The star, who was beaten by Mayweather in the 'Japan Islands Shock', was brutally defeated by TKO. "It's so brutal that it's hard to see."

*This content was translated by AI.

The Japanese martial arts superstar suffered a dizzying defeat. In Japan, he was in great shock over the moment when his life was almost in danger.

Mikuru Asakura (33), a challenger in the featherweight title match of the RIZIN main event held at Saitama Super Arena in Japan on December 31, lost to unbeaten champion Sheirajabali Sheidulaev (25, Kyrgyzstan) in 2:54 of the first round.

Asakura was completely defeated by Sheidullaev's wave offensive. Asakura, who was hit hard in the face, was diagnosed with an orbital fracture after the game and eventually left the stadium on a stretcher.

Sheidulaev, who is showing overwhelming skills in RIZIN, is also considered the strongest among featherweight players who work outside of UFC groups.

Mikuru Asakura, who is active as a leading star of RIZIN along with his younger brother, Kai Asakura, is a big YouTuber with more than 3.5 million subscribers and enjoys national popularity in Japan.

Asakura has drawn attention in the past by facing world-class stars. In September 2022, he faced the undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather in a special match under boxing rules. At that time, Asakura lost to TKO in 3 minutes and 15 seconds in the second round, realizing the world's high wall.

He is also familiar to Korean fans. In the past, he also advanced to the Korean ROAD FC stage and beat Oh Doo-seok. Although he lost to Lee Gil-woo by decision and drank a lot of pain, he later moved to RIZIN and became a leading star as he ran on a winning streak.

The game was one-sided. Sheidulaev also lightly lifted Asakura to the ground at the start of the game. Sheidulaev, who occupied the back position in the ground situation, poured countless foundry baptisms into Asakura's face. When Asakura allowed the hit defenselessly, the referee eventually stopped the game.

Immediately after the game, Asakura was carried off on a stretcher by medical staff wearing a neck brace without being able to stand up for a while. According to local reports, RIZIN CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara said, "Asakura showed symptoms of vomiting and was taken to the hospital by emergency car," signaling the seriousness of the situation.

Japanese media 'The Answer' and 'InCount' delivered the shocking atmosphere of the scene. On social networking services (SNS), fans criticized the belated timing of the suspension, saying, "The referee's stop call was too late to make my life look dangerous," and "It was a brutal game that was scary to watch."

"Asakura did everything she could, but the difference in skills was too big," said martial arts expert Shinya Aoki through "InCount."

Asakura, who came to his senses after the game, said on his personal social networking service (SNS), "Thank you for the support. There is an orbital fracture, but other places seem fine. I'm sorry to worry you, he said. "I have no regrets because I did everything I could. I will make a comeback for sure," he said, burning his will to extend his active career.

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*This content was translated by AI.