# 2023 in Rizin Fighting Federation

The year 2023 was the ninth year in the history of the Rizin Fighting Federation, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan.

## List of events

Rizin Fighting Federation :
| # | Event | Date | Venue | Location | Attendance |
| 1 | Rizin 41 – Osaka | April 1, 2023 | Maruzen Intec Arena | Osaka, Japan | 9,987 |
| 2 | Rizin Landmark 5 | April 29, 2023 | Yoyogi National Gymnasium | Tokyo, Japan | 13,837 |
| 3 | Rizin 42 | May 6, 2023 | Ariake Arena | Tokyo, Japan | 14,930 |
| 4 | Rizin 43 – Sapporo | June 24, 2023 | Makomanai Ice Arena | Sapporo, Japan | 8,510 |
| 5 | Super Rizin 2: Rizin X Bellator | July 30, 2023 | Saitama Super Arena | Saitama, Japan | 24,264 |
| 6 | Rizin 44 | September 24, 2023 | Saitama Super Arena | Saitama, Japan | 11,681 |
| 7 | Rizin Landmark 6 | October 1, 2023 | Dolphins Arena | Nagoya, Japan | 7,017 |
| 8 | Rizin Landmark 7 | November 4, 2023 | National Gymnastics Arena | Baku, Azerbaijan | |
| 9 | Rizin 45 | December 31, 2023 | Saitama Super Arena | Saitama, Japan | 23,013 |

## Title fights

* ↑ For the vacant Rizin Featherweight Championship (as Koike missed weight and was stripped of the title, only Suzuki was eligible). Originally a Submission (armbar) win for Koike; overturned due to Koike missing weight.
* ↑ For the Rizin Super Atomweight Championship.
* ↑ For the vacant Rizin Bantamweight Championship.
* ↑ For the vacant Rizin Featherweight Championship.
* ↑ For the Rizin Featherweight Championship.
* ↑ For the vacant Rizin Bantamweight Championship (as Archuleta missed weight and was stripped the title, only Asakura was eligible).
* ↑ For the inaugural Rizin Flyweight Championship.

## Rizin 41 – Osaka

Rizin 41 – Osaka was a Combat sport event held by Rizin Fighting Federation on April 1, 2023, at the Maruzen Intec Arena in Osaka, Japan.

### Background

A bantamweight kickboxing bout between Ryusei Ashizawa and the one-time K-1 super featherweight title challenger Kouzi was scheduled as the event headliner.

### Results

Rizin 41 :
| Weight Class | | | | Method | Round | T.Time | Notes |
| Bantamweight 61 kg | Ryusei Ashizawa | def. | Kouzi | Decision (Split) | 3 | 3:00 | Kickboxing rules |
| Featherweight 66 kg | Vugar Karamov | def. | Yoshinori Horie | Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) | 2 | 3:21 | |
| Welterweight 77 kg | Keita Nakamura | def. | Kiichi Kunimoto | KO (Punches and Soccer Kick) | 2 | 0:49 | |
| Flyweight 57 kg | Makoto Takahashi | def. | Daichi Kitakata | Technical Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) | 2 | 1:17 | |
| Intermission ||||||||
| Featherweight 66 kg | Kyohei Hagiwara | def. | Kyle Aguon | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight 61 kg | Koichi Ishizuka | def. | Yuto Hokamura | Decision (Split) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight 71 kg | Kim Kyung-pyo | def. | Sho Patrick Usami | Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) | 1 | 3:33 | |
| Flyweight 57 kg | Mehman Mamedov | def. | Yusaku Nakamura | KO (Punches) | 1 | 0:23 | |
| Bantamweight 61 kg | Shun Onishi | def. | Motoki | KO (Punch) | 1 | 1:37 | Kickboxing rules |
| Catchweight 66,5 kg | Sota Kimura | def. | Shingeki no Yuuki | TKO (Body Punch) | 3 | 1:32 | Kickboxing rules |
| Opening Bouts ||||||||
| Catchweight 57,5 kg | Asataro | def. | Shin Sakurai | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | Kickboxing rules |
| Catchweight 57,5 kg | Daichi Akahira | def. | Yuto Miwa | KO (Right straight) | 1 | 2:47 | Kickboxing rules |

## Rizin Landmark 5

Rizin Landmark 5 was a Combat sport event held by Rizin Fighting Federation on April 29, 2023, at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.

