Akimoto’s Counter Knee Ended Nii’s New Year’s Eve Challenge
Kyoma Akimoto knocked out Suguru Nii in the first round on December 31, 2025, at Saitama Super Arena. Their featherweight contest formed part of RIZIN’s tenth-anniversary New Year’s Eve program and ended with a decisive knee to the body.
The matchup and early action
Akimoto entered the matchup on short notice after Juan Archuleta withdrew. The young Japan Top Team fighter had already competed in November, when he stopped Kyohei Hagiwara in the main event of RIZIN Landmark 12.
Nii brought experience as a former Pancrase champion and sought to reverse a difficult recent run. The pairing therefore matched an established Japanese competitor with a rapidly developing prospect willing to accept another late-year assignment.
The decisive developments
Both fighters made the 66-kilogram limit, with Akimoto weighing 65.95 kilograms and Nii 65.70. The contest was scheduled for three five-minute rounds under RIZIN MMA rules.
Akimoto maintained distance as Nii tried to advance with punches. When the veteran committed to a straight right, Akimoto answered with a counter knee that struck the body and produced the knockout.
What the result meant
RIZIN’s official record gives the finishing time as 3:45 of round one. The result required no second round and added another striking finish to Akimoto’s late-2025 campaign.
The significance lay in the timing as much as the technique: accepting a changed matchup did not prevent Akimoto from finding a precise response to forward pressure. His counter knee supplied a clear ending against an experienced opponent on one of the promotion’s most prominent annual cards.
