RIZIN.51 Erupts as Satoshi
RIZIN.51 brought two rapid championship defenses and a heavyweight tournament final to IG Arena in Nagoya, Japan, on September 28, 2025. Roberto Satoshi de Souza and Rajabali Shaydullaev retained their belts in the first round, while Alexander Soldatkin needed the full distance to claim the heavyweight tournament.
Champions finish before challengers can settle
Satoshi took Yoshinori Horie’s back and finished a rear-naked choke in the lightweight main event. Shaydullaev’s featherweight defense ended even faster: a knockdown and immediate ground punches stopped Viktor Kolesnik in just 33 seconds.
The tournament bouts offered a different kind of contest. Hiromasa Ougikubo and Yuki Motoya won their flyweight Grand Prix matches by unanimous decision. Erson Yamamoto earned the reserve position with a decision over Yuki Ito, and Soldatkin outpointed Marek Samociuk in the heavyweight final.
Featured main-card results
- Roberto Satoshi de Souza defeated Yoshinori Horie — Submission (rear-naked choke), R1 1:40.
- Rajabali Shaydullaev defeated Viktor Kolesnik — TKO (ground punches), R1 0:33.
- Hiromasa Ougikubo defeated Alibek Gadzhammatov — Unanimous decision, 3 rounds.
- Yuki Motoya defeated Makoto Shinryu — Unanimous decision, 3 rounds.
- Erson Yamamoto defeated Yuki Ito — Unanimous decision, 3 rounds.
- Alexander Soldatkin defeated Marek Samociuk — Unanimous decision, 3 rounds.
- Danny Sabatello defeated Shoko Sato — Split decision, 3 rounds.
- Genji Umeno defeated Ryusei Ashizawa — Unanimous decision, 3 rounds.
- Ryo Takagi defeated Kisa Miyake — Unanimous decision, 3 rounds.
- Yusuke Yachi defeated Bilal Kai Haga — Submission (rear-naked choke), R2 2:09.
- Daichi Tomizawa defeated Joe Hiramoto — Split decision, 3 rounds.
- Takahiro Okuyama defeated Tetsuya Yamato — Submission (armbar), R1 4:10.