### Background

A featherweight bout between the former Rizin featherweight champion Juntaro Ushiku and Mikuru Asakura served as the event headliner, while a featherweight bout between another former Rizin featherweight champion Yutaka Saito and Ren Hiramoto was booked as the co-main event.

### Results

Rizin Landmark 5 :
| Weight Class | | | | Method | Round | T.Time |
| Featherweight 66 kg | Mikuru Asakura | def. | Juntaro Ushiku | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 |
| Featherweight 66 kg | Yutaka Saito | def. | Ren Hiramoto | Decision (Split) | 3 | 5:00 |
| Bantamweight 61 kg | Shinobu Ota | def. | Kazuma Kuramoto | KO (Punch) | 1 | 0:27 |
| Intermission ||||||||
| Lightweight 71 kg | Luiz Gustavo | def. | Koji Takeda | Decision (Split) | 3 | 5:00 |
| W.Super Atomweight 49 kg | Kanna Asakura | def. | Mei Yamaguchi | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 |
| W.Catchweight 51 kg | Claire Lopez | def. | Rena Kubota | Submission (Kneebar) | 3 | 4:21 |
| Heavyweight 120 kg | Tsuyoshi Sudario | def. | Roque Martinez | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 |
| Featherweight 66 kg | Masanori Kanehara | def. | Sora Yamamoto | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 |
| Lightweight 71 kg | Ali Abdulkhalikov | def. | Tatsuya Saika | KO (Punch) | 1 | 3:30 |

## Rizin 42

Rizin 42 was a Combat sport event held by Rizin Fighting Federation on May 6, 2023, at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

### Background

A bantamweight bout between Yuki Motoya and the former Rizin Bantamweight champion Kai Asakura was booked as the event headliner.

### Results

Rizin 42 :
| Weight Class | | | | Method | Round | T.Time | Notes |
| Bantamweight 61 kg | Kai Asakura | def. | Yuki Motoya | KO (Knee to the Body) | 3 | 2:25 | |
| Bantamweight 61 kg | Juan Archuleta | def. | Naoki Inoue | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight 71 kg | Roberto Satoshi Souza (c) | def. | Spike Carlyle | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | Non-title bout. |
| Catchweight 70 kg | Buakaw Banchamek | draw. | Rukiya Anpo | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | Kickboxing rules |
| Intermission ||||||||
| Featherweight 66 kg | YA-MAN | def. | Kota Miura | KO (Knee and Punches) | 1 | 3:13 | Special rules |
| Flyweight 57 kg | John Dodson | def. | Tatsuki Saomoto | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight 66 kg | Kazumasa Majima | def. | Takahiro Ashida | Technical Submission (Shoulder Choke) | 1 | 4:43 | |
| Featherweight 66 kg | Ulka Sasaki | def. | Boyd Allen | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight 71 kg | Viktor Kolesnik | def. | Atsushi Kishimoto | TKO (Leg Kick) | 2 | 2:57 | |
| Flyweight 57 kg | Erson Yamamoto | def. | Yuki Ito | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight 66 kg | Takeji Yokoyama | def. | Takuya Yamamoto | Submission (Armbar) | 1 | 1:24 | |
| Flyweight 57 kg | Ramazonbek Temirov | def. | Yuta Hamamoto | TKO (Punches) | 1 | 4:06 | |
| Catchweight 69 kg | Sota Kimura | def. | Yasuhiro Kido | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | Kickboxing rules |

## Rizin 43 – Sapporo

Rizin 43 – Sapporo was a Combat sport event held by Rizin Fighting Federation on June 24, 2023, at the Makomanai Ice Arena in Sapporo, Japan.

### Background

A Rizin Featherweight Championship bout between Kleber Koike Erbst and Chihiro Suzuki headlined the event. At the weigh-ins, Koike weighed in at 145.88 pounds, 0.88 pounds over the title limit. As a result, upon commencement of the fight, Koike was stripped of the title and only Suzuki is eligible to win it.

### Results

* ↑ For the vacant Rizin Featherweight Championship (as Koike missed weight and was stripped of the title, only Suzuki was eligible). Originally a Submission (armbar) win for Koike; overturned due to Koike missing weight.
* ↑ Kickboxing rules
* ↑ Kickboxing rules
* ↑ Kickboxing rules
* ↑ Special rules
* ↑ Special rules
* ↑ Kickboxing rules
* ↑ Kickboxing rules. Originally a Decision (unanimous) win for Hoshikubo; overturned due to missed weight.

