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

Archuleta had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges 3 times.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Henry Corrales at Bellator 238 on 25th January 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at The Forum, Inglewood, United States.

Previous to that, he had lost to Patricio Pitbull at Bellator 228 on 28th September 2019 by unanimous decision in their Bellator Featherweight championship fight at The Forum, Inglewood.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Eduardo Dantas at Bellator 222 on 14th June 2019 by knockout in the 2nd round at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

Before that, he had defeated Ricky Bandejas at Bellator 214 on 26th January 2019 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at The Forum, Los Angeles.

He was victorious against Jeremy Spoon at Bellator 210 on 30th November 2018 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at WinStar World Casino and Resort, Thackerville.

Asakura had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Yuki Motoya at RIZIN 42 on 6th May 2023 by knockout in the 3rd round at Tokyo Ariake Arena, Tokyo, Japan.

Previous to that, he had beaten Kenta Takizawa 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.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Hiromasa Ougikubo at RIZIN 33 on 30th 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.

Before that, he had defeated Alan Yoshihiro Yamaniha at RIZIN 30 on 19th September 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.

He was victorious against Shooto Watanabe at RIZIN 28 on 13th June 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at Tokyo Dome(東京ドーム), Bunkyo.

Activity check

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

Going to this contest, Juan Archuleta had last fought 4 years, 3 months and 3 days ago, while Kai Asakura's last outing had been 11 months and 22 days ago.

Archuleta's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 4 months and 29 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year and 30 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 16 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.2 rounds on average.

Asakura's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 10 months and 15 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months and 29 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 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.