former champion controlled him with a body
\ntriangle for more than two minutes.<\/p>\n

All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for Saito, who earned a
\ndominant unanimous decision.<\/p>\n

Former Rizin featherweight champion Vugar
\nKaramov<\/a> (22-7, 8-4 Rizin) returned to the win column with a
\nunanimous decision over Ryo Takagi<\/a>
\n(11-4, 5-3 Rizin).<\/p>\n

Karamov took Takagi\u2019s back and dragged him to the canvas after
\nlanding punches near a corner. Takagi briefly stood, but Karamov
\nscored another takedown and threatened with an arm-triangle choke.
\nHe transitioned to a rear-naked choke and then a guillotine, but
\nTakagi escaped each submission attempt.<\/p>\n

Karamov recovered from two eye pokes early in the second round.
\nTakagi later countered a takedown with a guillotine choke and
\nreturned to his feet near a corner. He then surprised Karamov with
\na trip but could not keep the Azerbaijani grounded for long.<\/p>\n

Karamov added two takedowns in the final round and controlled
\nTakagi against a corner post. He scored one final takedown late in
\nthe fight, preventing Takagi from finding the knockout he
\nneeded.<\/p>\n

The judges scored the contest 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 for
\nKaramov.<\/p>\n

Natalia
\nKuziutina<\/a> (11-1, 2-0 Rizin) moved closer to a women\u2019s super
\natomweight title opportunity by submitting Rizin star Rena Kubota<\/a>
\n(15-7, 14-6 Rizin).<\/p>\n

Kubota entered with heavy tape around her left knee, which
\nKuziutina immediately targeted with kicks. Kuziutina followed with
\nrapid uppercuts before forcing Kubota to the canvas and landing
\nknees to the head.<\/p>\n

Kubota returned to her feet near a corner, where Kuziutina attacked
\nher left leg with another knee. She then dragged Kubota back to the
\nmat, landed additional knees and attempted an armbar.<\/p>\n

Kubota\u2019s right eye swelled significantly between rounds, with
\nreplays indicating that the damage resulted from an accidental
\nclash of heads.<\/p>\n

Kuziutina immediately took Kubota down in the second round and
\nlanded knees from the north-south position. She then secured a
\none-arm guillotine and advanced to mount, tightening the choke
\nuntil Kubota tapped at 3:14.<\/p>\n

The event began with a lightweight kickboxing match between
\nHide
\nMeison Usami<\/a> and Noah Bey<\/a>,
\ncontested with open-finger gloves.<\/p>\n

Usami opened with chopping leg kicks and two straight left hands
\nthat forced Bey backward. Bey frustrated his opponent with lateral
\nmovement but landed little offense of his own, while Usami closed
\nthe round with a flying switch kick.<\/p>\n

Bey found more success with leg kicks in the second round, leaving
\nvisible damage on both of Usami\u2019s legs. Usami caught one of Bey\u2019s
\nkicks, and Bey responded with a spinning backfist.<\/p>\n

Bey switched stances in the final round and used his leg kicks to
\nset up a right hand. Usami then dropped him with a lead right hook.
\nBey beat the standing eight count, but Usami caught a body kick and
\nfloored him again with a left cross.<\/p>\n

Bey returned to his feet, and both men exchanged punches before the
\nfinal bell. Usami\u2019s two late knockdowns secured him a unanimous
\ndecision, with all three judges scoring the fight 30-25. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40455,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[150],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-martial-arts-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40454\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}