Razhabali Shaidulloev (also spelled Shaydullaev) will put his RIZIN featherweight title on the line against Kyoma Akimoto on Dec. 31 at Super RIZIN 6. MMA Fighting reported that it will be the champion’s final promotional appearance in Japan. The New Year’s Eve card lands at the Vantelim Dome Nagoya, and RIZIN announced 10 matches for it, with three title fights and two grand prix finals.
The departure is already booked. Shaidulloev, who holds both the PFL and RIZIN featherweight belts, is set to join MVP MMA in 2027. So Nagoya is his goodbye, and Akimoto gets the chance to spoil it.
MMA Fighting lists Shaidulloev at 19-0. The r/MMA thread announcing the bout had him at 20-0, so expect some record-keeping debate in the comments. The stat that matters more is that only one of those wins went to the judges, and it was his most recent title defense against A.J. McKee in September. Every other night, somebody got finished. For a guy who hasn’t needed scorecards, that McKee fight is the only tape of him going the full distance under pressure.
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Akimoto comes in at 13-1 and on a serious run. He beat Patchy Mix and Kleber Koike earlier this year, which is about as hard a two-fight stretch as the division in Japan can offer. Mix is a former Bellator champion and Koike is a submission threat from everywhere, so this matchup is no hometown hand-me-down. MiddleEasy reported that Akimoto put a knockout promise in writing ahead of the challenge. Bold, considering how few people have even gotten Shaidulloev to a decision.
The Rest of Super RIZIN 6
The co-main event is a rematch between lightweight champion Luiz Gustavo and Mikuru Asakura. RIZIN hasn’t decided whether the 155-pound title will be on the line, which is a strange thing to leave open with less than two months to go. Saori Oshima defends her super atomweight belt against Natasha Kuziutina in the third-to-last fight of the night. Tsuyoshi Sudario meets Edopolo King in the heavyweight grand prix final.
The full lineup:
- Razhabali Shaidulloev vs. Kyoma Akimoto (featherweight title)
- Luiz Gustavo vs. Mikuru Asakura
- Saori Oshima vs. Natasha Kuziutina (super atomweight title)
- Tsuyoshi Sudario vs. Edopolo King (heavyweight grand prix final)
- Chihiro Suzuki vs. YA-MAN
- Yutaro Muramoto vs. Erson Yamamoto
- Hiroya vs. Jo Hiramoto
- Hinotori vs. Tatsuki Shinotsuka
- Taichi Tomizawa vs. Don’t Mind Kawabata
- Christian Akira Matsuo vs. Sora Kaneko (KOSHIEN 2026 final)
Quick Take
Akimoto earned this. Beating Mix and Koike in the same year is a real résumé, and he’ll have a Japanese crowd behind him in a dome. I still have Shaidulloev keeping the belt and leaving Japan unbeaten. A champion with one decision in 19 or 20 pro fights forces you to fight his pace, and promising a knockout against him in writing is the kind of thing that ages badly around the second round. Shaidulloev by stoppage, and then he packs for MVP MMA.
