Kleber Koike will be joining Rizin: Otoko Matsuri at Rizin: The Tokyo Dome Arena on a short list of Legends on Sunday.
Tokyo Dome is one of the most iconic and important venues in MMA history, as it was the home of ten pride events between 1997 and 2006. Lynn will hold the third card at the Sunday venue, and Koiki will be his second main event.
Only five other people who have discovered Pride events multiple times at Tokyo Dome will become a great company alongside old school legends Rixon Gracie and Takada and Stars, Wonder Ray Silva, Kazushi Sakuraba and Yoshida Hideki.
“Tokyo Dome has been around 15 years without MMA events and hasn’t been closed for a while. When it opened again, (Roberto) Satoshi won the (lightweight) belt and I did the main event in (Mikuru) Asakusa.” “It was a show built for them and I left as a winner. That’s when my life completely changed. That night, it’s so special for me to fight once more. It’s so cool. It’s for me, the best stadium in Japan and it’s an honor to fight there.”
Koike’s teammate Satoshi claimed the lighter gold of the night at Rizin 28 in June 2021, and Koike slept in a triangular chalk in the main event at Japanese star Star Mikuru Asakura. He won three wins in the featherweight belt and hit Yuntaroushik in Fukuoka, Japan.
The Brazilians lost their belts on scale after failing to make weight for their first defense against Chihiro Suzuki, and the Quick Armbar victory was automatically overturned and without a contest per lysine rule. Koeek defeated Suzuki again 18 months later to regain the title.
“I haven’t kept the title yet because I haven’t hidden the fact that the two times I love the belt were on scale,” Koiki said. “I’m chasing it now, I want it from myself. I need this for my legacy, for my history. I’m definitely getting another victory on my record this weekend and another name.”
Koike is sure to go against 12-0 featherweight Shaydullaev, who finished in three Lysine appearances in 2024. However, Koike doesn’t feel he deserves a shot yet.
“The only negative thing about Lysin is that they don’t have rankings, that’s who they want,” Koek said. “I think there were people who were eligible to fight me, but he’s winning streak. He’s a foreigner and they want to promote it. He’s a tough guy and a lot of people had him.
“My department is a mess,” he added. “There are a lot of foreigners coming, like Karshyga Dautbek and Vugar Karamov. It’s difficult to choose a name (more appropriate), but (Shaydullaev) has been in Lysin for a long time. They’ve already given him a title shot. And I can’t choose.
Koike doesn’t underestimate Shaydullaev, but he sees the following levels compared to some of the men who were previously beaten under the Rizin banner, such as Juan Archuleta, Yutaka Saito, Ulka Sasaki and Mikuru Asakura. Koike’s pre-Lysine records also include veterans such as Miguel Torres and Yusuke Yachi.
“He’s a tough guy, a young, hungry kid,” Koiki said. “He’s an offensive wrestler who does well in the grappling division. He does this game well, takes downs and ground and pounds. He’s fine, he won’t be scared to trade him for working on me.”
“I think this is a long battle, but I see myself submitting him,” he continued. “I will defeat him and break him mentally, break his game. I know how the Russians are. I will slowly break him and tire him. He has not experienced wars or bad circumstances before.