RIZIN Fighting Federation will close the year with a highly anticipated featherweight title rematch between champion Chihiro Suzuki and former titleholder Kleber Koike, the company announced Tuesday.
RIZIN DECADE will take place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, on Dec. 31, and air live through its own pay-per-view platform. Suzuki vs. Koike will serve as the main event.
Koike (33-7-1, 1 no contest) was the 145-pound champion when he first scheduled to face Suzuki inside the ring in June of 2023, but lost the title on the scale after missing weight. Per RIZIN rules, an overweight fighter can’t win a bout, so his first-round submission victory over Suzuki was automatically overturned to a no-contest.
The Brazilian veteran, a former KSW champion as well, won his past two with first-round finishes over Yutaka Saito and Juan Archuleta to earn a crack at the belt that now belongs to Suzuki.
Suzuki (13-3, 1 no contest) won three in a row since his match with Koike, scoring a huge upset against Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull before claiming RIZIN gold with a quick knockout over Vugar Karamov. Suzuki last defended his belt with a first-round knockout against veteran Masanori Kanehara.
The 25-year-old Japanese was expected to face Manny Pacquiao in a three-round boxing exhibition, but was later replaced by kickboxing veteran Rukiya Anpo. The bout ended in a draw.
RIZIN has yet to announce other match-ups for the card, but MMA Fighting has learned that undefeated welterweight Igor Tanabe is expected to be part of the card. The 5-0 grappler was scheduled to face Marcos Yoshio de Souza at RIZIN Landmark 10 on Nov. 17, but Souza was forced of the match due to an injury.
Chihiro is a heavy puncher but raw as fuck. I see Kleber dominating him on the ground.
Ryan Garcia may be suspended from fighting in North America after failing a drug test for Ostarine, but that won’t keep the troubled boxer from competing in an exhibition match in Japan.
MMAMania.com reported months ago that Garcia was in talks with RIZIN boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara to appear on the promotion’s big New Years Eve celebration card. Garcia went so far as to travel to Tokyo to appear in the ring after Manny Pacquiao boxed to a ‘draw’ against former K-1 champion Rukiya Anpo.
We had Anpo soundly beating Pacquiao in their wild brawl (watch the highlights here).
While Garcia challenged both Pacquiao and Anpo, it’s Anpo who got a contract to box “King Ryan,” and the two will face off at Rizin 49: Decade on December 31st (actually the 30th for those of us in North America). The fight will be held at the 36,000 seat Saitama Super Dome, one of the most famous venues in Japanese combat sports.
Garcia was contracted to fight at 140 pounds for his past two pro fights but missed weight by three pounds for his last bout against Devin Haney. He’ll have no issues in Japan where the contracted weight is 153 pounds. Anpo held the K-1 super lightweight title and fought at 147 pounds. The bout will be eight two-minute rounds.
“I’m looking forward to knocking Anpo out for trying to knock out the legend Manny Pacquiao,” Garcia said in an official statement on the fight. “Manny is past his prime and for him to try to knock him out rubbed me the wrong way. I will knock him out and teach him a lesson of respect.”
Will this be a tepid exhibition bout or a full on slobberknocker? RIZIN exhibitions featuring big boxing names have gone both ways, but Anpo’s fight with Pacquiao leads us to think this could be real, with the ‘exhibition’ label being a bit of kabuki to keep North American commissions from asking too many questions when Garcia applies to get his license back in April 2025.
Japanese MMA promotion RIZIN Fighting Federation hosts some of the best striking talent in Asia. This event will take place in a ring similar to a boxing ring, and the RIZIN ruleset allows knees and kicks to the head of a grounded opponent.
- Date: Tuesday, December 31
- Time: 12 AM ET
- Where to watch: RIZIN TV
- Event page on Tapology.
Full card
Not in bout order, subject to change
- Satoshi Kamiyama vs. Ed Polo King
- Taiga Kawabe vs. Genji Umeno
- Koji Takeda vs. Suguru Nii
- Serika Izawa vs. Lucia Apdelgarim
- Yuki Motoya vs. Kyoma Akimoto
- Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Nkazimulo Zulu; Flyweight Championship
- Roberto de Souza vs. Vugar Karamov; Lightweight Championship
- Yusuke Yachi vs. Taisei Sakuraba
- Ren Sugiyama vs. Karshyga Dautbek
- Mikio Ueda vs. Tae In Kim
- Yuta Kubo vs. Razhabali Shaydullaev
- Chihiro Suzuki vs. Kleber Koike Erbst; Featherweight Championship
RIZIN 49: DECADE
Saitama, Japan
Main Card – iPPV (RIZIN.TV) – 11:00pm ET / 8:00pm PT
Chihiro Suzuki vs. Kleber Koike Erbst
Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Nkazimulo Zulu
Roberto de Souza vs. Vugar Karamov
Seika Izawa vs. Lucia Apdelgarim
Yuki Motoya vs. Kyoma Akimoto
-INTERMISSION-
Yuta Kubo vs. Razhabali Shaydullaev
YA-MAN vs. Karshyga Dautbek
Ryusei Ashizawa vs. Ryuya Fukuda
Mikio Ueda vs. Tae In Kim
Shinryu Makoto vs. Jose Torres
Yusuke Yachi vs. Taisei Sakuraba
Koji Takeda vs. Suguru Nii
Takakenshin vs. Ed Polo King
Taiga Kawabe vs. Genji Umeno
-OPENING CEREMONY-
Yokouchi Sanou vs. Saito Kenshin
-RAIJIN BANGAICHI-
Rukiya Anpo vs. TBD
Issa Hosokawa vs. Sho Patrick Usami – Kickboxing
Aoi Noda vs. Tatsuki Shinotsuka – Kickboxing
Daichi Tomizawa vs. Kota Miura
YURA vs. Taio Asahisa – Kickboxing
Hyuma Yasui vs. Kurobarakun
Hiroto Gomyo vs. Koki Playboi Akada
Broadcast starts Monday night (12/30) / Tuesday morning (12/31)