Kim vs Sato

Who won Kim vs Sato?

Shoko Sato beat Soo Chul Kim by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the co-main event of RIZIN in Korea, on Saturday 31st May 2025 at Paradise City in Seoul.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Shoko Sato.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Featherweight division, which meant the weight limit was 145 pounds (10.4 stone or 65.8 KG).

Kim vs Sato stats

Soo Chul Kim stepped into the octagon with a record of 22 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw, 8 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 6 by submission.

Shoko Sato made his way to the cage with a record of 35 wins, 16 losses and 2 draws, 20 of those wins coming by knock out and 3 by submission.

This was Soo Chul Kim's 6th fight in Rizin, having made his debut for the promotion in 2015. Shoko Sato marked his 4th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2023.

Soo Chul Kim's Rizin record stood at 3-3-0, while Shoko Sato's came in at 3-1-0.

The stats suggested Sato had a large advantage in power over Kim, boasting a 57% knock out percentage over Kim's 36%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Kim had an advantage over Sato, with a 27% submission rate over Sato's 9%.

Soo Chul Kim was the younger man by 4 years, at 33 years old.

Sato had a height advantage of 2 inches over Kim.

Kim was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 23 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2010, 3 years and 5 months later than Sato, whose first professional fight was in 2007. He had fought 45 less professional rounds, 74 to Sato's 119.

Kim vs Sato form

Shoko Sato had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Juntaro Ushiku at RIZIN 48 on 29th September 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

Previous to that, he had lost to Naoki Inoue at RIZIN LANDMARK 9 in KOBE on 23rd March 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Kobe World Hall, Kobe.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Shinobu Ota at RIZIN LANDMARK 6 in NAGOYA on 1st October 2023 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Dolphins Arena, Nagoya.

Before that, he had defeated Jae Woong Kim at ONE on Prime Video 6 on 13th January 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Impact Arena, Bangkok, Thailand.

He had been beaten by Stephen Loman at ONE Championship – One X on 26th March 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore, Singapore.

Activity check

Kim's last 3 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 9 months and 2 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 1 day. In those fights, he fought a total of 8 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.7 rounds on average.

Sato's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 3 months and 1 day, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 25 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

What time did Kim vs Sato start?

The fighters were expected to walk out at around 4:10 AM UTC , which was 12:10 AM EST or 9:10 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 5:10 AM BST in the UK.

What were the odds on Kim vs Sato?

Soo Chul Kim was a 8/15 (-210) favourite going into the contest, while Shoko Sato made his way into the ring at 11/8 (+160) with oddsmakers.