A much bigger card than it’s RIZIN Landmark 5 counterpart, RIZIN 42 had a number of notable fights to present, including the return of Bellator MMA standout Juan Archuleta.

In the main event, former RIZIN bantamweight champion Kai Asakura was back in action, facing Japanese 40+ fight veteran Yuki Motoya. In the co-feature was former Bellator bantamweight champ Archuleta, returning to Japan for the second time to take on UFC alum Naoki Inoue. Another UFC alum and Bellator fighter, Spike Carlyle, was paired up with lightweight champ Roberto Satoshi Souza, in a non-title affair.

And kicking off the top four fights on the RIZIN 42 card on Saturday was the debut of Muay Thai legend Buakaw Banchamek.

Earlier in the night, meanwhile, Ulka Sasaki, another former UFC athlete, was in action against Boyd Allen, while two-time UFC flyweight title challenger John Dodson returned against Tatsuki Saomoto.

RIZIN 42 takes place at the Tokyo Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday, April 6, 2023, airing live on Fite.tv. Full results can be found below. The action gets underway at 1AM ET.

RIZIN 42 Results

Kai Asakura def. Yuki Motoya by knockout (knee), Round 3, 2:25
Juan Archuleta def. Naoki Inoue by unanimous decision
Roberto Satoshi Souza def. Spike Carlyle by unanimous decision
Buakaw Banchamek vs. Rukiya Anpo ruled a majority draw — Kickboxing

Intermission

YA-MAN def. Kota Miura by TKO, Round 1, 3:13 — Special rules
John Dodson def. Tatsuki Saomoto by unanimous decision
Kazumasa Majima def. Takahiro Ashida by submission (Von Flue choke), Round 1, 4:43
Ulka Sasaki def. Boyd Allen by unanimous decision
Viktor Kolesnik def. Atsushi Kishimoto by TKO, Round 2, 2:57
Erson Yamamoto def. Yuki Ito by unanimous decision
Takeji Yokoyama def. Takuya Yamamoto by submission (arm-bar), Round 1, 1:24
Ramazan Temirov def. Yuta Hamamoto by TKO, Round 1, 4:06
Sota Kimura def. Yasuhiro Kido by unanimous decision — Kickboxing

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Among the standouts in action, Kai Asakura (19-4) returns for the first time since December 2021. The former bantamweight champion will seek to bounce back from a loss to Hiromasa Ougikubo in RIZIN’s bantamweight grand prix when he takes on Yuki Motoya (33-10) in the RIZIN 42 main event.

Fight announcement for RIZIN.42

Kai Asakura vs. Yuki Motoya#RIZIN #RIZIN42 pic.twitter.com/QUFNZyMqKR

— RIZIN.tv (@RIZINTV_) March 6, 2023

Former two-time UFC flyweight title challenger John Dodson (22-13) also returns at RIZIN 42. Dodson made his promotional debut for the Japanese organization in December, knocking out Hideo Tokoro. Having won his last two fights, Dodson has also been pulling double-duty, posting a 2-0 record thus far in bare-knuckle boxing outfit BKFC.

Dodson gets Tatsuki Saomoto (18-2) in a flyweight contest. Current Bellator MMA fighter Spike Carlyle (14-4) returns to the RIZIN ring for the first time since last April, meanwhile, in a non-title fight with Roberto “Satoshi” Souza (14-2), RIZIN’s featherweight champ.

Carlyle had a five-fight win streak snapped in his last outing, a memorable scrap with A.J. McKee at Bellator 286. Souza dropped a decision against McKee on New Year’s Eve in a cross-promotional event.

RIZIN 42 takes place May 6, 2023 at the Tokyo Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. The following match-ups have been announced for the event:

• Kai Asakura vs. Yuki Motoya
• Naoki Inoue vs. Juan Archuleta
• Roberto Satoshi vs. Spike Carlyle
• Seika Izawa vs. Miyu Yamamoto
• Kouta Miura vs. YA-MAN — custom rules bout
• Yuryuka Sasaki vs. Boyd Allen
• John Dodson vs. Tatsuki Saomoto
• Takashi Soya vs. Ramazan Temirov
• Hiroki Ito vs. Arsen Yamamoto
• Takuya Yamamoto vs. Takeshi Yokoyama

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Archuleta will face UFC and RIZIN veteran Naoki Inoue at RIZIN 42 on May 6, 2023, promotion officials announced Monday.

“The Spaniard” confirmed the booking, which will see him continue to represent Bellator, as he did at the Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN cross-promotion on New Year’s Eve.

“Your boy got contracted to go handle some over seas business in the land of the rising Sun!” Archuleta wrote on social media in response to the news. “I can’t wait this will continue my legacy to have won a title in every organization I fought for!”

Bellator CEO Scott Coker offered a message of encouragement to Archuleta. “Wishing you good luck on your journey to win the RIZIN belt in 2023. Train hard and make Bellator MMA proud!”

Archuleta (27-4) went 2-1 in 2022, losing an interim title fight against Raufeon Stots as part of the promotion’s bantamweight grand prix before bouncing back with wins over Enrique Barzola and Soo Chul Kim. The Kim win, a split decision, took place at the Saitama Super Arena outside Tokyo on New Year’s Eve, where Bellator MMA went 5-0 against RIZIN in head-to-head match-ups.

Inoue (18-3) also appeared on New Year’s Eve, on the RIZIN 40 portion of the card, where he defeated Kenta Takizawa by submission. One year prior, he had made it to the final of RIZIN’s own bantamweight grand prix, only to be eliminated by Hiromasa Ougikubo.

RIZIN 42 takes place May 6, 2023 at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

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