![](\"http:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/luiz-gustavo-knocks-out-ilhom-nazimov-to-win-lightweight-title-at-rizin-53.jpg\")
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Luiz
\nGustavo captured Rizin lightweight gold on Sunday. | Rizin
\nFF<\/b><\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
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After close to eight years on the roster, Luiz Gustavo (16-4, 8-4 Rizin), who challenged unsuccessfully for the Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It might not take too long to find out who will be Gustavo\u2019s first In the co-main event, Ren Featherweight contender Ryo Opening up the main card, Shinobu Ota<\/a> The lone women\u2019s MMA bout on the card was a 113-pound catchweight A lightweight bout between prospect Sho After being largely dominated for two rounds, Cage Fury champion Daiki A 137-pound catchweight contest predictably ended early in the Despite getting dropped four times \u2013 and nearly finished twice \u2013 Opening up the middle portion of the card, Kouki On the preliminary card, Souru Luiz Gustavo captured Rizin lightweight gold on Sunday. | Rizin FF After close to eight years on the roster, Luiz Gustavo\u2019s dream of becoming a Rizin Fighting Federation world champion was at last realized on Sunday at Rizin 53in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan. Gustavo brutally knocked out Ilhom Nazimov in the first round to become the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38184,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[150],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-martial-arts-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38183\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nGustavo<\/a>\u2019s dream of becoming a
\nRizin Fighting Federation<\/a> world champion was at last realized
\non Sunday at Rizin
\n53<\/a>in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan. Gustavo brutally knocked out Ilhom
\nNazimov<\/a> in the first round to become the new Rizin lightweight
\nchampion in his 12th fight for the promotion.<\/p>\n
\nRizin lightweight strap in September 2024, made the most of his
\nsecond chance and handed Nazimov (13-4, 4-1 Rizin) his first defeat
\nunder the Rizin banner. Early on, Nazimov cut off the ring very
\nwell and prevented Gustavo from using any lateral movement. Nazimov
\nlanded two spinning back kicks to Gustavo\u2019s upper body and seemed
\nto be comfortable in the striking exchanges. That changed soon
\nafter, however, as Gustavo landed a thunderous right hook that sent
\nNazimov crashing to the mat. Gustavo immediately pounced on his
\ndowned foe and bounced his head off of the canvas with four
\nfollow-up punches for the knockout victory at the 2:08 mark of
\nRound 1.<\/p>\nA Potential Challenger Emerges<\/h2>\n
\ntitle challenger. During an intermission, former lightweight champ
\nRoberto
\nSatoshi de Souza<\/a> \u2013 who stopped Gustavo in just 21 seconds at
\nRizin 48 \u2013 was announced to be making his return to action this
\nsummer. De Souza\u2019s title reign ended on New Year\u2019s Eve when he was
\nknocked out by Nazimov. However, with de Souza holding a quick win
\nover new champion Gustavo, a rematch could be the route that Rizin
\npursues in the coming months.<\/p>\n
\nHiramoto<\/a> and Koji Tanaka<\/a>
\nfought to a time-limit draw in their openweight boxing match.
\nHiramoto clearly won all three rounds against the smaller Tanaka,
\nwho struggled against Hiramoto\u2019s jabs and left hooks. Hiramoto
\nfurther mixed up his strikes as the fight progressed and his
\nconfidence grew. He was not able to secure a finish, however, and
\nthe bout ended in a draw after three, three-minute rounds.<\/p>\n
\nTakagi<\/a> (11-3, 5-2 Rizin) spoiled the Rizin debut of former Road
\nto UFC finalist Kaiwen Li<\/a>
\n(16-8, 0-1 Rizin) and finished the Chinese standout in the first
\nround. Li got off to a good start with a nice combination of
\npunches and Takagi soon responded with two knees to the body. He
\nlanded a looping right hook to Li\u2019s temple that scrambled his brain
\nand put him on roller skates. Li fell to the ground and Takagi
\nlanded a few more follow-up punches for the knockout win at the
\n1:38 mark of Round 1.<\/p>\n
\n(8-5, 7-5 Rizin) dominated Yuto
\nHokamura<\/a> (16-16-2, 4-8 Rizin) en route to a second-round
\nsubmission finish at bantamweight. Following an exchange of leg and
\nbody kicks in the first round, Ota took Hokamura down twice and he
\ndid a significant amount of damage with punches and knees that came
\nclose to ending the fight. Hokamura recovered and got to his feet,
\nand he staggered Ota with a four-punch combo before the bell. In
\nthe second round, Ota put Hokamura on the mat again. He landed
\npunches and shoulder strikes from the top until he was able to lock
\non an arm-triangle choke that forced Hokamura to tap out at the
\n4:25 mark of Round 2.<\/p>\n
\ncontest between the highly popular Keito Oyama<\/a>
\n(10-8, 3-2 Rizin) and former Combate Global and Invicta FC
\ncompetitor Katie Perez<\/a>
\n(7-11, 0-1 Rizin). Early in the fight, Perez countered her
