Roberto ‘Satoshi’ Submits Tofiq Musayev, Claims Vacant Lightweight Crown at Rizin 28

サトシおめ

ムサエフが秒殺とは#RIZIN28 pic.twitter.com/dZKE1fbKaK

— ドナルドダックの左ジャブ (@donaldo_darouga) June 13, 2021

Roberto de Souza can now call himself Rizin Fighting Federation’s inaugural lightweight king.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace known as “Satoshi” claimed the vacant 155-pound belt with a quick submission victory against lightweight grand prix winner Tofiq Musayev at Rizin 28 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday. De Souza (12-1, 5-1 Rizin) has finished his last three opponents within the Japanese promotion inside of a round.

The 31-year-old Bonsai Jiu-Jitsu representative wasted little time in attempting to take the action to the mat. Although Musayev (18-4, 5-1 Rizin) denied his opponent’s first takedown attempt, he couldn’t remain upright for long. De Souza was able to ground the Azerbaijan native on his second try and then secured a triangle choke after ending up on bottom position to earn the tapout 72 seconds into Round 1.

WHOA! Kleber Koike sleeps Mikuru Asakura with a R2 triangle choke.

Koike/Saito will be phenomenal!! #RIZIN28 pic.twitter.com/6ADxaHeILb

— Mike Shytte (@MikeLovesTacosX) June 13, 2021

In the evening’s official main event, former KSW champion Kleber Koike Erbst (28-5-1, 3-0 Rizin) rendered Mikuru Asakura (14-3, 1 NC, 8-2 Rizin) unconscious with a triangle choke in a featherweight contender’s bout. Erbst finished the Tri-Force Akaska product 1:49 into the second frame for his fourth consecutive victory.

Erbst appeared to be hurt on the feet early on, but he later sucked Asakura into the clinch, where he landed a series of elbows before pulling guard. From there, he transitioned the fight-ending maneuver until his opponent went to sleep. The win presumably earns Erbst a shot against reigning Rizin featherweight king Yutaka Saito.

pic.twitter.com/5sRntzdZ7Z

— Streetfight Banned-cho (@streetfitebncho) June 13, 2021

Gorgeous stuff pic.twitter.com/1M9SrckT9r

— FuriouslyHigh (@AcidHaze) June 13, 2021

Rizin 28 also included four bouts in the opening round of the organization’s bantamweight grand prix. Former 135-pound champion Kai Asakura (17-3, 9-2 Rizin) dispatched Shuto Watanabe (22-6-6, 1-2 Rizin) via ground-and-pound at the 3:22 mark of Round 1, while Naoki Inoue (16-2, 4-0 Rizin) vanquished Shintaro Ishiwatari (26-9-4, 4-3 Rizin) with a soccer kick 2:01 into the opening frame. In the other two opening round matchups, Hiromasa Ougikubo (22-5-2, 4-2 Rizin) outpointed Takeshi Kasugai (26-8-1, 0-1 Rizin), and Yuki Motoya (28-9, 5-4, 1 NC Rizin) took a decision against Ryo Okada (17-5-3, 0-1 Rizin).

In other action: Yutaka Saito (20-4-2, 3-0 Rizin) earned a split-decision triumph against Vugar Karamov (15-4, 1-1 Rizin) at featherweight; Shoma Shibisai (7-2, 1-1 Rizin) submitted Tsuyoshi Sudario (3-1, 3-1 Rizin) with a rear-naked choke 1:39 into Round 3 of a heavyweight bout and Satoshi Yamasu (12-6, 1-1 Rizin) captured a split verdict against Noah Bey (0-1, 0-1 Rizin) at 160 pounds.