Despite his efforts, Kleber Koike Erbst didn’t get a chance to showcase his fighting skills at RIZIN 33 event, however, Bonsai Jiu-Jitsu member had two reasons to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Firstly, his teammate Roberto Souza has successfully defended his RIZIN Lightheavyweight title, and after the event, it was announced that Erbst will headline RIZIN Trigger 2.
The second edition of the Trigger series is scheduled for February 23rd and will take place in Ecopa Arena in Fukuroi, Japan. The building has a 10 000 capacity, so it is expected that RIZIN will book matchups that can grab fans’ interest. However, it is doubtful that Erbst would fight reigning RIZIN featherweight champion, Juntaro Ushiku. As for today, Erbst’s opponent is not known yet.
Erbst has a 28 – 5 – 1 professional record and won all of his three fights inside the RIZIN ring. A Brazilian Jiu – Jitsu black belt has won all of them by submission, making Kyle Agoun, Kazumasa Majima, and Mikuru Asakura tap out before the third round. This winning streak elevated Erbst to contender status and many fans expect him to challenge for the featherweight championship belt. Erbst is familiar with being a champion, as he held KSW featherweight gold after defeating Marcin Wrzosek at KSW 39: Colosseum. He was stripped of the title when he missed weight before the fight with Artur Sowiński at KSW 41. He unsuccessfully tried to regain it at KSW 46 when he lost by unanimous decision to Mateusz Gamrot.
The premiere edition of RIZIN Trigger series took place last month in Kobe. The event was headlined by a featherweight bout between victorious Kyohei Hagiwara and Shoji Maruyama. The fight ended in the second round due to referee stoppage when Hagiwara kicked a grounded opponent. Trigger series stands out from regular RIZIN events by utilizing an octagonal cage instead of a ring.
