Shaidulloev Tops McKee To Win RIZIN, PFL Titles

Razhabali Shaidulloev walked out of the Kyocera Dome Osaka with two featherweight belts Thursday night after beating A.J. McKee across three rounds at Super RIZIN 5, per MMA Fighting. The undefeated fighter improved to 19-0 with a unanimous decision victory in front of nearly 49,000 fans, earning 30-27 scores from all three judges to claim both the RIZIN and PFL championships.

McKee landed early and hurt Shaidulloev in the opening frame, but the Russian recovered and dragged the fight to the mat. Shaidulloev took over in the second round, connecting with punches and a body kick that left McKee visibly exhausted. The third round marked the first time Shaidulloev had gone the distance in his career. McKee tried to force a finish with knees and briefly took the back, but Shaidulloev controlled most of the grappling exchanges and coasted to the final bell.

Asakura Finishes Aoki In RIZIN Return

The co-main event saw Mikuru Asakura knock out Shinya Aoki in the first round, ending the legend's comeback attempt. Aoki appeared close to securing a rear-naked choke early but abandoned the position to hunt an armbar. Asakura escaped and unloaded ground strikes for a violent stoppage at 2:39 of the opening frame, eleven years after Aoki's last RIZIN appearance.

Shaidulloev announced during his post-fight interview that he has one bout remaining on his RIZIN contract. Kyoma Akimoto, riding a six-fight winning streak after beating former champion Kleber Koike in August, entered the ring afterward to set up a potential title clash.

Ren Hiramoto edged Karshyga Dautbek via split decision in a controversial result that snapped the Kazakhstani's 12-fight unbeaten run. Roberto Satoshi rebounded from a title loss to Ilkhom Nazimov by submitting Shunta Nomura, though Satoshi revealed he dislocated his shoulder in the first round and asked for a New Year's Eve title shot against Luiz Gustavo.

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• MMA Fighting — Super RIZIN 5 results: Razhabali Shaidulloev tops A.J. McKee to win RIZIN, PFL titles; Mikuru Asakura knocks out Shinya Aoki