Kleber Koike Erbst cemented his status as the #1 contender in the lightweight division with a submission win over Ulka Sasaki at Rizin Trigger 2nd. The fight headlined the card in Shizuoka and produced some thrilling exchanges before the finish.
In the opening round Erbst looked to land one twos but Sasaki evaded them. A front kick from the Brazilian landed but Sasaki answered with a right hook which dropped him.
Sasaki immediately looked to follow up with ground and pound but Erbst was able to get to his feet using the cage wall. He fired back with left and right hooks of his own and before jumping guard to look for a guillotine.
Visible damage
He couldn’t complete the submission but scored with some knees and punches from the clinch, doing some visible damage to Sasaki’s nose. The momentum was with the Brazilian and he used a similar strategy in the second round.
Erbst tried to jump for another guillotine and eventually took Sasaki’s back and looked for a rear naked choke. It seemed tight but the UFC veteran was able to peel his hand away and escape.
Submission win
Erbst still had his back though and he tried to sink in the choke again, this time successfully. The tap came at the 3:22 mark with the BJJ black belt earning his fourth straight submission win.
For Erbst a featherweight title shot surely awaits as his record improves to 29-5-1. For Sasaki it is back to the drawing board, and possibly the bantamweight division, after two straight losses at 145lbs take him to 23-10-2.
Rizin Trigger 2nd, Shizuoka, February 23rd
Kleber Koike Erbst def. Ulka Sasaki via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 3:22 of Round 2
Kazuma Kuramoto def. Kenji Kato by TKO (Knees) at 4:16 of Round 1
Akira Okada def. Takumi Suzuki by Decision (Unanimous)
Sora Yamamoto def. Suguru Nii by TKO (Knees and Punches) at 0:35 of Round 11
Kohei Tokeshi def. Harry Stallone by KO (Punch) at 3:31 of Round 2
Hikaru Yoshino def. Daisuke Endo by Decision (Unanimous)
Kouki Nakagawa def. Katsushi Kojima by Decision (Unanimous)
Takuma Uchiyama def. Kotetsu Hara by Decision (Split)
