Historic And Perfect Night For Bellator MMA In Japan

Bellator MMA dominated the recent Rizin year-end event, sweeping the fights between the two promotions.

The card took place from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

In the main event, AJ McKee downed Rizin lightweight champion Roberto Satoshi de Souza. The main card aired live on Showtime.

McKee, a former Bellator champion, improved to 20-1 with the win.

“I’m just trying to embrace it all,” McKee said. Being here in Japan and fighting in front of all the fans, it’s an experience. It’s an honor to be here and an honor to put on a great show.

“Man, (Roberto de Souza is) a warrior. He’s one tough dude. He kept throwing that triangle. I felt like he was trying to drag me into deep waters and drown me. Luckily, I’m a good swimmer.”

McKee, who has been around the sport for his entire life, was also impressed with the atmosphere created.

“Man, this is about one of the best arenas I’ve fought in,” he said. “The fans are phenomenal, the culture is phenomenal. I’ve heard so many stories so to finally be here is amazing.”

In the co-main event, Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull topped Rizin champion Kleber Koike.

Kyoji Horiguchi, Juan Archuleta and Gadzhi Rabadanov were also winners for Bellator over Rizin fighters.

BELLATOR MMA VS. RIZIN Results

AJ McKee (20-1) defeated Roberto Satoshi de Souza (14-2) via unanimous decision

Patricio Pitbull (35-5) defeated Kleber Koike (31-6-1) via unanimous decision

Kyoji Horiguchi (31-5) defeated Hiromasa Ougikubo (25-7-2) via unanimous decision

Juan Archuleta (27-4) defeated Soo Chul Kim (18-7-1) via split decision

Gadzhi Rabadanov (19-4-2) defeated Koji Takeda (15-4) via unanimous decision