A Nightmare for RIZIN Management? The 'Midsummer Fight Festival' Saved by the Toyohashi Trio: Super RIZIN.4

Super RIZIN.4, the 'Midsummer Fight Festival' held at the Saitama Super Arena on July 27, 2025, turned out to be a microcosm of the Japanese martial arts world, while simultaneously becoming a bizarre zoo condensed with the 'individuality' of the local city of Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture. Despite scheduling an abnormal 19 fights, the reality of the event looked more like a special ring set up at a Toyohashi 'Roadside Station.' The venue was so thoroughly dyed in Toyohashi colors that one couldn't help but worry about RIZIN's financial situation, and it can be said that this was an event that highlighted the pathetic nature of the management team more than ever.

Naoki Inoue: The 'Unfortunate' Cyborg Champion with Nothing to Talk About but Fighting

In the bantamweight title match, Toyohashi's own 'inarticulate cyborg' Naoki Inoue secured a solid title defense with a calm and collected 3-0 decision victory over Ryuya Fukuda. Using his height to his advantage with jabs and inside leg kicks to gradually corner Fukuda, while continuing to neutralize his opponent's attacks with skillful footwork and counters, he was truly a fighting machine. In the third round, he cut the corner of Fukuda's eye with a left hook, and as fresh blood splattered across the ring, he never relinquished control until the very end.

Naoki Inoue's martial arts life began when he joined the local Toyohashi Karate Dojo Hakushinkai in the summer of his first year of elementary school. From there, he covered every conceivable martial art, including amateur DEEP, kickboxing, shoot boxing, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He spent a childhood 'immersed in martial arts', and one can't help but feel a little sympathetic, wondering if he had any other joys in life. Of course, as a martial arts nerd, I thank him. In 2015, he won the DEEP Future King Tournament with two consecutive submission victories right after his pro debut. He continued to show his otherworldly talent at a young age, including a 10-fight winning streak. Then, in 2017, at 19 years old, he became the youngest Japanese fighter in history to sign with the UFC, the pinnacle stage every martial artist dreams of. In his debut, despite the mishap of his opponent missing weight, he dominated with his ground game and won by decision. However, he later suffered the misfortune of a dislocated right shoulder, and was further caught up in the 'adult circumstances' of the UFC significantly downsizing its flyweight division, leading to the unexpected misfortune of leaving the UFC. His bad luck is like that of a manga protagonist, but Inoue didn't let it get him down; he moved up to bantamweight in DEEP and paved his way to participating in RIZIN.

He won the RIZIN bantamweight belt last September and defeated Yuki Motoya this March, so his ability is recognized by everyone. However, the only thing that can be said about him is that he is 'incredibly strong at fighting,' and there is a sadness in that there is nothing else. While he possesses striking sense so sharp that even top-class Japanese trainers and Nick Takayuki Nagasue, who wraps the hands of Tenshin Nasukawa and Naoya Inoue, say he 'could easily become a champion even if he did stand-up sports like kickboxing,' he also has a somewhat 'unfortunate' side where he is such a gym rat that he is always nursing some kind of injury. His seconds are exasperated by his dedication, saying, 'Even when he says he's resting, he's practicing where no one can see.' He has zero charisma and his talk tends to be monotonous, but because of his perfect strength, the lack of 'interest' is his only flaw. But that is Naoki Inoue. I secretly hope for the day he reveals some talent or hobby outside of martial arts.

Mikuru Asakura: The 'Chuunibyou' YouTuber Still Clinging to the 'Legend of the Streets'

And the person who garnered the most attention in the main event of the night was, of course, this man, Toyohashi's own eternal 'Chuunibyou' (middle-school syndrome) Mikuru Asakura, and his battle against his fated rival, Kleber Koike. Although Asakura won the match by a 2-1 decision, Kleber's angry comments after the fight echoed through the venue like a 'child who had his toy taken away,' leaving a subtle expression known as a bitter smile on the face of the victorious Asakura.

Speaking of Mikuru Asakura, his spectacular background has shaped his charisma. After graduating from Toyohashi Municipal Takatoyo Junior High School, he went on to Aichi Prefectural Mitani Fisheries High School, but was expelled due to an assault case. After that, while living as a working adult in Nagoya, he had a legendary past in his hometown of Toyohashi, where he spent his days in street fights as the vice-leader of a motorcycle gang. The episode of him being sent to a juvenile reformatory for driving without a license and spending one year and four months there from age 16 to 18 is now told as a heroic tale (bitter laugh). After leaving the reformatory, he aspired to be a martial artist and joined the Zendokai Toyohashi Dojo. Together with his younger brother Kai Asakura, he rampaged through an amateur martial arts event called 'THE OUTSIDER,' and in 2015, he achieved the feat of becoming the first person in the event's history to win titles in two weight classes. Who would have thought that a man with such a 'past full of delinquency' would end up headlining the main event of RIZIN, the top of Japanese mixed martial arts? There is a somewhat comical irony in how life can take unexpected turns. However, that 'legend of the streets' is now a thing of the past. The 'Chuunibyou' feeling that he hasn't outgrown even as an adult is his greatest charm (?), and it allows him to always be at the center of attention. He has succeeded on YouTube and is demonstrating his skills as a businessman, but perhaps the appeal of 'I was a bad boy back in the day' is his 'life's work'.

