Mix Suffers Fourth Straight Loss At Rizin 54

Patrick Mix suffered his fourth consecutive defeat Tuesday night at Rizin 54, dropping a unanimous decision to Shoko Sato after coming in more than six pounds over the bantamweight limit.

The weight miss cost Mix two points before the opening bell, and those deductions proved decisive after 15 minutes at Toyota Arena Tokyo. All three judges scored the bout 28-27 for Sato, per Sherdog. Mix controlled early with a rear-naked choke attempt in the first round, but Sato weathered the submission and punished Mix with leg kicks over the final ten minutes.

Akimoto Wins Featherweight Title Eliminator

In the main event, 20-year-old Kyoma Akimoto outpointed former Rizin champion Kleber Koike Erbst over three rounds to earn a unanimous decision. Akimoto landed counter punches throughout and opened multiple cuts on Koike's face with his jab. Koike tried repeatedly to pull guard in the third round, but Akimoto refused to follow him to the mat and continued to jab from distance. The win pushes Akimoto's record to 13-1 and positions him for a Rizin featherweight title shot by year's end.

King Edokpolo advanced to the Heavyweight Grand Prix Japan final with a second-round knockout of Mikio Ueda. Edokpolo landed a high knee to the jaw 47 seconds into the second round that sent Ueda crashing to the canvas. He will face Tsuyoshi Kamiyama in the tournament final in November after Kamiyama stopped Ryo Sakai late in the first round of their semifinal.

Joe Hiramoto knocked out previously undefeated Ryoma Shishimoto with a right hook at 1:36 of the opening round. Shishimoto was removed from the ring on a stretcher after the knockout. Joji Goto rebounded from his April title loss by submitting Azizbek Temirov with a rear-naked choke at 3:41 of the first round.

Reported via:

• Sherdog — Rizin 54: Kyoma Akimoto beats Kleber Koike Erbst, ‘Patchy’ Mix loses again