Kanehara vs Yamamoto

Who won Kanehara vs Yamamoto?

Masanori Kanehara beat Sora Yamamoto by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the main card of RIZIN LANDMARK 5 in YOYOGI, on Saturday 29th April 2023 at Yoyogi National Stadium in Shibuya.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Masanori Kanehara.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Kanehara vs Yamamoto division, which meant the weight limit was pounds (0 stone or 0 KG).

Kanehara vs Yamamoto stats

Masanori Kanehara stepped into the octagon with a record of 27 wins, 12 losses and 5 draws, 11 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 10 by submission.

Sora Yamamoto made his way to the cage with a record of 12 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 3 of those wins coming by knock out and 6 by submission.

This was Masanori Kanehara's 6th fight in Rizin, having made his debut for the promotion in 2020. Sora Yamamoto marked his 7th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2021.

Masanori Kanehara's Rizin record stood at 4-2-0, while Sora Yamamoto's came in at 3-4-0.

The stats suggested Kanehara had an advantage in power over Yamamoto, with a 41% knock out percentage over Yamamoto's 25%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Yamamoto had an advantage over Kanehara, with a 50% submission rate over Kanehara's 37%.

Masanori Kanehara was the older man by 41 years, at 41 years old.

Kanehara had a height advantage of 3 inches over Yamamoto.

Kanehara was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 27 more fights, and made his debut in 2003, 12 years and 10 months earlier than Yamamoto, whose first professional fight was in 2016. He had fought 45 more professional rounds, 84 to Yamamoto's 39.

Kanehara vs Yamamoto form

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

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Vugar Kyaramov at RIZIN 37 on 31st July 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

Previous to that, he had won against Kyle Aguon at RIZIN 36 on 2nd July 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Okinawa Arena, Okinawa.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Daisuke Nakamura at RIZIN 34 on 20th March 2022 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Maruzen Intec Arena Osaka, Osaka.

Before that, he had defeated Suguru Nii at RIZIN Trigger 2nd on 23rd February 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at Ecopa Arena, Shizuoka.

He had been beaten by Chihiro Suzuki at RIZIN Trigger 1st on 28th November 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Kobe World Memorial Hall, Kobe.

Activity check

Kanehara's last 3 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 6 months and 20 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 6 months and 8 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 7 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.3 rounds on average.

Yamamoto's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 9 months and 14 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months and 22 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 Kanehara vs Yamamoto?

Masanori Kanehara was a 1/2 (-200) favourite going into the contest, while Sora Yamamoto made his way into the ring at 6/4 (+150) with oddsmakers.