Roberto Satoshi, the RIZIN lightweight champion since June 2021, faces Won Bin Ki in a non-title fight, expressing frustration over limited title defenses impacting his legacy, while reflecting on similar situations in PRIDE and UFC.
Roberto Satoshi’s championship reign hasn’t been all he’d hoped for. Since June 2021, he’s been the RIZIN lightweight titleholder, winning 11 of 12 fights. Yet, only four of those wins were title defenses.
He’s set to face Won Bin Ki at RIZIN Korea on Saturday. Oddly, his 155-pound belt won’t be on the line, again. “The legacy is different,” Satoshi shared with MMA Fighting. Defending the belt multiple times builds a unique legacy.
His title was at stake against Yusuke Yachi, Johnny Case, Luiz Gustavo, and Vugar Karamov. However, matches with Spike Carlyle and Keita Nakamura weren’t for gold. Ki, his upcoming opponent, enters RIZIN after a knockout win over Tatsuya Saika in May 2024.
“It’s odd that the champion is fighting without the belt on the line,” Satoshi remarked. He believes a ranking system would help fighters earn the right to challenge him. Yet, it’d be strange for someone to debut straight for the belt.
Looking back, it might be weird for Satoshi to see fewer title defenses than wins. This happened in PRIDE too, with champions like Fedor Emelianenko and Wanderlei Silva often fighting without belts on the line.
“In PRIDE, it seemed normal,” Satoshi said. He found it odd that UFC champions always fought with the belt at stake. Sometimes, champions lost to lower-ranked opponents, causing rematches.
“If the UFC did the same, it could prevent certain situations,” he mused. Like the UFC lightweight division where Makhachev didn’t want to fight Topuria. It could’ve been a non-title fight, with the belt on the line next if Topuria proved himself. But it’d be confusing.
Satoshi was surprised Ki wasn’t signed by the UFC after going 2-2 on Road to UFC. One loss was a DQ due to illegal punches. He’s eager to face someone tested in a UFC setting.
“Knowing he was part of UFC tryouts excites me,” said Satoshi, a jiu-jitsu expert now with two knockouts in his last three fights. “You can’t fight like the old days, but you can have a plan. If he makes a mistake, I’ll try to take it to the ground.”