Fight Facts: Rizin 33

Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and ring rarities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF RIZIN FIGHTS: 349
TOTAL NUMBER OF RIZIN EVENTS: 37

Rizin Fighting Federation said farewell to 2021 with a truly mixed event bringing out MMA, kickboxing, modified boxing and a little something for everyone. Surprising results littered the card from top to bottom, and no big favorite was safe at night’s end. Rizin 33 featured the biggest Rizin upset on the books, a champ eager to keep defending his crown and a stomping knockout that brought back memories of the golden age of Japanese MMA.

A Night Filled With Upsets: Snagging a pair of upset decisions over Naoki Inoue and Kai Asakura in one night, Hiromasa Ougikubo became the second fighter in company history to prevail in a bantamweight tournament. The first is future foe Kyoji Horiguchi, and they will rematch for the belt sometime in 2022.

A Scoring-Friendly Style: The two decision wins for Ougikubo are his sixth and seventh under the Rizin banner, ultimately tying and then setting the new record for the most decision victories in Rizin history.

Knows How to Win: None of Ougikubo’s wins with Rizin have come by stoppage, and with two on the scorecards coming at Rizin 33, his overall finish rate fell to 28%. His last triumph inside the distance came in 2017 over Tadaaki Yamamoto.

Satoshi vs. Pitbull, Make It Happen: Keeping an iron grip on his lightweight belt, Roberto de Souza submitted Yusuke Yachi in the second round. He is now the third fighter in Rizin history to successfully defend a title, joining Jiri Prochazka and Ayaka Hamasaki – and Hamasaki achieved this feat twice.

What’s a Judge: As a professional, “Satoshi” has still never gone the distance in any of his 14 career bouts. All six of his Rizin victories have come by stoppage before the third round. As a result, de Souza is now tied for fourth-most finishes in Rizin history alongside Asakura, Manel Kape and Mirko Filipovic.

Double Trouble: The submission performed by de Souza went down as a triangle armbar, marking the second of its kind in Rizin history – although the first came in the reverse variation by Victor Henry against Trent Girdham at Rizin 18 in 2019.

Souzas Submit, It’s What They Do: With three submissions across his six Rizin wins, de Souza finds himself tied for the second-most submission wins in organizational history with six other competitors. Ayaka Hamasaki lays claim to the top spot with five.

The Thrill and the Agony: Coming up short for the lightweight strap, Yachi posted his sixth loss under the Rizin lights. He now ties Satoru Kitaoka and Miyuu Yamamoto for the most defeats in Rizin history.

Fast-Changing Record Book: For roughly an hour, Mikuru Asakura was tied for the most decision wins in Rizin history (six) when he snared a unanimous verdict over Yutaka Saito. Ougikubo passed his tally in the main event.

Out of the Park: Capturing a decision over Rena Kubota, the +1275 underdog Si Woo Park sprang the biggest recorded upset in Rizin history. Before this shocking result, the largest upset was +350 Kenta Takizawa’s knockout of Yuki Motoya in September at Rizin 30. As a note, not all Rizin matches receive international betting lines.

May the Odds Be Ever In Her Favor: Kubota clocked in as the second-greatest betting favorite in recorded Rizin history with -2475 odds in her favor. Hamasaki’s -2500 line before taking on Emi Fujino in September holds the top place on this list.

Miss Rizin Will Return: Although she lost, Kubota entered into her 14th MMA bout with Rizin. She once more ties former opponent Kanna Asakura for the most fights in league history.

Bigger Upset Than Park-Rena: 24-year-old neophyte and likely #1 ranked atomweight Seika Izawa improved her flawless record to 5-0 by clobbering Hamasaki with elbows and punches. The knockout was the first in her career, but she did not claim Hamasaki’s atomweight belt as it was set as a non-title fight.

Club, No Sub: The stoppage for Izawa materializing in the second frame, she is the third woman in Rizin history to record a stoppage due to strikes in Round 2. The first two are Seo Hee Ham and Kubota.

The Last Thing to Go: Twice as old as wunderkind Izawa, Hideki Sekine turned back the clock to pound Shoma Shibisai out in the second round of their exhausting heavyweight encounter. “Shrek” now sports a finish rate of 91% as a pro, while still riding his first win streak since starting his career at 7-0.

No One Cares: In a special rules attraction at 198 pounds, Hikaru Saito hit a flying armbar on Yuta Kubo to register an apparent technical submission win. Due to the fight lasting two rounds of three minutes each where no fighter could win a decision, the match was not even registered as a professional MMA exhibition.

Wanderlei Silva Has Entered the Chat: With soccer kicks and devastating stomps, Shinobu Ota finished Kazuma Sone in the second round. Ota is the second fighter in Rizin history to record a stoppage using stomps, with the first Kizaemon Saiga against Dillin West at Rizin 4 in 2016.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into Rizin 33, K. Asakura had never lost on the scorecards (22 fights), Shibisai had never been stopped due to strikes (10 fights) and Kyohei Hagiwara had never won by decision (nine fights).