Roberto Satoshi Souza held onto the RIZIN Lightweight Championship on Sunday night, putting together a lightning-quick victory over long-time fellow Brazilian contender Luiz Gustavo.
Souza’s win headlined RIZIN 48, which took place Sunday from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
While grappling has long been the style that has made Souza one of the more successful RIZIN talents, it surprisingly was the champ’s striking skills that earned him a win in just 21 seconds.
Souza floored Gustavo just 15 seconds into the fight with a clean short right hook, throwing the punch right after going to the body with a kick. Gustavo fell to a knee after consuming the punch, but was quick to get back up to his feet and begin retreating.
Souza remained aggressive following the knockdown, coming forward and connecting with a left hook that put Gustavo flat on his back just moments later. The damaging shot forced the referee to step in, ending the fight just moments after started.
While Souza has long been RIZIN’s top lightweight talent – first earning his title in 2021 with a 72-second submission victory over Tofiq Musayev – he hadn’t defended his belt in over two years prior to this weekend.
Souza came into this weekend’s title fight following a rocky couple of years in non-championship appearances, losing fights to Bellator stars AJ McKee Jr. and Patricky Pitbull in-between victories over other names.
Sunday’s performance gave Souza a two-fight winning streak for the first time in years and made him the only champ in RIZIN history to defend their title three times.
Gustavo, a long-time RIZIN talent who has been known for years as a flashy striker, was competing in his first title opportunity since joining the promotion back in 2018. He entered Sunday on an impressive four-fight winning streak, including previous victories over UFC alum Yoshinori Horie and experienced lightweight Juri Ohara.
Inoue Stops Road FC Champ Kim Early With Punches
Naoki Inoue was crowned the newest RIZIN Bantamweight Champion in Sunday’s co-main event, getting past Korean contender Kim Soo-chul via first-round stoppage to earn the vacant title.
Former UFC flyweight Inoue showcased his relentless pressure against Kim, continuing to hound the Korean with punches until a referee stopped the fight in the first round.
Inoue visibly rocked Kim in with a left hook halfway through the round. The Japanese talent followed up with a right hand just moments later that dropped a hurt Kim to the canvas.
Inoue continued to rain down punches while on the back of Kim, who was attempting to recover while on his knees. Kim worked back up to his feet following the knockdown, but Inoue continued to score with clean shots that weren’t properly being defended. The bout’s referee eventually saw enough, stepping in and ending the fight after nearly four minutes.
Inoue is the fifth man to hold RIZIN’s bantamweight title since it was first introduced in late 2018. He was placed in a bout for the title this weekend after previous champ Kai Asakura relinquished the belt to join UFC’s roster.
Inoue has fought in RIZIN since early 2020, and at one point made himself one of the division’s top contenders by going on a five-fight winning streak. He came into this weekend’s appearance following a March victory over Shoko Sato.
Road FC Champion Kim had impressed in prior RIZIN bookings, including a finish win over Taichi Nakajima earlier this year and a 2022 win over Hiromasa Ougikubo.
Earlier in the evening, 2017 RIZIN Super Atomweight Grand Prix winner Kanna Asakura retired following a loss to Seika Izawa. Here are the quick results:
Bout 11: Roberto Satoshi Souza def. Luiz Gustavo via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:21) (RIZIN Lightweight Championship)
Bout 10: Naoki Inoue def. Kim Soo-chul via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:55) (Vacant RIZIN Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 9: Yuki Motoya def. Shinobu Ota via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 4:09)
Bout 8: Razhabali Shaydullaev def. Juan Archuleta via Submission, Armbar (RD 1, 3:12)
Bout 7: Seika Izawa def. Kanna Asakura via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Shoko Sato def. Juntarou Ushiku via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 5: Yusuke Yachi def. Sho Patrick Usami via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Ryo Takagi def. Kyohei Hagiwara via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 2:39)
Bout 3: Kyouma Akimoto def. Kintaro via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:16)
Bout 2: Nkazimulo Zulu def. Jo Arai via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:12)
Bout 1: Karshyga Dautbek def. Takeaki Kinoshita via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:48)
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