Kai Asakura came up short in his attempt to win a UFC title in his debut, but he may have paved the way for another RIZIN champion to join the North American company in 2025.
RIZIN lightweight champion Roberto Satoshi, who is set to face Vugar Karamov in the final card of the year on December 31 in Saitama, Japan, has previously expressed to MMA Fighting that he has “no desire” to switch homes for the UFC. He believes that “the recognition I have here in RIZIN is out of the ordinary,” and added that “I would hardly make in the UFC what I make in RIZIN.”
RIZIN president Nobuyuki Sakakibara was present cageside during Asakura’s challenge against Alexandre Pantoja for the flyweight title at UFC 310. This sighting led Satoshi to feel that a more intriguing and financially rewarding deal could be on the horizon for his possible transition, especially given Sakakibara’s closer relationship with UFC CEO Dana White.
“I was very happy for Kai, even though he lost,” Satoshi remarked in an interview with MMA Fighting. “We have to respect him because he’s made his name in the media in Japan, he’s very popular here, and that’s why there was a lot of buzz. It was good for Japan, it was good for the UFC as well. I’m glad to see Dana White saying he wants to be even closer, which could open the door for more RIZIN fighters.”
Asakura is a major name in MMA within Japan, even pulling better viewership on his own YouTube channel compared to UFC star Alex Pereira. In contrast, Satoshi is a fighter who prefers to let his actions speak for him inside the ring and cage, successfully achieving this in recent matches with back-to-back knockouts over Luiz Gustavo and Keita Nakamura.
As Satoshi prepares for his fourth title defense at 155 pounds on December 31, he revealed that he would consider joining the UFC under the right circumstances.
“The only way I would have the desire to go to the UFC is if it’s like Kai went,” Satoshi stated. “It doesn’t need to be in a title fight, which I think is hard, especially in the lightweight division with a long line waiting for [Islam] Makhachev. However, if there’s an opportunity to fight someone ranked, I’d be very interested. If I have to go there and fight someone else to climb the rankings, then I’m not interested.”
“At 35, it’s hard to start that journey from zero. But if I could cut the line a bit and at least fight a ranked opponent, then I’m in. I’m happy here at RIZIN, I’m well-paid, I’m the champion, and fans recognize me in Japan, but looking at the overall size of the UFC, fighting someone ranked there would be another great chapter in my career as a fighter.”
Satoshi has achieved victories in 10 out of his 11 RIZIN fights, with nine of those wins coming by way of stoppage. Notably, he avenged his sole loss with a first-round armbar over Johnny Case. His two setbacks in Japan were against Bellator stars A.J. McKee Jr. and Patricky Pitbull, the latter being a last-minute catchweight bout.
Satoshi mentioned that he hasn’t specifically studied Islam Makhachev’s fights in preparation for a potential matchup. However, he views Makhachev’s cardio and strength as his most significant assets rather than purely technical skills.
The Brazilian fighter has faced a variety of opponents, including a draw against the much heavier Gordon Ryan in jiu-jitsu at Quintet 3 in 2019. He also shares a rich history with former 155-pound champion Charles Oliveira, tracing back to their early days as jiu-jitsu blue belts in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
“He was brave,” Satoshi chuckled. “He came from a lighter weight class but moved up to fight me, and we would always end up fighting each other twice in every tournament since we would also meet in the absolute. People might laugh when I say this, but I’ve never lost to him in jiu-jitsu. We fought about six or seven times, and I always won [laughs].”
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