Inoue vs Kim

Who won Inoue vs Kim?

Naoki Inoue beat Soo Chul Kim by knockout in the 1st round during the co-main event of RIZIN 48, on Sunday 29th September 2024 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 vacant Rizin Bantamweight championship.

Inoue vs Kim stats

Naoki Inoue stepped into the octagon with a record of 17 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, 1 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 9 by submission.

Soo Chul Kim made his way to the cage with a record of 22 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw, 8 of those wins coming by knock out and 6 by submission.

Soo Chul Kim marked his 4th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2015.

Naoki Inoue's Rizin record stood at 7-2-0, while Soo Chul Kim's came in at 3-1-0.

The stats suggested Kim had a large advantage in power over Inoue, boasting a 36% knock out percentage over Inoue's 6%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Inoue had a large advantage over Kim, boasting a 53% submission rate over Kim's 27%.

Naoki Inoue was the younger man by 5 years, at 27 years old.

Inoue had a height advantage of 1 inch over Kim.

Inoue was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 9 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2015, 4 years and 5 months later than Kim, whose first professional fight was in 2010. He had fought 24 less professional rounds, 42 to Kim's 66.

Inoue vs Kim form

Naoki Inoue had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Shoko Sato at RIZIN LANDMARK 9 in KOBE on 23rd March 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Kobe World Hall, Kobe, Japan.

Previous to that, he had lost to Juan Archuleta 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 beaten Kenta Takizawa at RIZIN 40 on 31st December 2022 by submission in the 2nd round at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama.

Before that, he had been beaten by Hiromasa Ougikubo 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.

He had defeated Yuto Hokamura 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.

Activity check

Inoue's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years and 19 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 11 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 14 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.8 rounds on average.

Kim's last 3 fights had come over a period of 2 years and 13 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months and 5 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 8 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.7 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Inoue vs Kim?

Naoki Inoue was a 11/8 (+140) underdog going into the contest, while Soo Chul Kim made his way into the ring at 4/7 (-180) with oddsmakers.