In more ways than one, it didn’t take long for Razhabali Shaydullaev to claim gold in RIZIN.
Less than a full year after he joined the top Japanese MMA promotion, Shaydullaev became their newest featherweight champ on Sunday night after stopping Kleber Koike in just 62 seconds.
The pivotal win headlined RIZIN “Otoko Matsuri,” the promotion’s return to the prestigious Tokyo Dome baseball stadium in Tokyo, Japan for the first time in nearly three years.
The right hand of Shaydullaev backed up a kick-heavy Koike in the opening moments of the three-round title fight, connecting as part of a combination from the Kyrgyzstan-based fighter. Then, moments later, a pair of rights scored once again, first wobbling, then dropping Koike. The stunned defending champ was out and hurt, and it was only moments later that the fight was stopped.
The result continues a quick rise for Shaydullaev, who has ripped through the promotion’s featherweight division with ease. The former ACA fighter scored three finish wins prior to his title opportunity this weekend, previously stopping former Bellator champ Juan Archuleta and long-time featherweight RIZIN contender Koji Takeda as he gained prominence over the past few months. He’s now one of the promotion’s top stars, headlining one of the brand’s biggest turnouts and becoming one of their four active champions.
Koike was headlining RIZIN’s massive stadium show just months after reclaiming his spot on top of the division in dramatic fashion. 35-year-old Koike kicked off his second-ever RIZIN title reign with a three-round instant classic against Chihiro Suzuki on New Year’s Eve, winning via unanimous decision.
Koike previously was a RIZIN champ from 2022 to 2023, but lost his title after missing weight for a title bout a little less than two years ago.
The Bonzai Jiu Jitsu gym fighter spent a year rebuilding himself to earn a championship opportunity in late 2024, moving back into the title mix by beating names like the aforementioned Archuleta and past RIZIN champ Yutaka Saito.
Now, after his first finish loss since he was submitted on a DEEP Impact card back in 2009, Koike must return to the drawing board.
Shaydullaev closed out a night that saw RIZIN reportedly bring out more than 42,000 attendees to witness one of the promotion’s biggest cards inside a venue with deep history in Japanese combat sports.
Named after the Japanese title Pride FC used for their “Shockwave” events in the early 2000s, “Otoko Matsuri” was a 19-fight extravaganza that marked the promotion’s first trip to the venue since 2022, when they hosted a kickboxing super-fight between Takeru Segawa and Tenshin Nasukawa.
The event was also RIZIN’s first MMA-focused card inside the venue to draw a large crowd. RIZIN previously visited the “Big Egg” back in 2021 for an event headlined by MMA action, although COVID-19 pandemic attendance restrictions meant that just 6,000 witnessed the card in person.
RIZIN initially hoped to bill Sunday’s show as “THE MATCH 2,” presenting a rematch between viral stars Ren Hiramoto and Mikuru Asakura, who drew a huge crowd at the Saitama Super Arena when they met for the first time last summer. But plans had to change once Hiramoto withdrew from the card due to injury, leaving the card without an identity.
While 46,000 doesn’t surpass the number RIZIN previously drew for their 2022 kickboxing card, it showed that the promotion was able to garner a massive turnout despite pivoting just a couple of months out from when the show went live.
Here are the quick results for RIZIN’s Tokyo Dome presentation:
Main Card (RIZIN.tv)
Bout 19: Razhabali Shaydullaev def. Kleber Kike via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:02) (RIZIN Featherweight Championship)
Bout 18: Mikuru Asakura def. Chihiro Suzuki via TKO, Doctor Stoppage (RD 3, 1:56)
Bout 17: Kyoma Akimoto def. Ryo Takagi via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 16: Kyohei Hagiwara def. Taisei Nishitani via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:36)
Bout 15: Mikio Ueda def. Shoma Shibisai via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:03) (RIZIN Heavyweight Grand Prix Quarter-Final)Bout 14: Jose Augusto def. Tsuyoshi Sudario via Decision, Unanimous (RIZIN Heavyweight Grand Prix Quarter-Final)
Bout 13: Marek Samociuk def. Daniel James via Decision, Unanimous (RIZIN Heavyweight Grand Prix Quarter-Final)
Bout 12: Kouzi vs. Sina Karimian via Draw, Time Limit (Special Standing Rules Bout)
Bout 11: Makoto Shinryu def. Yuki Ito via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 10: Daisuke Nakamura def. Taisei Sakuraba via Submission, Armbar (RD 2, 2:01)
Bout 9: Danny Sabatello def. Shinobu Ota via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 0:20)
Bout 8: Hiroya def. Tatsuki Shinotsuka via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:11)
Bout 7: Takaki Soya def. John Dodson via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Taio Asahisa def. Yoshiya Uzatsuyo via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:16) (Kickboxing)
Bout 5: Erson Yamamoto def. Daichi Tomizawa via Submission, Face Crank (RD 2, 1:24)
Bout 4: Jo Hiramoto def. Toki Tamaru via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Yuga Nakaya def. Hiro Sasaki via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Vinicius def. Takao Ueda via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Futa Hashimoto def. Daichi Akahira via Decision, Unanimous (Kickboxing)
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