## Super Rizin 2: Rizin X Bellator

Super Rizin 2: Rizin X Bellator was a Combat sport event held by Rizin Fighting Federation and Bellator MMA on July 30, 2023 at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.
As with the previous Super Rizin & Rizin 38 and Rizin 40 & Rizin vs Bellator events in 2022, Super Rizin 2 was split between two cards. Matches on the Bellator card were fought inside a cage, while Super Rizin 2 took place in the traditional ring.
Outside of Japan, the Bellator card aired live on Showtime in the United States, while Super Rizin 2 was distributed via PPV on FITE.

### Background

The event was originally supposed to be headlined by a Rizin Bantamweight Championship bout between former champion Kai Asakura and former Bellator MMA Bantamweight champion Juan Archuleta. On July 18, 2023 it was announced that Asakura withdrew from the event and would be replaced by Hiromasa Ougikubo.

### Results

Part 2: Super Rizin 2 :
| Weight Class | | | | Method | Round | T.Time | Notes |
| Featherweight 66 kg | Vugar Karamov | def. | Mikuru Asakura | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 2:41 | For the vacant Rizin Featherweight Championship. |
| Bantamweight 61 kg | Juan Archuleta | def. | Hiromasa Ougikubo | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | For the vacant Rizin Bantamweight Championship. |
| W.Super Atomweight 49 kg | Seika Izawa (c) | def. | Claire Lopez | Submission (ninja choke) | 1 | 1:04 | For the Rizin Women's Super Atomweight Championship. |
| Intermission ||||||||
| Catchweight 70 kg | Chihiro Suzuki | def. | Patrício Pitbull | KO (punch) | 1 | 2:32 | |
| Lightweight 71 kg | Tofiq Musayev | def. | Akira Okada | KO (punches) | 2 | 1:11 | |
| Bantamweight 61 kg | Shinobu Ota | def. | Kenta Takizawa | TKO (punches) | 1 | 4:54 | |
| Middleweight 84 kg | Igor Tanabe | def. | Daichi Abe | Submission (heel hook) | 1 | 4:34 | |
| Catchweight 58 kg | Yuki Ito | def. | Hiroya Kondo | Decision (split) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Part 1: Bellator MMA x Rizin 2 ||||||||
| Lightweight | Patricky Pitbull | def. | Roberto Satoshi Souza | TKO (leg kick) | 3 | 0:49 | Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix Quarter-Final bout. |
| Flyweight | Kyoji Horiguchi | vs. | Makoto Takahashi | No Contest (accidental eye poke) | 1 | 0:25 | For the inaugural Bellator Flyweight World Championship. |
| Women's Flyweight | Kana Watanabe | def. | Veta Arteaga | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Magomed Magomedov | def. | Danny Sabatello | Submission (guillotine choke) | 1 | 3:55 | |
| Welterweight | Andrey Koreshkov | def. | Lorenz Larkin | Decision (split) | 3 | 5:00 | |

## Rizin 44

Rizin 44 was a combat sport event held by Rizin Fighting Federation on September 24, 2023 at the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

### Background

A featherweight bout between former champion Kleber Koike Erbst (also former KSW Featherweight champion) and former Sengoku Featherweight champion Masanori Kanehara was scheduled to headline the event.
A heavyweight bout between former sumo wrestler Tsuyoshi Sudario and UFC veteran Todd Duffee was expected to take place at the event. However, Duffee withdrew from the fight due to a problem with his passport.

### Results

Rizin 44 :
| Weight Class | | | | Method | Round | T.Time | Notes |
| Featherweight 66 kg | Masanori Kanehara | def. | Kleber Koike Erbst | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight 66 kg | Juntaro Ushiku | def. | Kyohei Hagiwara | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight 71 kg | Yoshinori Horie | def. | Spike Carlyle | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Intermission ||||||||
| Catchweight 70 kg | Rukiya Anpo | def. | Sho Patrick Usami | Decision (Unanimous) (29–27, 29–26, 29–26) | 3 | 3:00 | Kickboxing rules. |
| Featherweight 66 kg | Yoshiki Nakahara | def. | Rikuto Shirakawa | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight 66,2 kg | Kazumasa Majima | def. | Takeji Yokoyama | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | Originally 66kg, Majima missed weight. |
| Flyweight 57 kg | Ryuya Fukuda | def. | Erson Yamamoto | TKO (Doctor Stoppage) | 3 | 1:37 | |
| Bantamweight 61 kg | Taichi Nakajima | def. | Ryo Okada | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight 120 kg | Shoma Shibisai | def. | Janos Csukas | Submission (Heel Hook) | 1 | 2:27 | |
| Flyweight 57 kg | Ramazonbek Temirov | def. | Takaki Soya | KO (Punches) | 1 | 3:15 | |

## Rizin Landmark 6

Rizin Landmark 6 was a Combat sport event held by Rizin Fighting Federation on October 1, 2023 at the Dolphins Arena in Nagoya, Japan.

