Former Rizin champions Clever Koike and Juan Archuleta will face off in a three-round fight for the title on Sunday (12 a.m. ET) in Tokyo.
Koike doesn't expect the winner to automatically get a shot at Chihiro Suzuki's Rizin featherweight belt, but predicts it's only a matter of time before he captures the title.
“RIZIN Owner [Nobuyuki Sakakibara] Now he has changed his attitude, [Mikuru] Asakura and Ren [Hiramoto] “They are superstars in Japan. They're not as good as us as fighters, but they sell well. I understand. It's business. RIZIN wants to promote Chihiro and make her their champion,” Koike told MMA Fighting.
“He did a good job, I'll admit that. He knocked it out. [Patricio] Pit Bull went to Azerbaijan and won, which I think was a lucky shot. [against Vugar Karamov]And he beat the guy who beat me [Masanori Kanehara]”But RIZIN knows that if he fights Archuleta or me, he won't be able to keep the belt. If he fights Mikuru or Len, he can win. But he knows that whoever wins this fight between Archuleta and me will definitely be the future champion of Japan.”
Koike and Archuleta both lost their titles at weigh-ins in 2023, failing to weigh in for their title defenses against Suzuki and Kai Asakura, respectively. Unlike Archuleta, who lost by knockout while retaining his bantamweight belt, the Brazilian submitted Suzuki with an armbar within three minutes, but the win was automatically overturned to a no contest due to a weigh-in error. Koike also defeated Asakura in June 2021.
“Ren has mixed reviews, many people like him, but some dislike him and want him to lose,” Koike said. “He comes from a kickboxing background and his striking is good, but his level of mixed martial arts is terrible. Every time he faces a tough opponent in mixed martial arts, he loses. RIZIN is protecting him just like they are protecting Asakura.”
“Sakakibara can make their way as easy as he wants, but they won't become champions. It's not going to happen. It's all about level, you know? I don't think they have champion quality, they're not elite. And even if they win the belts, they won't hold them for long. Archuleta will beat both Asakura and Ren. No one wants to fight Archuleta. That's why I signed up for this fight. I want the challenge. He's tough, experienced, a well-rounded MMA fighter. Beating him will move me up to the next level.”
