Ougikubo vs Dodson

Who won Ougikubo vs Dodson?

Hiromasa Ougikubo beat John Dodson by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the main card of RIZIN 45, on Sunday 31st December 2023 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Hiromasa Ougikubo.

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

Ougikubo vs Dodson stats

Hiromasa Ougikubo stepped into the octagon with a record of 25 wins, 8 losses and 2 draws, 1 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 6 by submission.

John Dodson made his way to the cage with a record of 24 wins, 13 losses and 0 draws, 11 of those wins coming by knock out and 2 by submission.

This was Hiromasa Ougikubo's 13th fight in Rizin, having made his debut for the promotion in 2018. John Dodson marked his 3rd fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2022.

Hiromasa Ougikubo's Rizin record stood at 8-5-0, while John Dodson's came in at 2-1-0.

The stats suggested Dodson had a massive power advantage over Ougikubo, boasting a 46% knock out percentage over Ougikubo's 4%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Ougikubo had an advantage over Dodson, with a 24% submission rate over Dodson's 8%.

Hiromasa Ougikubo was the younger man by 3 years, at 37 years old.

Ougikubo was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 2 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2006, 2 years later than Dodson, whose first professional fight was in 2004. He had fought 2 less professional rounds, 96 to Dodson's 98.

Ougikubo vs Dodson form

Hiromasa Ougikubo had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Takafumi Otsuka 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, Japan.

Previous to that, he had beaten Takeshi Kasugai at RIZIN 28 on 13th June 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Tokyo Dome(東京ドーム), Bunkyo.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Kenta Takizawa at RIZIN 25 on 21st November 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Osaka-Jo Hall, Osaka.

Before that, he had lost to Kai Asakura at RIZIN 23 on 10th August 2020 by knockout in the 1st round in their Rizin Bantamweight championship fight at Pia Arena MM, Yokohama.

He was victorious against Shintaro Ishiwatari at RIZIN 20 on 31st December 2019 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama.

Dodson had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Tatsuki Saomoto 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 beaten Hideo Tokoro at RIZIN 40 on 31st December 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 252 on 15th August 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas, United States.

Before that, he had been defeated by Petr Yan at UFC on ESPN+ 3 on 23rd February 2019 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic.

He had lost to Jimmie Rivera at UFC 228 on 8th September 2018 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at American Airlines Center, Dallas, United States.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Hiromasa Ougikubo had been fighting more than John Dodson.

Going to this contest, Hiromasa Ougikubo had last fought 3 years, 5 months and 23 days ago, while John Dodson's last outing had been 1 year, 10 months and 8 days ago.

Ougikubo's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 2 months and 11 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year and 15 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

Dodson's last 5 fights had come over a period of 6 years, 6 months and 6 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 3 months and 20 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 Ougikubo vs Dodson?

Hiromasa Ougikubo was a 9/4 (+230) underdog going into the contest, while John Dodson made his way into the ring at 1/3 (-300) with oddsmakers.