Roberto Satoshi’s championship reign hasn’t been all he’d hoped it might be.
The RIZIN light-weight titleholder, who has reigned atop his division since June 2021, has gained 11 of 12 fights since becoming a member of the Japanese promotion regardless of solely 4 title defenses in his previous six wins. He returns to the ring to face Gained Bin Ki at RIZIN Korea on Saturday, and but once more it gained’t rely as a title protection as his 155-pound belt isn’t on the road.
“The legacy is totally different,” Satoshi instructed MMA Combating. “While you struggle and say, ‘I’ve already defended the belt 4, 5, six instances,’ you’re constructing a distinct legacy.”
Satoshi’s title was at stake when he completed Yusuke Yachi, Johnny Case, Luiz Gustavo and Vugar Karamov, however matches with Spike Carlyle and Keita Nakamura, each instantly after losses below the Bellator banner, weren’t for gold.
Ki, his upcoming foe, makes his first stroll to the RIZIN ring after knocking out Tatsuya Saika at a Highway to UFC present in Might 2024.
“It’s odd that the champion is preventing and his belt just isn’t on the road,” Satoshi stated, “However I additionally assume it’s a mistake that the promotion doesn’t have a rating that folks would earn the appropriate to struggle me. However it might even be a bit odd that somebody got here in straight for the belt in his debut. As an athlete, I’d choose to all the time struggle with my belt on the road.”
The Brazilian expertise stated it will likely be bizarre to look again in time and see he doesn’t have as many title defenses as wins in RIZIN, and that would change his legacy as champion. The identical has occurred in PRIDE, when long-reigning champions like Fedor Emelianenko and Wanderlei Silva continuously fought with out their belts on the road.
“Once I noticed that in PRIDE, I assumed it was sort of regular,” Satoshi stated. “I even thought it was bizarre {that a} champion within the UFC all the time fought along with his belt at stake. Typically you had a champion lose to a man that wasn’t even ranked that top and you then needed to run it again.
“If you consider it, it might be cool if the UFC did the identical factor as a result of then it might forestall from a sure factor occur, just like the UFC light-weight division proper now. [Islam] Makhachev didn’t need to struggle [Ilia] Topuria as a result of he needed to show himself [at 155], Charles [Oliveira] was subsequent in line and needed to look forward to a title struggle. If it wasn’t for that, Makhachev might have fought Topuria in a non-title struggle; if [Topuria] proves he can win, then it’s for the belt subsequent. However it might be a bit complicated, proper?”
Satoshi admits he was shocked to see Ki wasn’t signed by the UFC after going 2-2 on Highway to UFC, with one of many defeats being a DQ resulting from unlawful punches. He appreciates the actual fact he’s going through a person that was put to the check in a UFC setting. Satoshi plans on scoring one other submission in Asia, however gained’t desperately go for takedowns.
“Understanding this man was a part of this UFC tryouts excites me to show myself,” stated Satoshi, a jiu-jitsu skilled who has now gained two of his previous three by knockout. “You’ll be able to’t struggle just like the outdated days, 1-2 combo, facet kick to the knee and shoot [laughs]. However on the similar time you may have a plan and it return to your pure habitat when issues get arduous. I’m positive we’ll commerce arms early, I wanna really feel that, however there’s no method round it: Once I see a chance, if he makes a mistake and I see a shot, I’ll attempt to take it to the bottom.”