Kleber Koike: A Jiu-Jitsu Practitioner Who Does Street Fights and Blows His Top! The Emotional Rollercoaster Man

On the other hand, Kleber Koike has also lived a life as turbulent as Mikuru Asakura's. He started judo in Brazil and moved to Japan with his parents at the age of 14. However, he stopped going to school in junior high after seeing bullying against Brazilians living in Japan, and he is a hard worker who made a living working part-time at factories, poultry farms, and collecting garbage. In the midst of this, he encountered Bonsai Jiu-Jitsu, and later, when his parents returned to Brazil after the Lehman Shock, he became mentally devastated and, while working as a nightclub security guard, spent his time in street fights, which is another dangerous and painful past. The gap between the fact that he was seriously learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, yet for some reason was roughing it up in street fights highlights his unfathomable interest. It was his friends at Bonsai Jiu-Jitsu who saved him when he was on the verge of being expelled. After his professional debut in DEEP in 2008, he became a champion in Poland's 'KSW' and Singapore's 'Rebel FC,' and especially in Rebel FC, he set an astonishing record of 14 consecutive MMA wins and 13 consecutive finish victories, truly like a 'demon god'.

In this match against Asakura, Kleber was not convinced by the decision and exploded with emotion in the post-match interview, shouting, 'It was stolen!' and 'I definitely didn't lose!' His comments were like a child who had his precious toy taken by someone, to the point where I wanted to retort, 'You're already blowing your top!'. He is always making headlines, whether it's missing matches due to frequent injuries or being stripped of his title for missing weight. Even though he's supposed to be practicing seriously? He doesn't follow weight limits and gets emotional and blows his top at press conferences, and perhaps his 'humanity' and 'instability' are the secrets to his popularity. When Asakura said, 'I could see fear in his eyes' and 'He didn't attack at all, so the only way he could beat me was by decision,' Kleber eagerly hoped for a rematch, saying, 'I will kill him. Otherwise, he won't admit that I won.' The war of words between the two, neither of whom will back down, continues to fuel fan expectations.

Kleber is currently based at Bonsai Jiu-Jitsu in Hamamatsu, but he used to go to the BELLWOOD FIGHT TEAM in Toyohashi for striking training, where he also practiced with Mikuru Asakura in the past. Indeed, the land of Toyohashi is the bond that connects them.

The 'lovable' individualistic fighters who gathered in Toyohashi, and the pathetic nature of RIZIN management

As a result, this Super RIZIN.4 was headlined by three of Japan's leading martial artists connected to Toyohashi: Naoki Inoue, Mikuru Asakura, and Kleber Koike. The eternal Chuunibyou Mikuru Asakura, who keeps talking about the 'legend of the streets.' Kleber Koike, who has extreme emotional ups and downs and blows his top easily. And the 'inarticulate cyborg' Naoki Inoue, who is so stoic that he is constantly fighting injuries and has nothing to talk about other than martial arts. Each of them has a strong personality and, in a way, human-like and perhaps even 'painful'—or rather, they even possess 'laughable' flaws.

It is somewhat comical that RIZIN, the grand stage leading the Japanese martial arts world, would schedule an abnormal 19 matches, only to have Masanori Kanehara suffer a comeback loss to YA-MAN and make a shocking retirement announcement in the ring. If not for the classy gesture of this Japanese martial arts legend, the event would have been entirely dependent on this trio from Toyohashi. The main event between Kleber and Asakura ended in a decision, making the 'Fight Festival' name feel like a mere facade. Many other cards lacked excitement, and in the end, one has to say it resulted in a lonely conclusion where there was no sense of a 'Fight Festival' anywhere.

What I felt here was a conspiracy-like thought: 'Was Kanehara's retirement staged by RIZIN management to cover up the farce of the Toyohashi trio?' Fearing criticism that this was not a 'Midsummer Fight Festival' but rather a 'Toyohashi Citizens' Sports Day' due to the overly blatant Toyohashi fever, perhaps management hastily inserted the legend's surprising retirement. Of course, this is mere speculation, but considering the desperate cries of the RIZIN management team wanting to 'somehow make the event exciting!' and their reliance on Toyohashi to achieve that, it is sad to think that this might not be entirely a joke. Super RIZIN.4, where their way of life was condensed, could truly be called the 'Toyohashi Festival' itself. What kind of Toyohashi story will RIZIN show us next year? And will any new stars be born besides the Toyohashi All-Stars? In a way, I am looking forward to it.