Inoue vs Takizawa

Who won Inoue vs Takizawa?

Naoki Inoue beat Kenta Takizawa by submission in the 2nd round during the co-main event of RIZIN 40, on Saturday 31st December 2022 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama.

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

Inoue vs Takizawa stats

Naoki Inoue stepped into the octagon with a record of 15 wins, 3 losses and 0 draws, 1 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 8 by submission.

Kenta Takizawa made his way to the cage with a record of 13 wins, 8 losses and 0 draws, 9 of those wins coming by knock out.

Naoki Inoue's Rizin record stood at 7-2-0, while Kenta Takizawa's came in at 3-6-0.

The stats suggested Takizawa had a massive power advantage over Inoue, boasting a 69% knock out percentage over Inoue's 7%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Inoue had a massive advantage over Takizawa, boasting a 53% submission rate over Takizawa's 0%.

Naoki Inoue was the younger man by 3 years, at 27 years old.

Takizawa had a height advantage of 1 inch over Inoue.

Inoue was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 3 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2015, 8 months later than Takizawa, whose first professional fight was in 2014. He had fought 10 less professional rounds, 42 to Takizawa's 52.

Inoue vs Takizawa form

Inoue had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges 3 times.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to 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, Japan.

Previous to that, he had won against 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.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Shintaro Ishiwatari at RIZIN 28 on 13th June 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at Tokyo Dome(東京ドーム), Bunkyo.

Before that, he had defeated Yuki Motoya at RIZIN 26 on 31st December 2020 by submission in the 1st round at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama.

He was victorious against Shooto Watanabe at RIZIN 22 on 9th August 2020 by submission in the 1st round at Pia Arena MM, Yokohama.

Takizawa 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 been beaten by Kai Asakura 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, Japan.

Previous to that, he had won against Yuki Motoya at RIZIN 30 on 19th September 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at Saitama Super Arena(さいたまスーパーアリーナ), Saitama.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Masakazu Imanari at RIZIN 29 on 27th June 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Maruzen Intec Arena Osaka(丸善インテックアリーナ大阪), Osaka.

Before that, he had been defeated by Ulka Sasaki at RIZIN 26 on 31st December 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama.

He had lost to Hiromasa Ougikubo at RIZIN 25 on 21st November 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Osaka-Jo Hall, Osaka.

Activity check

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

Going to this contest, Naoki Inoue had last fought 3 years, 2 months and 11 days ago, while Kenta Takizawa's last outing had been 3 years, 2 months and 11 days ago.

Inoue's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 7 months and 5 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 1 day. In those fights, he fought a total of 9 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1.8 rounds on average.

Takizawa's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 3 months and 21 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 10 months and 10 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 Inoue vs Takizawa?

Naoki Inoue was a 1/4 (-400) favourite going into the contest, while Kenta Takizawa made his way into the ring at 11/4 (+280) with oddsmakers.