At RIZIN 53, Luis Gustavo became the new lightweight champion by knocking out Ilkhom Nazimov in the first round. The event featured multiple finishes, including first-round knockouts by Ryo Takagi over Kaiven Lee and Sho Patrick Usami over Tatsuya Spike. Shinobu Ota submitted Yuto Hokamura with an arm triangle in round two, while Ryan Cafaro submitted Koyomi Matsushima with a guillotine in round three. The main event between Ren Hiramoto and Koji Tanaka ended in a draw under special standing-only rules with no weight limits.