### Background

A bantamweight bout between Dream Japanese Bantamweight Grand Prix 2011 winner Hideo Tokoro and Alan "Hiro" Yamaniha was scheduled to headline the event.

### Results

Rizin Landmark 6 :
| Weight Class | | | | Method | Round | T.Time | Notes |
| Bantamweight 61 kg | Alan Yamaniha | def. | Hideo Tokoro | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight 63 kg | Shoko Sato | def. | Shinobu Ota | Decision (Split) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight 120 kg | Tsuyoshi Sudario | def. | Lim Dong-hwan | TKO (Punches) | 3 | 2:10 | |
| Flyweight 57 kg | Yuki Ito | def. | Topnoi Kiwram | Decision (Split) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight 61,5 kg | Genji Umeno | def. | Yuto Saito | Decision (Majority) | 3 | 3:00 | Kickboxing rules. |
| Intermission ||||||||
| Catchweight 58 kg | Yusaku Nakamura | def. | Hiroya Kondo | Decision (Split) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight 84 kg | Igor Tanabe | def. | Animal☆Koji | Submission (Triangle Choke) | 1 | 3:40 | |
| Women's Strawweight 52,5 kg | Machi Fukuda | def. | Ayaka Watanabe | Decision (Split) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight 120 kg | Hidetaka Arato | def. | Takakenshin | TKO (Punches) | 2 | 4:49 | |
| Flyweight 57 kg | Rogério Bontorin | def. | Yutaro Muramoto | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight 66 kg | Viktor Kolesnik | def. | Ryo Takagi | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight 71 kg | Yusaku Inoue | def. | Kohei Tokeshi | TKO (Flying Knee and Punches) | 1 | 1:11 | |
| Bantamweight 61 kg | Joji Goto | def. | Junya Hibino | Submission (Twister) | 2 | 2:00 | |
| Opening Bouts ||||||||
| Catchweight 68 kg | Shogo Ota | def. | Ginji Hara | Submission (armbar) | 1 | 1:52 | |
| Flyweight 57 kg | Genki Takeno | def. | Ryota Naito | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | Kickboxing rules. |
| Bantamweight 61 kg | Ryuki Kirishima | def. | Masanari Yamada | Decision (Unanimous) | 2 | 5:00 | |

## Rizin Landmark 7

Rizin Landmark 7 was a Combat sport event held by Rizin Fighting Federation on November 4, 2023 at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan.

### Background

Rizin Landmark 7 was the promotion's first international event, and the first major MMA event to take place in Azerbaijan.
A Rizin Featherweight Championship bout between reigning champion Vugar Karamov and challenger Chihiro Suzuki headlined the event.
A lightweight bout between Rizin Lightweight Grand Prix 2019 winner Tofiq Musayev and former Deep Lightweight champion Koji Takeda served as the co-main event.
Another lightweight bout between former AMC Fight Nights Lightweight champion Nariman Abbasov and Ali Abdulkhalikov took place at the event.

### Results

Rizin Landmark 7 :
| Weight Class | | | | Method | Round | T.Time | Notes |
| Featherweight 66 kg | Chihiro Suzuki | def. | Vugar Karamov (c) | TKO (Upkick and Punches) | 1 | 1:28 | For the Rizin Featherweight Championship. |
| Lightweight 71 kg | Tofiq Musayev | def. | Koji Takeda | KO (Punches) | 3 | 2:03 | |
| Lightweight 71 kg | Ali Abdulkhalikov | def. | Nariman Abbasov | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight 60 kg | Mehman Mamedov | def. | Ferit Göktepe | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight 71 kg | Kim Kyung-pyo | def. | Tural Ragimov | TKO (Punches) | 1 | 0:21 | |
| Intermission ||||||||
| Strawweight 51 kg | Anastasiya Svetkivska | def. | Farida Abdueva | Submission (Triangle Armbar) | 2 | 4:20 | |
| Featherweight 66 kg | Ilkhom Nazimov | def. | Jaures Dea | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight 71 kg | Vladislav Rudnev | def. | Iliyar Askhanov | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight 120 kg | Shota Betlemidze | def. | Quentin Domingos | TKO (Retirement) | 1 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight 93 kg | Hasan Mezhiev | def. | Konstantin Merkulov | Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) | 1 | 2:32 | |

