RIZIN Announces Chihiro Suzuki vs. Kleber Koike Rematch For New Year’s Eve

The first fight for RIZIN’s annual New Year’s Eve extravaganza is set.

RIZIN Featherweight Champion Chihiro Suzuki will look to defend his belt when he appears on this year’s December 31st card, meeting grappling ace Kleber Koike in a rematch.

The title clash will take place as part of RIZIN 49, which will go down inside the famous Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, where RIZIN has hosted a New Year’s Eve card annually since 2015.

The duo’s first meeting dates back to mid-2023 when Koike was the division’s champ. After submitting Juntarou Ushiku a year prior, Koike aimed to defend his title against the up-and-coming Suzuki. However, after missing weight for the bout by a pound, he was stripped of his title, dramatically putting an end to his time as champ.

Per RIZIN rules, a fighter who misses weight is allowed to compete, but the bout’s result becomes officially recorded as a no-contest if they are able to prevail.

Koike ended up submitting Suzuki in their RIZIN 43 fight, catching him with an armbar in under three minutes. However, due to the promotion’s weight miss rules, the bout is not officially reflected as a loss for Suzuki.

Since that matchup just over a year ago, a lot has changed in the division. After Azerbaijan’s Vugar Karamov briefly claimed the belt in a vacant title win over Mikuru Asakura, Suzuki won the title off him in a 78-second stoppage victory. He has since returned earlier this year to beat veteran Masanori Kanehara within a round as well.

Suzuki hasn’t lost in nine consecutive RIZIN appearances, including performances against notable figures surrounding the promotion like Patricio Pitbull and Ren Hiramoto.

Koike is being given the chance to become RIZIN’s first-ever two-time featherweight champion if successful next month. The opportunity is being given to him after rallying together two wins over the past year, reclaiming contender status.

The 35-year-old Bonsai Jiu Jitsu fighter got past inaugural 145-pound champ Yutaka Saito on the 2023 New Year’s Eve card, submitting him in the third round with a D’arce Choke. And this summer, he secured a rare heel hook to beat past Bellator champ Juan Archuleta in just over two minutes.