One fighter’s 2025 ended in a scary moment following a one-sided title fight.
Petr Yan’s emphatic win over Merab Dvalishvili was the final UFC fight that took place this year due to a long break for the leading MMA promotion.
That doesn’t mean that other organizations have followed suit in shutting up shop over the holidays to prepare for 2026.
Fans urged Dana White to sign Will Fleury after the two-weight OKTAGON champion stopped former UFC fighter Martin Buday to defend his heavyweight title.
However, there is another promotion which is known for pulling out all the stops at the end of the year to give fight fans one last spectacle.
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Mikuru Asakura suffers devastating loss in RIZIN featherweight title fight
RIZIN’s annual end of year show took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan earlier today with a 15-fight card.
While the promotion has been known to feature special attractions, like Floyd Mayweather’s win over Tenshin Nasukawa, five title fights topped this particular event.
The main event featured a clash between one of the best fighters who is currently competing outside of the UFC and one of the top stars.
Razhabali Shaydullaev put his featherweight belt and undefeated 16-0 record on the line against Japan’s Mikuru Asakura, the brother of former UFC title challenger Kai Asakura.
Many expected the matchup to be one-sided and this was certainly the case, with the champion producing several eye-catching throws to maul his opponent.
The referee was late to stop the fight following Shaydullaev’s ruthless ground and pound before the bout was stopped with just over two minutes left of the opening round.
It was a scary scene for Asakura, who was previously stopped by Mayweather in 2022 at Super RIZIN 1, as he was stretchered out of the ring in a neck brace.
Razhabali Shaydullaev has to be on the UFC’s radar following his recent run
Razhabali Shaydullaev has an argument to be the best featherweight who isn’t currently signed to the UFC.
In fact, the RIZIN featherweight champion may be in the conversation for being the best fighter outside of the UFC regardless of weight class.
At just 25-years old, he’s built a perfect record of 17-0, with each and every one of his wins coming via finish.
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He’s now produced six consecutive wins in RIZIN and has defended his title twice.
Perhaps Shaydullaev will follow in the footsteps of the likes of Kai Asakura, Kyoji Horiguchi, Manel Kape, and Jiri Prochazka by signing to the UFC from RIZIN.
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