Who is Roberto de Souza? Record, bio of MMA star and RIZIN champion
De Sousa #DeSousa
An unstoppable force is ready to face off against one of Bellator’s top young stars. Roberto de Souza, the RIZIN lightweight champion, faces off against A.J. McKee on December 31.
The event, a Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN Supercard, takes place inside Japan’s Saitama Super Arena. It will be a non-title affair for “Satoshi.”
“Everybody here probably knows that I’ve wanted to face a BELLATOR fighter, and now I’m getting this opportunity. I am extremely happy about this opportunity, and I promise I will fight for Japan and fight for RIZIN. I appreciate everybody’s support; thank you very much,” said de Souza.
The Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert and submission magician in de Souza will look to show why he is champion and will not falter against the uber-talented McKee, the former Bellator featherweight champion.
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The Sporting News looks into McKee’s opponent and how de Souza became one of RIZIN’s top stars.
Roberto de Souza record, bio
de Souza made his pro debut in 2013 for Real Fight Championship. He then joined RIZIN in 2019 and is 7-1 for the promotion. In October 2019, de Souza had his nine-fight unbeaten streak broken by Johnny Case. de Souza would recover by winning his next five in a row.
In 2021 he beat Tofiq Musayev to become the inaugural RIZIN lightweight champion. Before the fight, he was a massive underdog. Proving doubters wrong while winning a world title was very special to the Brazilian.
“I feel so happy,” de Souza told MyMMANews.com. This fight for me is very important. A lot of people didn’t believe I can win this fight. It’s funny because a lot of people on Instagram were like who do you think will win? And a lot of people put 95% for him, just for me like 5%. This changed my life. For sure, this fight changed my life.”
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de Souza has since defended the title twice, with two submission wins over Yusuke Tachi and rival Johnny Case. The Case rematch took place in April. “Satoshi” has won four in a row via some form of triangle submission, with ten of his 14 wins via submission.
When is Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN?
Bellator and RIZIN will be teaming up on New Year’s Eve. The event begins around 8 p.m. ET | 1 a.m. GMT | 12 p.m. AEDT | 10 a.m. JST.
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How to watch Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN Country Date Channel + Live Stream (main card) United States/Canada Sat. December 31 Showtime United Kingdom Sun. January 1 BBC Sport, BBC iPlayer, FITE.tv Australia Sun. January 1 FITE.tv Japan Sun. January 1 RIZIN STREAM PASS, ABEMA, U-NEXT, SKY PerfecTV!
Fight fans can watch the event on SHOWTIME.
Viewers can stream Showtime via Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku, Xbox ONE, a laptop, or any mobile or tablet device.
In Japan, the fight card will be available on RIZIN STREAM PASS, ABEMA, U-NEXT, and SKY PerfecTV!