Kunimoto vs Nakamura

Who won Kunimoto vs Nakamura?

Keita Nakamura beat Kiichi Kunimoto by knockout in the 2nd round during the main card of RIZIN 41, on Saturday 1st April 2023 at Maruzen Intec Arena Osaka in Osaka.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Welterweight division, which meant the weight limit was 170 pounds (12.1 stone or 77.1 KG).

Kunimoto vs Nakamura stats

Kiichi Kunimoto stepped into the octagon with a record of 20 wins, 9 losses and 2 draws, 2 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 10 by submission.

Keita Nakamura made his way to the cage with a record of 35 wins, 11 losses and 2 draws, 8 of those wins coming by knock out and 16 by submission.

Kiichi Kunimoto's Rizin record stood at 3-2-0, while Keita Nakamura's came in at 2-1-0.

The stats suggested Nakamura had an advantage in power over Kunimoto, with a 23% knock out percentage over Kunimoto's 10%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Kunimoto had a slight advantage over Nakamura, with a 50% submission rate over Nakamura's 46%.

Kiichi Kunimoto was the older man by 4 years, at 44 years old.

Nakamura had a height advantage of 1 inch over Kunimoto. Despite this, both fighters had a equal reach.

Kunimoto was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 17 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2006, 2 years and 5 months later than Nakamura, whose first professional fight was in 2003. He had fought 30 less professional rounds, 65 to Nakamura's 95.

Kunimoto vs Nakamura form

Kiichi Kunimoto had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Daichi Abe at RIZIN 34 on 20th March 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Maruzen Intec Arena Osaka, Osaka, Japan.

Previous to that, he had won against Takahiro Kawanaka at RIZIN Trigger 1st on 28th November 2021 by submission in the 1st round at Kobe World Memorial Hall, Kobe.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Jason Jackson at Bellator 236 on 21st December 2019 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Neal S. Blaisdell Center, Honolulu, United States.

Before that, he had been defeated by Ed Ruth at Bellator 224 on 12th July 2019 by knockout in the 2nd round at WinStar World Casino, Thackerville.

He had beaten Ryuichiro Sumimura at RIZIN 12 on 12th August 2018 by submission in the 1st round at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya, Japan.

Activity check

Kunimoto's last 5 fights had come over a period of 6 years, 8 months and 25 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 4 months and 7 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 10 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2 rounds on average.

Nakamura's last 2 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 6 months and 25 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 2 years, 9 months and 13 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 4 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Kunimoto vs Nakamura?

Kiichi Kunimoto was a 5/4 (+130) underdog going into the contest, while Keita Nakamura made his way into the ring at 8/13 (-160) with oddsmakers.