Archuleta vs Asakura

Who won Archuleta vs Asakura?

Kai Asakura beat Juan Archuleta by knockout in the 2nd round during the co-main event of RIZIN 45, on Sunday 31st December 2023 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Bantamweight division, which meant the weight limit was 135 pounds (9.6 stone or 61.2 KG).

This contest was for the Rizin Bantamweight championship.

Archuleta vs Asakura stats

Juan Archuleta stepped into the octagon with a record of 29 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, 11 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 1 by submission.

Kai Asakura made his way to the cage with a record of 20 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, 12 of those wins coming by knock out and 3 by submission.

Juan Archuleta's Rizin record stood at 3-0-0, while Kai Asakura's came in at 12-3-0.

The stats suggested Asakura had a large advantage in power over Archuleta, boasting a 60% knock out percentage over Archuleta's 38%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Asakura had an advantage over Archuleta, with a 15% submission rate over Archuleta's 3%.

Juan Archuleta was the older man by 6 years, at 36 years old.

Asakura had a height advantage of 1 inch over Archuleta.

Archuleta was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 9 more fights, and made his debut in 2013, 10 months later than Asakura, whose first professional fight was in 2012. He had fought 56 more professional rounds, 99 to Asakura's 43.

Archuleta vs Asakura form

Juan Archuleta had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Hiromasa Ougikubo at Super RIZIN 2 on 30th July 2023 by unanimous decision in their Rizin Bantamweight championship fight at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

Previous to that, he had beaten Naoki Inoue at RIZIN 42 on 6th May 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Tokyo Ariake Arena, Tokyo.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Soo Chul Kim at Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN on 31st December 2022 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama.

Before that, he was victorious against Enrique Barzola at Bellator 286 on 1st October 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach, United States.

He had lost to Raufeon Stots at Bellator 279 on 23rd April 2022 by knockout in the 3rd round at Neal S. Blaisdell Center, Honolulu.

Kai Asakura had stopped 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Shoji Maruyama at RIZIN 24 on 27th September 2020 by knockout in the 1st round at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

Previous to that, he had beaten Hiromasa Ougikubo at RIZIN 23 on 10th August 2020 by knockout in the 1st round in their Rizin Bantamweight championship fight at Pia Arena MM, Yokohama.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Manel Kape at RIZIN 20 on 31st December 2019 by knockout in the 2nd round in their Rizin Bantamweight championship fight at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama.

Before that, he had defeated Ulka Sasaki at RIZIN 19 on 12th October 2019 by knockout in the 1st round at Edion Arena, Osaka.

He was victorious against Kyoji Horiguchi at RIZIN 18 on 18th August 2019 by knockout in the 1st round at Dolphins Arena, Nagoya.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Juan Archuleta had been fighting more than Kai Asakura.

Going to this contest, Juan Archuleta had last fought 9 months and 18 days ago, while Kai Asakura's last outing had been 3 years, 7 months and 21 days ago.

Archuleta's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years and 25 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

Asakura's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years and 9 months, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 13 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 6 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1.2 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Archuleta vs Asakura?

Juan Archuleta was a 10/11 (-110) underdog going into the contest, while Kai Asakura made his way into the ring at 10/11 (-110) with oddsmakers.