The bout, which was the main event of the New Year’s Eve event, ended at the 3:44 mark of the second round with Takahashi losing by rear-naked choke. This past July, Horiguchi and Takahashi attempted to challenge for the Bellator flyweight title, however, the bout lasted only 25 seconds and was ruled a no contest due to an accidental finger poke to the eye.
After Kioji Horiguchi was announced as Rizin’s flyweight champion, the Japanese took a knee and proposed to his girlfriend, who was in the ring with him and said ‘yes’.
In the co-main event, Kai Asakura became the new Rizin flyweight champion, stopping former titleholder Juan Archuleta with a crushing knee to the body in the second round. The previous day, the American had lost his championship belt after significantly exceeding the weight class limit.
In the third most important event of the tournament, the clash between two former Rizin featherweight champions, Yutaka Seito and Kleber Koik Erbst, ended with the Brazilian winning by choke against Brabo in the third round.
Other results included a disappointing performance by former UFC featherweight title challenger John Dodson, who lost a three-round unanimous decision to former Rizin featherweight champion Hiromasa Ogikubo.
All results from the Rizin 45 tournament.