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

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

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Patchy Mix at Bellator 246 on 12th September 2020 by unanimous decision in their Bellator Bantamweight championship fight at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, United States.

Previous to that, he had beaten Henry Corrales at Bellator 238 on 25th January 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at The Forum, Inglewood.

Going into that contest, he had lost to Patricio Pitbull at Bellator 228 on 28th September 2019 by unanimous decision in their Bellator Featherweight championship fight at The Forum, Inglewood.

Before that, he had defeated Eduardo Dantas at Bellator 222 on 14th June 2019 by knockout in the 2nd round at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

He was victorious against Ricky Bandejas at Bellator 214 on 26th January 2019 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at The Forum, Los Angeles.

Kai Asakura had stopped 3 of his last 5 opponents.

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

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Kyoji Horiguchi at RIZIN 26 on 31st December 2020 by knockout in the 1st round in their Rizin Bantamweight championship fight at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Shoji Maruyama at RIZIN 24 on 27th September 2020 by knockout in the 1st round at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama.

Before that, he had defeated Hiromasa Ougikubo 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 had been defeated by Manel Kape at RIZIN 20 on 31st December 2019 by knockout in the 2nd round in their Rizin Bantamweight championship fight at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama.

Activity check

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

Going to this contest, Juan Archuleta had last fought 4 years, 9 months and 7 days ago, while Kai Asakura's last outing had been 4 years and 6 days ago.

Archuleta's last 5 fights had come over a period of 6 years, 4 months and 24 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 3 months and 12 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 18 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.6 rounds on average.

Asakura's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 5 months and 19 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 1 month and 3 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 6 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1.2 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.