Inoue vs Sato

Who won Inoue vs Sato?

Naoki Inoue beat Shoko Sato by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the main card of RIZIN LANDMARK 9 in KOBE, on Saturday 23rd March 2024 at Kobe World Hall in Kobe.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Naoki Inoue.

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).

Inoue vs Sato stats

Naoki Inoue stepped into the octagon with a record of 16 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, 1 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 9 by submission.

Shoko Sato made his way to the cage with a record of 35 wins, 15 losses and 2 draws, 20 of those wins coming by knock out and 3 by submission.

Naoki Inoue's Rizin record stood at 7-2-0, while Shoko Sato's came in at 1-1-0.

The stats suggested Sato had a massive power advantage over Inoue, boasting a 57% knock out percentage over Inoue's 6%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Inoue had a massive advantage over Sato, boasting a 56% submission rate over Sato's 9%.

Naoki Inoue was the younger man by 9 years, at 27 years old.

Sato had a height advantage of 1 inch over Inoue.

Inoue was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 32 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2015, 7 years and 11 months later than Sato, whose first professional fight was in 2007. He had fought 71 less professional rounds, 42 to Sato's 113.

Inoue vs Sato form

Inoue had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, 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, Japan.

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

Going into that contest, 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.

Before that, he had beaten 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.

He had defeated Shintaro Ishiwatari at RIZIN 28 on 13th June 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at Tokyo Dome(東京ドーム), Bunkyo.

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

In his last fight before this contest, he was victorious against Jae Woong Kim at ONE on Prime Video 6 on 13th January 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Impact Arena, Bangkok, Thailand.

Previous to that, he had been defeated by Stephen Loman at ONE Championship – One X on 26th March 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore, Singapore.

Going into that contest, he had lost to Fabricio de Andrade at ONE Championship – Unbreakable 3 on 5th February 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Before that, he had won against Won Il Kwon at ONE Championship – Fire & Fury on 31st January 2020 by submission in the 1st round at Mall Of Asia Arena, Manila, Philippines.

He had beaten Mark Abelardo at ONE Championship – Warriors of Light on 10th May 2019 by knockout in the 2nd round at Impact Arena, Bangkok, Thailand.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Naoki Inoue had been fighting more than Shoko Sato.

Going to this contest, Naoki Inoue had last fought 1 year, 2 months and 18 days ago, while Shoko Sato's last outing had been 1 year, 6 months and 11 days ago.

Inoue's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 1 month and 11 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 15 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 12 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.4 rounds on average.

Sato's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 2 months and 14 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year and 15 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 12 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.4 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Inoue vs Sato?

Naoki Inoue was a 8/15 (-190) favourite going into the contest, while Shoko Sato made his way into the ring at 7/5 (+140) with oddsmakers.