Erbst vs Saito

Who won Erbst vs Saito?

Kleber Koike Erbst beat Yutaka Saito by submission in the 3rd round during the main card 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 Erbst vs Saito division, which meant the weight limit was pounds (0 stone or 0 KG).

Erbst vs Saito stats

Kleber Koike Erbst stepped into the octagon with a record of 31 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw, 2 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 27 by submission.

Yutaka Saito made his way to the cage with a record of 21 wins, 7 losses and 2 draws, 5 of those wins coming by knock out and 2 by submission.

This was Kleber Koike Erbst's 12th fight in Rizin, having made his debut for the promotion in 2020. Yutaka Saito marked his 8th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2020.

Kleber Koike Erbst's Rizin record stood at 9-2-0, while Yutaka Saito's came in at 4-4-0.

The stats suggested Saito had an advantage in power over Erbst, with a 24% knock out percentage over Erbst's 6%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Erbst had a massive advantage over Saito, boasting a 87% submission rate over Saito's 10%.

Kleber Koike Erbst was the younger man by 2 years, at 35 years old.

Erbst had a height advantage of 2 inches over Saito.

Erbst was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 9 more fights, and made his debut in 2008, 3 years and 1 month earlier than Saito, whose first professional fight was in 2011. He had fought 2 more professional rounds, 82 to Saito's 80.

Erbst vs Saito form

Kleber Koike Erbst had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Masanori Kanehara at RIZIN 44 on 23rd September 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

Previous to that, his fight against Chihiro Suzuki at RIZIN 43 on 24th June 2023 ended in a no contest.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Patricio Pitbull at Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN on 31st December 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama.

Before that, he had won against Juntaro Ushiku at RIZIN 39 on 23rd October 2022 by submission in the 2nd round in their championship fight at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A, Fukuoka.

He had beaten Kyohei Hagiwara at RIZIN LANDMARK Vol.3 on 5th May 2022 by submission in the 1st round at Undisclosed.

Yutaka Saito had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had defeated Ren Hiramoto at RIZIN LANDMARK 5 in YOYOGI on 30th April 2023 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Yoyogi National Stadium, Shibuya, Japan.

Previous to that, he had been defeated by Juntaro Ushiku at RIZIN 35 on 17th April 2022 by unanimous decision in their championship fight at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, Chofu.

Going into that contest, he had lost to Mikuru 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.

Before that, he had been beaten by Juntaro Ushiku at RIZIN 31 on 24th October 2021 by knockout in the 2nd round in their championship fight at Pia Arena MM (ぴあありーなMM), Yokohama.

He was victorious against Vugar Kyaramov at RIZIN 28 on 13th June 2021 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Tokyo Dome(東京ドーム), Bunkyo.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Kleber Koike Erbst had been fighting more than Yutaka Saito.

Going to this contest, Kleber Koike Erbst had last fought 1 year, 6 months and 7 days ago, while Yutaka Saito's last outing had been 1 year and 11 months ago.

Erbst's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 10 months and 25 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months. In those fights, he fought a total of 10 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2 rounds on average.

Saito's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 9 months and 17 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 4 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 14 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.8 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Erbst vs Saito?

Kleber Koike Erbst was a 2/7 (-340) favourite going into the contest, while Yutaka Saito made his way into the ring at 5/2 (+250) with oddsmakers.