Roberto Satoshi expects to clean out the RIZIN lightweight division before the end of 2025.<\/p>\n
Satoshi will battle Yoshinori Horie in the main event of RIZIN 51, which goes down Sunday morning in Nagoya, Japan, and believes there will be only one name remaining on the company roster after he scores his fifth defense of the 155-pound title.<\/p>\n
Shunta Nomura, who beat Patricky Pitbull in July to extend his winning streak to five, was the original opponent for the gold in September, but the turnaround was too short after the three-round war with the former Bellator titleholder.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think so, thank God,\u201d Satoshi told MMA Fighting when asked if he\u2019s about to clean out the weight class in RIZIN. \u201cThis opponent is a risk, I can\u2019t underestimate anyone, but if I think if I were going to fight Nomura now, I think there would be no one else in the division in RIZIN, they would have to look for someone on the outside, because I\u2019ve already done everything I had to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Satoshi, the plan is to beat Horie this weekend and then defend his title against Nomura on the final card of the year on Dec. 31.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do have this sentiment,\u201d Satoshi said. \u201cThis fight and then [Nomura] by the end of the year and if all goes right, defeating Horie and Nomura, I think I would have cleaned out the division.\u201d<\/p>\n
Satoshi made his RIZIN debut in 2019 after a 7-0 run in the Asian circuit and won 12 of 13 bouts under the company\u2019s banner since. The sole setback was a 75-second knockout to Johnny Case, which he successfully avenged three years later with a first-round armbar finish to defend his throne.<\/p>\n
The jiu-jitsu specialist has grown into a complete mixed martial artist in RIZIN, scoring five knockouts and six submissions at lightweight. That, he said, makes him an exciting champion to root for.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was talking to my brother and at the same time that I\u2019m winning and people like that, everybody wants to see [a champion] lose,\u201d Satoshi said. \u201cLike, \u2018Who will take out that guy?\u2019 Khabib [Nurmagomedov], for example. I loved Khabib. He beat everybody, but it would have been crazy if he lost, right? And my brother said, \u2018Khabib won, but it was always the same game. Goes forward, lands a punch and takes people down. It was kind of boring.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThank God my fights aren\u2019t like that. I knocked out one guy with a head kick, and then I knocked out another one with a punch, and then tapped one with a triangle. I\u2019m not doing the same thing over and over. Everybody\u2019s like, \u2018What will happen this time?\u2019 I\u2019ve never seen it from this perspective before. It\u2019s good to be changing and not doing the same thing all the time. I\u2019ve been surprising people.\u201d<\/p>\n
No fighter has defended a title more than Satoshi in RIZIN. The Brazilian talent also holds the all-time record for most finishes in the promotion, and is tied with the likes of Mirko \u201cCro Cop\u201d Filipivic and Tofiq Musayev for most knockouts in RIZIN.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeeping this legacy is very important for my history,\u201d Satoshi said when asked if he\u2019s considering a move to a different division in the future. \u201cMy focus is to stay dominant, to prove that I\u2019ve won and dominated the division for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
Horie, a one-time UFC veteran, is 5-2 in RIZIN with two of his victories coming by way of knockout. That said, Satoshi doesn\u2019t see him bringing anything new to the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy plan is to do well on the feet because my opponents are always avoiding going to the ground with me,\u201d Satoshi said. \u201c[Won Bin Ki], the \u2018Korean Zombie\u2019 protege I fought earlier this year, he did pretty much the same game. In fact, my last three or four opponents had the same fighting style.\u201d<\/p>\n