\nopponent\u2019s superior boxing by pulling guard, but \u201cKate Lotus\u201d
\nescaped to her feet and landed punches and knees. Oyama hurt Perez
\nwith more punches and knees in the second stanza, and she countered
\na takedown with elbows to the side of Perez\u2019s head. The round ended
\nwith Perez stuck in a triangle choke. Oyama attempted rear-naked
\nchokes in the final round until Perez took top position and landed
\nknees and elbows to her face. Oyama got back into top position
\nlater in the round and scored with knees of her own. All three
\njudges scored the fight in favor of Oyama for a unanimous decision
\nvictory.<\/p>\n
\nPatrick Usami<\/a> (9-5, 5-3 Rizin) and former Pancrase champion
\nTatsuya
\nSaika<\/a> (14-8, 1-4 Rizin) ended in devastating fashion when Usami
\nknocked Saika out with an early left hook. Usami wobbled Saika
\nearly and often with lead left hands. Following an exchange in
\nclose, Saika took a step back and Usami floored him with one more
\nleft hook for the knockout at the 1:38 mark of Round 1.<\/p>\n
\nRyan
\nCafaro<\/a> (15-6, 1 NC; 1-0 Rizin) took advantage of a mistake from
\nKoyomi
\nMatsushima<\/a> (15-8, 0-1 Rizin) and tapped him out with a
\nrarely-seen inverted guillotine choke. Matsushima dropped Cafaro
\nwith a head kick and punches in the first round of the
\nfeatherweight bout, and threatened with chokes on the ground, but
\nhe was unable to put the American away. Cafaro did stun Matsushima
\nmomentarily with a right hook in Round 2, but the middle frame was
\ncontrolled by Matsushima\u2019s kicks that targeted Cafaro\u2019s liver. In
\nthe final round, the fighters scrambled on the ground and Cafaro
\nsecured a guillotine choke. Matsushima tried to spin in order to
\nescape, but Cafaro simply adjusted his grip to an inverted
\nguillotine choke \u2013 also known as a \u201cdragon sleeper\u201d in professional
\nwrestling \u2013 and Matsushima hastily tapped out at the 2:23 mark of
\nRound 3. This was a very impressive comeback by Cafaro.<\/p>\n
\nTsubota<\/a> (13-13-3, 2-1 Rizin) handed striker Genji Umeno<\/a>
\n(2-1, 2-1 Rizin) his first MMA loss in quick and decisive fashion
\nat bantamweight. Tsubota pulled Umeno down into his guard and threw
\nelbows from the bottom until he was able to lock on a triangle
\nchoke that forced a dejected Umeno to submit at the 2:37 mark of
\nRound 1.<\/p>\n
\nfirst round when Ryoma
\nShishimoto<\/a> (4-0, 2-0 Rizin) \u2013 better known as \u201cJolly\u201d \u2013
\nembarrassed former kickboxer Kenshin
\nKodama<\/a> (0-1, 0-1 Rizin) with his vastly superior grappling.
\nShishimoto pulled guard and trapped Kodama in an armbar during the
\nopening minute. Kodama tried in vain to spin free, but Shishimoto
\npulled back on the arm again and referee Takashi Hashimoto wisely
\nwaved off the bout at the 1:11 mark.<\/p>\n
\nduring a very rough first round, Joe
\nHiramoto<\/a> (3-2, 3-1 Rizin) valiantly fought on and ultimately
\navenged an amateur loss by stopping rival Seiya
\nAmeyama<\/a> (6-4, 1 NC; 0-2 Rizin) early in the second round of
\ntheir flyweight matchup. Ameyama scored three knockdowns with left
\nhooks early on, but Hiramoto refused to quit and he wounded Ameyama
\nwith punches after getting back to his feet. Undeterred, Ameyama
\ndropped Hiramoto one more time and came close again to finishing
\nhim with elbows. Hiramoto got back to his feet once more and he
\nattacked Ameyama\u2019s liver with kicks. Hiramoto dropped Ameyama with
\na front kick to the liver and instantly secured a rear-naked choke
\nthat forced Ameyama to submit just 27 seconds into Round 2.
\nIncredible heart and perseverance was shown by Hiramoto in
\nvictory.<\/p>\n
\nNakagawa<\/a> (13-6, 1 NC; 2-0 Rizin) overcame three groin strikes
\nand took a well-deserved unanimous decision victory over Jake
\nWilkins<\/a> (5-4, 0-1 Rizin) in featherweight action. In the first
\ntwo rounds, Nakagawa got off to good starts with his boxing before
\nhis offense slowed. That allowed Wilkins to land some strikes of
\nhis own, though one was an inadvertent kick to Nakagawa\u2019s groin,
\nbut Nakagawa reversed a takedown and mounted Wilkins before the end
\nof the second round. In the final frame, Nakagawa was immediately
\nkneed in the groin and took some time to recover. He dropped
\nWilkins with a right hand after the restart, and tried to finish
\nhim with chokes on the ground, but Wilkins escaped. For good
\nmeasure, Nakagawa was kicked one more time in the groin, and this
\ntime it resulted in Wilkins being given a yellow card. The messy
\nfight continued and both men hurt each other with right hooks at
\nthe same time. All three judges scored the bout in Nakagawa\u2019s
\nfavor.<\/p>\n
\nHamaguchi<\/a> (7-4, 1-0 Rizin) knocked out Haruto
\nSunada<\/a> (3-1, 1 NC; 0-1 Rizin) with punches from mount at the
\n2:33 mark of Round 1 in a flyweight MMA bout; Yushi defeated
\nAsatarou via unanimous decision in a 137-pound kickboxing match;
\nHinata Kitano won her 102-pound kickboxing bout against Juna Koda
\nvia unanimous decision; and Shota opened up the card by posting a
\nunanimous decision win against Tomoya Sudo in flyweight kickboxing
\naction. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"