Sakuraba’s Son Debuts With Upset KO, Horiguchi Defends Title at RIZIN NYE

Kazushi Sakuraba’s son Taisei Sakuraba scored a quick knockout, and Kleber Koike became a two-time champion at RIZIN’s NYE event.

Japan welcomed 2025 with RIZIN 49: Decade, which was topped by three title fights.

Headlining the card was a rematch between Chihiro Suzuki and Kleber Koike. The fight was competitive and went back and forth, but Koike managed to get on mount and land significant ground and pound as the fight ended. These final exchanges proved critical, as it led to Koike winning a decision and becoming a two-time RIZIN featherweight champion.

In the co-main event, Kyoji Horiguchi and EFC champion Nkazimulo Zulu each scored knockdowns, but the former UFC star showed superior grappling to successfully defend his RIZIN title. With the UFC’s improved relationship with RIZIN, Horiguchi seems to be a prime candidate as the next crossover from Japan.

The third title fight on the card saw Roberto Satoshi Souza showcase his excellent submission game against Vugar Karamov. He used a K-guard threat to set up a nice triangle choke chain to score yet another submission finish.

Photo via RIZIN FF

While in a big event with a whopping 22 fights, stealing the show was Taisei Sakuraba, the son of the MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba. “Saku Jr.” was matched up with longtime contender Yusuke Yachi, which sparked concerns as it seemed like a really rough opponent to debut against. The younger Sakuraba proved everyone wrong though.

Seconds into the match, Yachi caught a kick, only for Sakuraba to land a short shot to the jaw. He dropped Yachi while balancing on one leg, and Sakuraba pounced to score an upset TKO win in just 26 seconds.

Earlier in the card, Rukiya Anpo completely picked apart the significantly larger Sina Karimian, before the match ended up in chaos, with the referee getting punched multiple times.

Full results from RIZIN 49: Decade can be found here.