Ushiku vs Sato

Who won Ushiku vs Sato?

Shoko Sato beat Juntaro Ushiku by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the main card of RIZIN 48, on Sunday 29th September 2024 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Shoko Sato.

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).

Ushiku vs Sato stats

Juntaro Ushiku stepped into the octagon with a record of 21 wins, 9 losses and 0 draws, 6 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Shoko Sato made his way to the cage with a record of 35 wins, 16 losses and 2 draws, 20 of those wins coming by knock out and 3 by submission.

This was Juntaro Ushiku's 6th fight in Rizin, having made his debut for the promotion in 2021.

Juntaro Ushiku's Rizin record stood at 3-3-0, while Shoko Sato's came in at 1-1-0.

The stats suggested Sato had a large advantage in power over Ushiku, boasting a 57% knock out percentage over Ushiku's 29%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Sato had a slight advantage over Ushiku, with a 9% submission rate over Ushiku's 0%.

Juntaro Ushiku was the younger man by 8 years, at 29 years old.

Sato had a height advantage of 2 inches over Ushiku.

Ushiku was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 23 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2013, 6 years and 10 months later than Sato, whose first professional fight was in 2007. He had fought 36 less professional rounds, 77 to Sato's 113.

Ushiku vs Sato form

Juntaro Ushiku had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Shinobu Ota at RIZIN 46 on 6th May 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Tokyo Ariake Arena, Tokyo, Japan.

Previous to that, he had won against Kyohei Hagiwara at RIZIN 44 on 23rd September 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Mikuru Asakura at RIZIN LANDMARK 5 in YOYOGI on 30th April 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Yoyogi National Stadium, Shibuya.

Before that, he had been defeated by Kleber Koike Erbst at RIZIN 39 on 23rd October 2022 by submission in the 2nd round in their championship fight at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A, Fukuoka.

He had beaten Yutaka Saito at RIZIN 35 on 17th April 2022 by unanimous decision in their championship fight at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, Chofu.

Shoko Sato had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Naoki Inoue 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 defeated Shinobu Ota at RIZIN LANDMARK 6 in NAGOYA on 1st October 2023 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Dolphins Arena, Nagoya.

Going into that 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.

Before that, he had been beaten 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.

He had been defeated by Fabricio de Andrade at ONE Championship – Unbreakable 3 on 5th February 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Activity check

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

Going to this contest, Juntaro Ushiku had last fought 5 months and 2 days ago, while Shoko Sato's last outing had been 6 months and 15 days ago.

Ushiku's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 5 months and 21 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months. In those fights, he fought a total of 14 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.8 rounds on average.

Sato's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 8 months and 3 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months and 25 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Ushiku vs Sato?

Juntaro Ushiku was a 11/10 (+110) underdog going into the contest, while Shoko Sato made his way into the ring at 8/13 (-160) with oddsmakers.