Naoki Inoue’s first test as RIZIN Bantamweight Champion wasn’t easy, although in the end he still left with the title round his waist.
Inoue got by veteran Yuki Motoya in a competitive split decision result on Sunday night, allowing him to retain his 135-pound title following three rounds of action from the Anabuki Arena in Kagawa, Japan.
After 10 minutes of the three-round clash, it seemed like Inoue was en route to a drama-free decision result. He had spent two rounds backing Motoya up with his patient yet effective striking, scoring with jabs and crosses to the head. Motoya’s biggest moments in the fight by that point, emerging from a few takedowns, were mostly shut down by Inoue before they could transform into something more significant.
All in all, it was a solid outing from Inoue by that point. But, it wasn’t done yet.
Due to how RIZIN scores their MMA fights, Motoya wasn’t mathematically out of the fight after losing the first and second rounds. Since the leading Japanese MMA brand scores their MMA bouts as a whole—as if the entire fight was one long round—instead of using the 10-point must system, an effective final frame from the challenger could have still turned things around in his favor.
Knowing that he wasn’t yet out of the bout, Motoya entered the third with a much more aggressive approach than what was seen in the minutes prior. He got the fight to the ground 30 seconds into the frame, kicking off a grappling sequence which lasted most of the round. While Inoue had the grappling abilities to scramble out of some positions and briefly gain control, a large portion of the third round saw him defending submissions and punches from Motoya on the mat.
Motoya attempted a few arm triangle chokes during the round, piecing together the submissions in between ground and pound combinations. His final attempt, which emerged in the closing seconds of the fight, looked to be his best yet.
The last round push from Motoya was a strong visual to end the fight, and the damage he doled out closed the right eye of Inoue due to swelling. It was enough to sway one of the judges in his favor, but the other two officials overruled him in a split decision result.
After three hard-fought rounds, 27-year-old Inoue added another major win to his record.
Inoue is now the first-ever fighter to successfully defend the RIZIN Bantamweight Championship, the oldest men’s title in the promotion’s history. A wide variety of reasons have caused the six past champions to end their reigns before successfully putting their title on the line once. In some cases, like Kai Asakura, Manel Kape and Kyoji Horiguchi, fighters vacated the title as they either moved to a different promotion or division.
In fact, it was Asakura’s RIZIN departure that opened up the chance for Inoue to get a title shot last year. While former UFC talent Inoue had long been considered one of the promotion’s top bantamweight fighters, his long-awaited shot at the belt came last September after Asakura dropped his title to join UFC’s flyweight class.
Inoue captured the belt with a first-round doctor stoppage win over Road FC stand-out Kim Soo-chul last September.
Motoya, similar to the position Inoue found himself in last year, is one of RIZIN’s best bantamweights but has yet to capture a title in the promotion. In what was his 21st appearance under the promotional banner, Motoya had his first RIZIN title shot this weekend. The opportunity came following a trio of wins last year, including a New Year’s Eve performance that saw him snap the undefeated record of hot prospect Kyoma Akimoto.
Sunday also offered Motoya a chance to avenge his 2020 RIZIN Bantamweight Grand Prix Semi-Final loss to Inoue, which emerged via first-round submission. While he didn’t come up with a win this weekend, Motoya certainly gave Inoue a much harder challenge this time around.
Earlier in the night, Kazakhstani prospect Karshyga Dautbek got by former featherweight champ Chihiro Suzuki in a tight split decision result. Here are the quick results from RIZIN’s first card of 2025:
Main Card (12:00AM EDT / 1:00PM JST) (RIZIN.tv)
Bout 17: Naoki Inoue def. Yuki Motoya via Decision, Split (RIZIN Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 16: Karshyga Dautbek def. Chihiro Suzuki via Decision, Split
Bout 15: Shunta Nomura def. Luiz Gustavo via Technical Decision
Bout 14: King Edokpolo def. Ryo Sakai via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:32)
Bout 13: Kyohei Hagiwara def. Toby Misech via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:26)
Bout 12: Shuya Kimura def. Takeji Yokoyama via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:54)
Bout 11: Yuki Ito def. Tony Laramie via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 10: Yoshiro Maeda def. Sanoh Yokouchi via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 2:55)
Bout 9: Takeshi Izumi def. Spike Carlyle via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: Machi def. Park Seo-young via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:04)
Bout 7: Haruo Ochi def. Nobuyoshi Nakatsukasa via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 3, 1:23)
Bout 6: Uoi Fullswing def. Koki “Playboi” Akada via Decision, Split
Opening Card
Bout 5: Ryoya Inai def. Rinto Kako via TKO, Referee Stoppage (RD 1, 2:57) (Kickboxing)
Bout 4: Ryuki Yoshioeke def. Daiki Kirizume via Decision, Split (Kickboxing)
Bout 3: Shoji Otani def. Yamato Ashikaga via TKO, Three Knockdowns (Kickboxing)
Bout 2: Hiroki Takaoka def. Seiya Ameyama via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 3:04)
Bout 1: Toki Kagawa def. Ryuki via Decision, Unanimous (Kickboxing)
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