Roberto Satoshi compares losses to Francis Ngannou's boxing run as he finally defends RIZIN title
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Roberto Satoshi is thrilled to finally put his RIZIN lightweight title up for grabs Sunday when he faces Brazilian striker Luiz Gustavo in the main event of RIZIN 48 in Saitama, Japan.
Satoshi claimed the vacant belt with a 72-second submission over Tofiq Musayev back in 2021, and defended it twice is just under a year, finishing Yusuke Yachi and Johnny Case in the opening round.
RIZIN opted to book Satoshi in a non-title bout with A.J. McKee in late 2022, on a special RIZIN vs. Bellator show in Japan, and he lost via decision. Satoshi defeated Spike Carlyle in a non-title match in May 2023, returning to action less than two months later to face Bellator star Patricky Pitbull, losing by stoppage. In his most recent bout, Satoshi stopped veteran Keita Nakamura in under two minutes.
"Japan is the only place that does this, to have a champion fighting in a non-title fight, and we definitely feel a bit more anxious with the belt on the line," Satoshi said in an interview with MMA Fighting. "The title is on the line now and to prove that I'm the champion, I have to defend it."
Satoshi feels that losing two of those four non-title matches affects his aura despite still holding the RIZIN championship, much like others have damaged their brands outside of sport.
"Regardless of not losing the belt and still being champion, people still feel it when you suffer a defeat," Satoshi said. "The belt is a symbol of the guy that is winning fights in that division. When you lose a fight and don't lose the belt, you've still lost. Like Francis Ngannou, a guy that was unbeatable in MMA, was beating everybody [in the UFC], and lost in boxing. He lost in boxing, but it's still like, 'This guy is good, but he's beatable, he has a flaw.' I think it's like that in with me. I'll try to absorb those losses and fix my mistakes to make sure it doesn't happen again with the belt on the line."
Gustavo earned the opportunity against the jiu-jitsu ace after beating four in a row in Japan, a pair of knockouts over Yusuke Yachi and Juri Ohara before decisions against Koji Takeda and Yoshinori Horie, and Satoshi likes the clash of styles reminiscent of the old PRIDE days and the classic Chute Boxe vs, Brazilian Top Team rivalry.
"Luiz is a striker from Wanderlei Silva and Andre Dida's team and he's a fierce brawler from start to finish," Satoshi said. "The thing I've noticed about him is that his will to win is much bigger. He realized he has a life-changing opportunity now, as it was for me."
"I don't think this fight will go the distance," he laughed. "My submission rate is over 90 percent, and he also has a finishing rate higher than 90 percent, to I don't think this will go to the judges."