## Rizin 45

Rizin 45 was a combat sport event held by Rizin Fighting Federation on December 31, 2023, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

### Background

A rematch for the inaugural Rizin Flyweight Championship between former Rizin and Bellator Bantamweight Champion Kyoji Horiguchi and current Deep Flyweight champion (also former Cage Fury FC Flyweight champion) Makoto Takahashi headlined the event. The pairing previously met at Super Rizin 2 in July 2023, where the bout was declared a no contest after Horiguchi accidentally poked Takahashi in the eye.
A Rizin Bantamweight Championship bout between then champion Juan Archuleta and former champion Kai Asakura served as the co-main event. At the weigh-ins, Archuleta weighed in at 140.65 pounds, 5.65 pounds over the limit. As a result, Archuleta was stripped of the title and only Asakura will be eligible to win it.
In the featherweight division, a clash between two former champions should took place at the event when Kleber Koike Erbst meets Yutaka Saito.
A flyweight bout between 2021 Rizin Bantamweight Grand Prix winner Hiromasa Ougikubo and current BKFC Flyweight champion John Dodson took place at the event.
A 155-pound catchweight kickboxing bout between former K-1 Super Lightweight champion Rukiya Anpo and former K-1 Super Welterweight champion Minoru Kimura was expected to take place at the event. However, the fight was cancelled after Kimura tested positive for a banned substance once again. He was replaced by former K-1 Welterweight Champion Yuta Kubo in a MMA special rules bout.

### Results

Rizin 45 :
| Weight Class | | | | Method | Round | T.Time | Notes |
| Flyweight 57 kg | Kyoji Horiguchi | def. | Makoto Takahashi | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 3:44 | For the inaugural Rizin Flyweight Championship. |
| Bantamweight 61 kg | Kai Asakura | def. | Juan Archuleta | TKO (knee to the body and punches) | 2 | 3:20 | For the vacant Rizin Bantamweight Championship (as Archuleta missed weight and was stripped the title, only Asakura was eligible). |
| Featherweight 66 kg | Kleber Koike Erbst | def. | Yutaka Saito | Technical Submission (brabo choke) | 3 | 1:22 | |
| Featherweight 66 kg | Ren Hiramoto | def. | YA-MAN | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Intermission ||||||||
| W.Super Atomweight 49 kg | Seika Izawa | def. | Miyuu Yamamoto | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 0:37 | Non-Title bout and Yamamoto retirement bout. |
| Heavyweight 120 kg | Mikio Ueda | def. | Tsuyoshi Sudario | TKO (knee and punches) | 2 | 0:55 | |
| Flyweight 57 kg | Hiromasa Ougikubo | def. | John Dodson | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight 61 kg | Vince Morales | def. | Yuki Motoya | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight 61 kg | Shinobu Ota | def. | Ryusei Ashizawa | KO (punches) | 1 | 2:21 | |
| Intermission ||||||||
| Catchweight 65 kg | Kouzi | def. | Kota Miura | TKO (punches and soccer kicks) | 2 | 0:59 | RIZIN MMA Special rules. |
| Welterweight 77 kg | Igor Tanabe | def. | Shinsho Anzai | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 1:32 | |
| Flyweight 57 kg | Hiroya Kondo | def. | Jo Arai | TKO (head kick and punches) | 2 | 2:53 | |
| Catchweight 70 kg | Yuta Kubo | def. | Rukiya Anpo | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 4:28 | RIZIN MMA Special rules. |
| Opening Bouts ||||||||
| Featherweight 66 kg | Suguru Nii | def. | Satoshi Yamasu | KO (punch) | 2 | 1:03 | |
| Catchweight 60 kg | Tatsuki Shinotsuka | def. | Daichi Tomizawa | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | Kickboxing rules. |
| Catchweight 54 kg | Ryujin Nasukawa | def. | Shin Jong-min | TKO (punches) | 1 | 2:16 | |
| Bantamweight 61 kg | Joe Hiramoto | def. | Yushi | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |