Photo Credit: CBS Sports.com. Showtime.
Team Bellator celebrates after going 5-0 against the Rizin Fighting Federation on New Year’s Eve.
A.J. McKee Def. Roberto De Souza
The main event of the Bellator vs Rizin was a highly competitive matchup between the talented A.J. McKee and Rizin Lightweight Champion Roberto De Souza. McKee is a former Featherweight Champion in Bellator who recently made his 155-pound debut in a victory over Spike Carlyle. De Souza is a two-time Jiu-Jitsu champion and possesses one of the best ground games in MMA.
Round one started off with McKee taking control on the feet with leg kicks and an effective flying knee. De Souza realized quickly that his best path to success was to take the fight to the ground. Midway through round one McKee was actually able to take De Souza to the ground. McKee maintained top position while defending multiple submission attempts until the round ended. In round two McKee found a rhythm on his feet with multiple damaging straight punches but De Souza responded well taking McKee down. Both fighters are tremendous grapplers, De Souza was able to get to the back of McKee but couldn’t capitalize. McKee again defended submission attempts and scrambled to his feet near the end of the round.
After 2 Rounds I had the fight scored at one round a piece. This was a very close and entertaining fight between two of the best in each promotion. In the final round McKee came out fast pressuring De Souza, who seemed to be fatigued in his corner after round two. McKee was able to take De Souza down but was eventually reversed by the Jiu-Jitsu ace. Souza was desperately trying to find a submission before the final bell but was unable to submit McKee while controlling his back. After three hard fought rounds all judges scored the contest unanimously for Mckee.
Patricio “Pitbull” Freire Def. Kleber Koike
In the Co-Main event Featherweight Champions from each promotion squared off as Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (35-5) fought Kleber Koike (32-5). Pitbull was coming off two straight victories regaining his championship from A.J. McKee in the process. Koike is a talented grappler with 27 submission victories on his professional record.
Patricio “Pitbull” pushed the action in round one immediately trying to get inside the length of Koike. Freire landed multiple combinations to the body then head of Koike early. Koike was moving well trying to avoid the shots of Freire and take the fight to the ground. The volume and pressure of “Pitbull’ was the story of this fight as he constantly made Koike fight off his back foot and retreat. Rounds two and three were very similar with Freire being the more active and aggressive fighter. Koike did have some good moments on the feet however, landing effective front kicks to try and keep Freire off of him. The judges all saw the contest for Patricio “Pitbull” Freire awarding him a decison victory.
Freire’s next fight in 2023 could be a very interesting one, a potential trilogy fight with A.J. McKee could be on the horizon. If McKee is unavailable up and coming contenders #5 Jermey Kennedy or #4 Aaron Pico could see themselves in a 145-pound title fight.
Kyoji Horiguchi Def. Hiromasa Ougikubo
Former Bellator and Rizin Bantamweight Champion Kyoji Horiguchi (31-5) returned to his native country of Japan to take on Hiromasa Ougikubo (25-7) for the third and final time. Horiguchi submitted Hiromasa in 2013 and defeated him again in 2018 by decision. Coming off two losses in Bellator Horiguchi needed to make a statement that he still belongs amongst the best Bantamweight fighters in the world.
Horiguchi put on a mixed martial arts clinic in this matchup controlling the fight wherever it took place. Horiguchi was the faster and more accurate fighter in the striking exchanges and used his physical strength to dominate the fight on the ground as well. Ougikubo showed tremendous heart in this contest hanging tough with the best Japanese fighter in the world right now. Horiguchi was unable to finish Ougikubo although he was awarded a unanimous decision victory.
Juan Archuleta Def. Soo Chul Kim
This fight had it all, the pre-fight walkouts from Archuleta and Kim were tremendous. Archuleta walked out doing a Hispanic tribal dance wearing a unique outfit. While Soo Chul Kim Sprinted straight for the ring like he was shoot out of a cannon when he was announced. The Satiama Super Arena was filled with anticipation coming into this contest with each veteran fighter being known for their fan friendly style.
Archuleta (27-4) came out aggressive trying to pressure Kim (17-7) who met him in the middle of the ring. Archuleta and Kim battled on the feet for the majority of the first round with both fighters having their moments. Round two was a highly competitive and close round that saw Archuleta land effective leg kicks before taking Kim to the ground. While in top position Archuleta got caught with an elbow from the bottom that started a cut on his forehead.
In round three Archuleta and Kim started off exchanging punches in the center of the ring. Kim was using a tremendous jab all night and utilized his length against the shorter Archuleta very well. This was the closest fight on the card and was a tremendous conest. The judges scorecards were split after three rounds . One judge gave the contest to Kim while the other two awarded the victory to Archuleta.
Gadzhi Rabadanov Def. Koji Takeda
In the shows opener Dagestani prospect Gadzhi Rabadanov (19-4) fought Japan’s Koji Takeda (15-4). Rabadanov currently trains with the legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov and is 5-0 in Bellator competition. This fight took place at 155 pounds in the Lightweight Division. In the first round Rabadanov quickly found an opening for a well-timed knee that looked like it put Koji out cold. That was not the case as Koji quickly recovered and defended himself against the swarming Rabadanov. Rabadanov remained on top of Koji landing effective ground and pound in round one.
In round two Rabadanov picked Takeda apart from the outside with kicks and well-timed punches as Takeda rushed in. Rabadanov looked fantastic in this fight and was the superior competitor in all aspects. In round three Rabadanov went into cruise control, once again landing well at distance while threatening takedowns. After three rounds all judges scored the contest unanimously for Gadzhi Rabadanov. Rabadanov seems to be an extremely polished fighter who may be in need for a step up in competition. Bellator is deep with talent at 155 pounds so Rabadanov should be set up for an intriguing fight moving forward.
What’s next for Bellator and Rizin?
With this dominant 5-0 team victory Bellator displayed that they are currently a step above Rizin as an organization in terms of talent. Both organizations have tremendous fighters. No fight went to the distance on Saturday which shows just how competitive and close these contests were. If Rizin wants to be competitive with Bellator in the future, it seems they will need to add depth to the current roster. The production that Rizin put on however was second to none. The creativity and passion of their organization was fascinating to watch, from the incredible opening ceremony to the walkouts and theme music the event really had a unique feel. It will be interesting to see what Rizin puts together moving forward.
Bellator will be back in action February 4th on CBS. The fight card includes two title fights Ryan Bader vs Fedor Emelienanko for the Heavyweight title and Johnny Eblen will look to make the first defense of his Middleweight championship vs Anatoly Tokov.
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