Kleber Koike is one of the best fighters outside of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
RIZIN 40 takes place this weekend (Saturday, December 31, 2022), bringing the calendar year to a close. In the evening’s co-main event, Featherweight Champion Koike welcomes Bellator Featherweight Champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire to the ring. Both men will fight for supremacy as two of the top 145-pound fighters don’t compete on “the ultimate proving ground.”
A former Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW) champion, Koike had the UFC on his radar as most do when moving through their MMA career. However, things changed when he found his biggest home in Japan.
“Being in the UFC is just an option these days,” Koike told MMA Fighting. “I have what it takes to be in the UFC if I wanted to, but now I want to defend my organization, I want to build my legacy and my name. I lost a lot of time, I lost a year of my life believing in the UFC and expecting things from the UFC, but I get it.
“I tried to go to the UFC when my contract with KSW ended but they didn’t get me because I was coming off a loss. I accepted it, fought my fights and i started winning again, then they came with an offer. i declined it because of RIZIN. they came back [later], and now it’s just an option. I can say today that I didn’t want to be in the UFC.
2022 has been a good year for the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) magician. Koike, 33, finally won gold after extending his winning streak to six after KSW, submitting all his opponents. At RIZIN 39 in October 2022, he put the finishing touches on the race, catching former champion, Juntaro Ushiku, in a second-round triangle choke.
Koike (31-5-1) joining RIZIN and becoming champion seemed inevitable after seeing the success of teammate, reigning lightweight champion Roberto “Satoshi” de Souza. Both men are now leading the charge within their divisions as some of the best in the world.
“RIZIN took me in when I didn’t have a job, when I had nothing,” Koike said. “RIZIN gave me the opportunity to come to Japan, so I don’t dream of being in the UFC [anymore]. It’s from the past. I have other dreams, like helping my organization grow and become better known. I want to show that we have other champions in other organizations who can move MMA forward. The media focuses too much on the UFC.
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