Archuleta vs Asakura

Who won Archuleta vs Asakura?

Kai Asakura beat Juan Archuleta by knockout in the 2nd round during the co-main event of RIZIN 45, on Sunday 31st December 2023 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama.

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).

This contest was for the Rizin Bantamweight championship.

Archuleta vs Asakura stats

Juan Archuleta stepped into the octagon with a record of 29 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, 11 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 1 by submission.

Kai Asakura made his way to the cage with a record of 20 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, 12 of those wins coming by knock out and 3 by submission.

This was Juan Archuleta's 4th fight in Rizin, having made his debut for the promotion in 2022. Kai Asakura marked his 16th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2017.

Juan Archuleta's Rizin record stood at 3-1-0, while Kai Asakura's came in at 13-3-0.

The stats suggested Asakura had a large advantage in power over Archuleta, boasting a 60% knock out percentage over Archuleta's 38%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Asakura had an advantage over Archuleta, with a 15% submission rate over Archuleta's 3%.

Juan Archuleta was the older man by 6 years, at 37 years old.

Asakura had a height advantage of 1 inch over Archuleta.

Archuleta was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 9 more fights, and made his debut in 2013, 10 months later than Asakura, whose first professional fight was in 2012. He had fought 54 more professional rounds, 101 to Asakura's 47.

Archuleta vs Asakura form

Juan Archuleta had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Hiromasa Ougikubo at Super RIZIN 2 on 30th July 2023 by unanimous decision in their Rizin Bantamweight championship fight at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

Previous to that, he had beaten Naoki Inoue at RIZIN 42 on 6th May 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Tokyo Ariake Arena, Tokyo.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Soo Chul Kim at Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN on 31st December 2022 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama.

Before that, he was victorious against Enrique Barzola at Bellator 286 on 1st October 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach, United States.

He had lost to Raufeon Stots at Bellator 279 on 23rd April 2022 by knockout in the 3rd round at Neal S. Blaisdell Center, Honolulu.

Asakura had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Yuki Motoya at RIZIN 42 on 6th May 2023 by knockout in the 3rd round at Tokyo Ariake Arena, Tokyo, Japan.

Previous to that, he had beaten Kenta Takizawa 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.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Hiromasa Ougikubo at RIZIN 33 on 30th 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.

Before that, he had defeated Alan Yoshihiro Yamaniha 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.

He was victorious against Shooto Watanabe at RIZIN 28 on 13th June 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at Tokyo Dome(東京ドーム), Bunkyo.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Juan Archuleta had been fighting more than Kai Asakura.

Going to this contest, Juan Archuleta had last fought 1 year, 9 months and 8 days ago, while Kai Asakura's last outing had been 2 years and 2 days ago.

Archuleta's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years and 15 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 10 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

Asakura's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 10 months and 25 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 12 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 Archuleta vs Asakura?

Juan Archuleta was a 10/11 (-110) underdog going into the contest, while Kai Asakura made his way into the ring at 10/11 (-110) with oddsmakers.