Yachi vs Shirakawa

Who won Yachi vs Shirakawa?

Yusuke Yachi beat Rikuto Shirakawa by submission in the 2nd round during the main card of RIZIN LANDMARK 8 in Saga, on Saturday 24th February 2024 at Saga Arena in Saga.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Lightweight division, which meant the weight limit was 155 pounds (11.1 stone or 70.3 KG).

Yachi vs Shirakawa stats

Yusuke Yachi stepped into the octagon with a record of 25 wins, 13 losses and 0 draws, 6 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 3 by submission.

Rikuto Shirakawa made his way to the cage with a record of 11 wins, 8 losses and 1 draw, 5 of those wins coming by knock out.

This was Yusuke Yachi's 17th fight in Rizin, having made his debut for the promotion in 2016.

Yusuke Yachi's Rizin record stood at 10-7-0, while Rikuto Shirakawa's came in at 3-3-0.

The stats suggested Shirakawa had a large advantage in power over Yachi, boasting a 45% knock out percentage over Yachi's 24%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Yachi had an advantage over Shirakawa, with a 12% submission rate over Shirakawa's 0%.

Yusuke Yachi was the older man by 2 years, at 35 years old.

Yachi had a height advantage of 1 inch over Shirakawa.

Yachi was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 18 more fights, and made his debut in 2009, 6 years and 6 months earlier than Shirakawa, whose first professional fight was in 2015. He had fought 49 more professional rounds, 92 to Shirakawa's 43.

Yachi vs Shirakawa form

Yusuke Yachi had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Zach Zane at RIZIN 43 on 24th June 2023 by submission in the 1st round at Makomanai Sekisui Heim Arena, Sapporo, Japan.

Previous to that, he had beaten Boyd Allen at RIZIN 39 on 23rd October 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A, Fukuoka.

Going into that contest, he had lost to Luiz Gustavo at RIZIN Trigger 3rd on 16th April 2022 by knockout in the 2nd round at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, Chofu.

Before that, he had been beaten by Roberto ‘Satoshi’ de Souza at RIZIN 33 on 30th December 2021 by submission in the 2nd round in their Rizin Lightweight championship fight at Saitama Super Arena(さいたまスーパーアリーナ), Saitama.

He had defeated Koji Takeda 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.

Shirakawa had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had been defeated by Yoshiki Nakahara at RIZIN 44 on 23rd September 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

Previous to that, he was victorious against Takuya Yamamoto at RIZIN 31 on 24th October 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at Pia Arena MM (ぴあありーなMM), Yokohama.

Going into that contest, he had won against Jin Aoi at RIZIN 29 on 27th June 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Maruzen Intec Arena Osaka(丸善インテックアリーナ大阪), Osaka.

Before that, he had beaten Kotetsu Boku at RIZIN 25 on 21st November 2020 by knockout in the 3rd round at Osaka-Jo Hall, Osaka.

He had lost to Kyohei Hagiwara at RIZIN 22 on 9th August 2020 by knockout in the 3rd round at Pia Arena MM, Yokohama.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Yusuke Yachi had been fighting more than Rikuto Shirakawa.

Going to this contest, Yusuke Yachi had last fought 1 year, 10 months and 21 days ago, while Rikuto Shirakawa's last outing had been 1 year, 7 months and 22 days ago.

Yachi's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 7 months and 26 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months and 23 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 11 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.2 rounds on average.

Shirakawa's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 9 months and 6 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 14 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 Yachi vs Shirakawa?

Yusuke Yachi was a 4/6 (-150) favourite going into the contest, while Rikuto Shirakawa made his way into the ring at 6/5 (+120) with oddsmakers.