Kai Asakura is Rizin bantamweight champion once again.
The Japanese star was able to get back the title he lost three years ago by defeating Juan Archuleta in the co-main event of Sunday’s Rizin 45 event, which took place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Asakura (21-4) dropped Archuleta (29-5) with a brutal knee to the chest in the round and then followed up with ground-and-pound to get the TKO stoppage win.
Prior to the finish, the fight was pretty competitive. Archuleta dropped Asakura early on in the round, and both connected clean throughout the fight.
You can watch the replay of Asakura’s finish in the videos below:
Kai Asakura lands the counter knee to end the fight!
AND NEW‼️
📡 Watch on @FITEtv !🔻https://t.co/eEpfmslhPp pic.twitter.com/eODt5bA54s
— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) December 31, 2023
The finish in slow motion!
📡 Watch on @FITEtv !🔻https://t.co/eEpfmslhPp pic.twitter.com/zEJwkpI1eE
— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) December 31, 2023
Archuleta missed weight by six pounds at the official weigh-ins on Saturday. He was stripped of the Rizin bantamweight title and the belt was vacated, making Asakura the only fighter eligible to win the belt that night. According to the broadcast, if Archuleta had won, the bout would’ve been considered a no contest due to the weight miss.
Asakura first won the Rizin bantamweight title in August 2020, knocking out Hiromasa Ougikubo. The 30-year-old went on to lose it in December of that same year in a rematch against Kyoji Horiguchi. It took him three years, and a run of 5-1, to win back the Rizin bantamweight title.
Asakura is one of the best fighters in Japan today. He holds notable victories over Archuleta, Horiguchi, Manel Kape, and Ulka Sasaki.
On the other hand, Archuleta saw a four-fight winning streak come to an end. The former Bellator and now Rizn champion had wins over Enrique Barzola, Kim Soo-chul, Naoki Inoue and Hiromasa Ougikubo prior to the defeat. Archuleta is currently a PFL fighter following the purchase of Bellator in November.
