If anyone has earned a featherweight title shot it is Kleber Koike Erbst. He underlined his credentials with another submission win in the main event of Rizin Landmark 3.
Erbst was matched with Kyohei Hagiwara with the fight taking place at a catchweight of 150lbs, slightly above the featherweight limit. The action took place in a cage at an undisclosed venue, as is normal with the ‘Landmark’ series.
Hagiwara came out of the blocks with a spinning back kick and Erbst responded with a low kick of his own. The Brazilian tried for his first takedown but his opponent’s sprawl was on point.
Hagiwara’s aggressive approach continued as he followed a straight right up with a flying knee. But the tide turned when Kleber Erbst finally did take him down, instantly taking his back.
https://twitter.com/nobu_sakakibara/status/1522224957438443520?s=20&t=FyiSDL-ToTz4KyFvJnFp8Q
By this stage Erbst’s right eye was damaged from Hagiwara’s striking but one takedown was all it took. He sank in his hooks to secure a body lock and the tap followed soon after.
With the win Erbst improves to 30-5 and secures his fifth straight Rizin win in a row with every victory coming courtesy of a submission. Hagiwara drops to 6-6.
Erbst is clearly the number one contender in the featherweight division. His teammate Roberto de Souza currently holds the lightweight belt and it is difficult to see what more the Brazilian can do to show he deserves a shot at the 145lbs strap.
神に感謝しますが、勝利です！
私は勝利には満足していますが、パフォーマンスには満足していません
応援してくださった皆様、ありがとうございました pic.twitter.com/RNL5iJ8sed
— kleber koike (@KoikeKleber) May 5, 2022
Best of the rest
In the co-main event Kazuma Kuramoto (10-2) scored a unanimous decision win over Mamoru Uoi (23-12). The wrestler forced his opponent to spend virtually the entire three rounds defending takedown attempts and submission attempts.
Tetsuya Seki (15-8) also earned a decision win in his featherweight fight with Akira Haraguchi (6-3). In the first fight of the night Yushi (1-1) stopped Tony Zenki (0-1) in the second round of their bantamweight bout.
The promotion also confirmed its next event. Rizin 36 will take place at the Okinawa Arena on July 2nd and will feature Kai Asakura.
The identity of his opponent is yet to be confirmed. But having been photographed with Dana White and Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas recently fans in Japan will be relieved to hear that Asakura has no intention of quitting Rizin just yet.
Rizin Landmark 3, TBA, May 5th
Kleber Koike Erbst def. Kyohei Hagiwara by Submission (Rear naked choke) at 1:47 of Round 1
Kazuma Kuramoto def. Mamoru Uoi by Decision (Unanimous)
Tetsuya Seki def. Akira Haraguchi by Decision (Unanimous)
Yushi def. Tony Zenki by KO (Punch) at 2:21 of Round 2
