Erbst vs Saito

Who won Erbst vs Saito?

Kleber Koike Erbst beat Yutaka Saito by submission in the 3rd round during the main card 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 Erbst vs Saito division, which meant the weight limit was pounds (0 stone or 0 KG).

Erbst vs Saito stats

Kleber Koike Erbst stepped into the octagon with a record of 31 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw, 2 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 27 by submission.

Yutaka Saito made his way to the cage with a record of 21 wins, 7 losses and 2 draws, 5 of those wins coming by knock out and 2 by submission.

Kleber Koike Erbst's Rizin record stood at 6-2-0, while Yutaka Saito's came in at 4-3-0.

The stats suggested Saito had an advantage in power over Erbst, with a 24% knock out percentage over Erbst's 6%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Erbst had a massive advantage over Saito, boasting a 87% submission rate over Saito's 10%.

Kleber Koike Erbst was the younger man by 2 years, at 34 years old.

Erbst had a height advantage of 2 inches over Saito.

Erbst was arguably the more experienced fighter, having had 9 more fights, and made his debut in 2008, 3 years and 1 month earlier than Saito, whose first professional fight was in 2011. He had fought 2 less professional rounds, 75 to Saito's 77.

Erbst vs Saito form

Kleber Koike Erbst had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, his fight against Chihiro Suzuki at RIZIN 43 on 24th June 2023 ended in a no contest.

Previous to that, he had lost to Patricio Pitbull at Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN on 31st December 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama.

Going into that contest, he had won against Juntaro Ushiku at RIZIN 39 on 23rd October 2022 by submission in the 2nd round in their championship fight at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A, Fukuoka.

Before that, he had beaten Kyohei Hagiwara at RIZIN LANDMARK Vol.3 on 5th May 2022 by submission in the 1st round at Undisclosed.

He had defeated Ulka Sasaki at RIZIN Trigger 2nd on 23rd February 2022 by submission in the 2nd round at Ecopa Arena, Shizuoka, Japan.

Saito had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight before this contest, he had been beaten by Mikuru Asakura at RIZIN 33 on 31st December 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Saitama Super Arena(さいたまスーパーアリーナ), Saitama, Japan.

Previous to that, he had been defeated by Juntaro Ushiku at RIZIN 31 on 24th October 2021 by knockout in the 2nd round in their championship fight at Pia Arena MM (ぴあありーなMM), Yokohama.

Going into that contest, he was victorious against Vugar Kyaramov at RIZIN 28 on 13th June 2021 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Tokyo Dome(東京ドーム), Bunkyo.

Before that, he had won against Mikuru Asakura at RIZIN 25 on 21st November 2020 by unanimous decision in their championship fight at Osaka-Jo Hall, Osaka.

He had beaten Kazumasa Majima at RIZIN 23 on 10th August 2020 by knockout in the 2nd round at Pia Arena MM, Yokohama.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Kleber Koike Erbst had been fighting more than Yutaka Saito.

Going to this contest, Kleber Koike Erbst had last fought 10 months and 23 days ago, while Yutaka Saito's last outing had been 2 years, 4 months and 16 days ago.

Erbst's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 2 months and 24 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months and 11 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 9 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1.8 rounds on average.

Saito's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 9 months and 7 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 2 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Erbst vs Saito?

Kleber Koike Erbst was a 2/7 (-340) favourite going into the contest, while Yutaka Saito made his way into the ring at 5/2 (+250) with oddsmakers.