At RIZIN 53, Luis Gustavo became the new lightweight champion by knocking out Ilkhom Nazimov in the first round. The event featured several notable results, including a special stand-up rules bout between Ren Hiramoto and Koji Tanaka that ended in a draw. Ryo Takagi scored a first-round knockout of Kaiven Lee, while Shinobu Ota submitted Yuto Hokamura with an arm triangle in the second round. Keito Oyama defeated Katie Perez by unanimous decision. Other finishes included Ryan Cafaro submitting Koyomi Matsushima with a guillotine in round three, and Daiki Tsubota securing a triangle choke against Genji Umeno in the first round.
