Luis Gustavo wins RIZIN 53 lightweight title via first-round knockout

Luis Gustavo captured the RIZIN lightweight championship at RIZIN 53 by knocking out Ilkhom Nazimov in the first round. In other main card action, Ren Hiramoto and Koji Tanaka fought to a draw in a special stand-up rules bout with no weight limit. Ryo Takagi scored a first-round knockout over Kaiven Lee, while Shinobu Ota submitted Yuto Hokamura with an arm triangle in round two. Other notable results included Keito Oyama defeating Katie Perez by unanimous decision, and Sho Patrick Usami knocking out Tatsuya Spike in the first round. The card featured 15 total bouts including both MMA and kickboxing matchups.