Kleber Koike: RIZIN star Mikuru Asakura in for a shock if he thinks ‘I’m more fragile’ after knockout loss
Mikuru Asakura is one of the biggest stars in Japanese MMA in recent years, and Kleber Koike wants to once again ruin his night at RIZIN.
The Brazilian fighter, although a former champion in KSW, was not a known commodity when he joined RIZIN in 2020. Asakura, already 8-1 in the promotion at the time, was left unconscious when he met the jiu-jitsu ace in the main event of RIZIN 28 at the iconic Tokyo Dome.
They will meet again four years later, headlining Super RIZIN 4 on Sunday morning in Saitama. Koike feels he has gone from being unknown to a bit overlooked after suffering a knockout defeat in his most recent bout, when he lost the featherweight title to Razhabali Shaydullaev in May.
“[Asakura] has always asked to fight me,” Koike told MMA Fighting. “And since we fought on the same night, and I was knocked out and he won, he went to the [RIZIN] office and asked for this fight maybe thinking I’m on a low, and he can use that to his advantage. I think he will come with that strategy since I was knocked out, he will try to attack me there thinking I’m more fragile.”
Koike won three in a row before losing the belt, including a quick submission over Juan Archuleta and a three-round war against Chihiro Suzuki. Asakura won four of six MMA bouts since the Koike match, and even shared the ring with boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. for an exhibition in 2022, and now looks for redemption after finishing Suzuki to go 18-5 as a professional.
“Four years ago, Asakura was beating everybody and I was a nobody,” Koike said. “I was just a guy coming to the promotion. I was a champion in Europe but wasn’t known in Japan. Casual fans, no one knew who I was. He had more to lose because he was the man, he had the name, and that’s what happened. I kind of blemished his legacy.
“I asked for him since day one and people said we were not on the same level. Even though I was a champion in Europe, they said I was a can. ‘You’re not on the same level,’ they said. They gave us the main event on Tokyo Dome, the first event there in 15 years, and it was all because of him. The sponsors who paid for the whole thing were also sponsoring him. It was all for him to win, and I went there and stole the show. And it won’t be any different this time.
“Four years later, and he’s still Asakura, a famous guy, but I’m the No. 1 in the division, a two-time champion, and he’s never had the belt. I’m the one with more wins in the division. If I win, I’m fighting for the belt again. If he beats me, he goes for the belt and leaves me behind, so a lot has changed. He’s still Asakura, but I have the responsibility now. I have the bigger obligation [to win] now.”
Koike said the only reason he agreed to such a short turnaround, less than three months after a 62-second knockout loss, was the promise that he would get another crack at the belt with a win.
“It’s going to be a hard fight because it’s about who wants it more,” Koike said. “I don’t expect this to be a very technical fight, and it won’t go all three rounds. It’s a battle of styles. He will come to knock me out, I’m sure of that, and I’m going to catch him. I guarantee it won’t go three rounds. I hurt his legacy and he wants payback, he wants to go out on top, and I want to beat him just like I did last time. He’s the man, he’s the star, and he’s the one I’m beating. First I’ll beat him, and then I’ll think about the title.”