Luis Gustavo wins Rizin lightweight title with first-round KO

Luis Gustavo captured the Rizin lightweight championship by knocking out Ilkhom Nazimov in the first round at Rizin 53. In other notable results, Ren Hiramoto and Koji Tanaka fought to a draw in a special standing-only rules bout with no weight limit. Ryo Takagi scored a first-round knockout over Kaiven Lee. Shinobu Ota submitted Yuto Hokamura with an arm triangle in round two. The card featured multiple finishes across various weight classes, with Japanese fighters dominating the majority of matchups on the card.