Two championship belts will probably be on the road when RIZIN returns to Saitama Tremendous Area on Sept. 29, the promotion introduced Sunday.
Light-weight king Roberto Satoshi defends his 155-pound title for the primary time since April 17, 2022, when he faces Brazilian knockout artist Luiz Gustavo in the primary occasion of RIZIN 48 in Saitama, Japan. Within the co-main occasion, Naoki Inoue battles Soo Chul Kim for the bantamweight title Kai Asakura just lately vacated to signal with the UFC.
Satoshi (16-3) went 2-2 in non-title fights for the reason that evening he tapped out Johnny Case, ending veteran Keita Nakamura in his most up-to-date look. Gustavo (14-2) earned his long-awaited shot on the belt after profitable 4 in a row with a pair of knockouts.
Inoue (17-4) gained seven of 9 with 4 finishes since becoming a member of RIZIN in 2020, a distinction to his 1-2 run as a UFC fighter. Kim (22-7-1), a veteran of Highway FC and ONE Championship, will get his crack at gold after going 4-0 in his previous 4 bouts. He knocked out Taichi Nakajima in his most up-to-date RIZIN look.
RIZIN 48 additionally options the return of RIZIN and DEEP Jewels atomweight champion Seika Izawa, who faces two-time championship contender Kanna Asakura in a non-title affair. Kyohei Hagiwara vs. Ryo Takagi can be formally introduced for the cardboard.
