In the headlining bout of RIZIN 50, held in Kagawa, Japan on Sunday, Naoki Inoue successfully defended his bantamweight championship by securing a split decision victory against Yuki Motoya.
Inoue, who previously claimed the title with a swift finish of Soo Chul Kim in September, was making his first title defense. Throughout the fight, he dictated the pace in the stand-up exchanges, utilizing sharp and accurate combinations, primarily jabs. Motoya attempted a guillotine choke submission, but Inoue skillfully escaped and regained control of the striking battle.
Having previously submitted Motoya via rear-naked choke in their 2020 encounter, Inoue opened a cut near Motoya`s left eye during this fight. Entering the final round needing a finish, Motoya initiated a single-leg takedown, successfully bringing Inoue to the ground. From there, Motoya unleashed ground-and-pound and attempted several submissions. In the closing seconds, he transitioned from a submission attempt to a flurry of punches just before the fight concluded.
Despite his right eye being swollen shut by the end of the fight, Naoki Inoue, brother of UFC fighter Mizuki Inoue, successfully defended his championship. In his post-fight speech, he apologized to the audience for what he considered a less than stellar performance.
“I apologize for not performing up to expectations,” Inoue stated through a translator after his win. “As you can see, my vision was impaired in one eye. I am committed to further development and becoming a champion known for finishing fights.”
The co-feature bout witnessed Kazakh featherweight Karshyga Dautbek extend his winning streak to ten fights with a hard-fought split decision win against former RIZIN titleholder Chihiro Suzuki.
Prior to that, Shunta Nomura was awarded a technical decision victory following an accidental head clash with Luiz Gustavo. The ringside physician stopped the fight due to a cut and bleeding in the later rounds, leading to the judges` scorecards determining the outcome.
Earlier in the event, fans witnessed several decisive finishes, including King Edkpolo`s dominant ground and pound victory over Ryo Sakai from back mount, and rapid knockouts by Shuya Kimura and Kyohei Hagiwara, both finishing their fights in under a minute.
