same dynamic, with Nonaka being given a point deduction in the second round due to an illegal upkick. Murata was scheduled to fight a rematch with Kentaro Imaizumi in the tournament final. Matsune won the fight by a majority decision to clinch his first professional title. Following his tournament win, Matsune was given a title shot against the reigning champion Masahiro Oishi. Matsune won the fight through a majority decision. Matsune returned to Shooto after a ten month absence to face Daniel Lima, considered a rising prospect at the time, in a non title fight match. At the beginning of the first round Matsune took Lima down and landed ground and pound from the top position, while Lima attempted several unsuccessful triangles and armbars. The first portion of the second round was spent in striking exchanges, but Matsune once again landed in the top position on the ground, after reversing Lima's throw attempt. The third round was similar to the first, with Matsune landing ground and pound from half guard. For his first title defense Ryota was scheduled to fight a rematch with Kentaro Imaizumi. In the first round of the bout, Matsune let Imaizumi control the center of the ring, countering with hooks to Imaizumi's jab. Managing to stagger him with one of the counter hooks, Matsune pressured with several flurries, but failed to finish his opponent. Adjusting his approach in the second round, Kentaro allowed Matsune to advance and countered him with a mixture of kicks and reactive takedowns. Abandoning this approach in the final round, possibly for fear of a 10–8 first round, Imaizumi once again pressured Matsune. The fight in the final round was kept standing, with both fighters having success with their striking. The fight ended in a split decision, with two of the three judges awarding Matsune the decision victory (30–29, 29–30 and 30–28). Due to both athletes fighting conservatively, the fight itself was quite slow and low in volume, and was voted Worst Fight of the Year by Kansenki.net. Post title reign Following his first and only title defense, Matsune suffered a knee injury, which prevented him from defending in the mandated time. Matsune was stripped of the title, but would return after 23 months to face the 2005 Shooto Newcomer of the Year Takeya Mizugaki. Mizugaki had the upper hand in the striking exchanges, while Matsune was successful with several takedown attempts.