“I trained for this to get a surprise for everybody.”

There’s nothing like seeing a brilliant grappler become a dangerous striker in MMA.

That has been the case with RIZIN lightweight champion Robert “Satoshi” de Souza since he entered the sport in October 2013. However, he took things to a whole new level with his first-round TKO of Keita Nakamura at RIZIN Landmark 9 last month (March 23, 2024).

The BJJ wizard Satoshi needed less than two minutes to put away his formidable and seasoned foe. Nakamura — an 11-fight UFC veteran (36-12-2, 1 NC overall) — had only been finished twice before his encounter with the RIZIN champion, the previous TKO of the two being 16 years old. No grappling engagements were even hinted at in this fight for Satoshi. A newly reinvented and comfortable-looking striker, Satoshi channeled his inner Charles Oliveira for the matchup.

“I worked so hard,” Satoshi told MMA Mania on BROADENED HORIZIN. “I was so focused for this. I know a lot of people thought he was going to beat me in the striking, but I trained so hard for this. I trained with my striking coach [RIZIN featherweight champion] Chihiro Suzuki, he helped me a lot in this. He coached me for my kicks and I know he’s a southpaw, which is different, but I trained so hard with the kick on the inside, the head kick.

“This is funny, but I watched a lot of Charles Oliveira’s fight with Beneil Dariush. In the time I give the kick is a little bit same when Charles Oliveira gives the kick to Dariush, too. I trained for this to get a surprise for everybody. I think a lot of people think I just do one, two, or three punches and go to takedown. This time, I trained for this.”

The finishing sequence from Satoshi wasn’t identical to the former UFC champion’s first-round stoppage of Dariush at UFC 289 last year (watch highlights), but it was equally as impressive. The 34-year-olds can draw a lot of parallels from each other thanks to their similar strengths, and when it comes to kicks specifically, there’s no fear when something gets caught and leads to ground warfare.

Nakamura acted as Satoshi’s rebound victory after a tough short notice third-round TKO loss to Patricky “Pitbull” Freire last July. In 2024, the Sao Paulo, Brazil native hopes to rack up as many title defenses as he can. That potentially starts with another all-action matchup against his fellow countryman and always-dangerous Wanderlei Silva protege, Luiz “Killer” Gustavo.

“I think it’s Luiz Gustavo,” Satoshi said. “He deserves it. Four fights won [in a row]. I don’t know though. I think in his last fight he hurt his hand so I don’t know if he can get ready soon. Because he got hurt, maybe Patricky, but Patricky’s in the tournament in PFL now. That makes it hard, too. Then I think of A.J. [McKee] because he’s in Bellator and PFL, he’s not in the tournament.

“In the RIZIN guys, I think it’s Gustavo. He’s a good striker, gonna be a fun march, and for me, it’s gonna be a nice fight, too.”

Watch the full episode in the video embedded above, or listen to it on Spotify.

BROADENED HORIZIN Ep. 38 AUDIO - 以下の日本語版: