Roberto de Souza successfully defended his RIZIN lightweight title at Sunday’s RIZIN 48, notching his first title defense since April 2022, when he dispatched Johnny Case with a reverse triangle arm-bar inside of a round.
In the ensuing years, de Souza, known as Roberto “Satoshi,” had competed in non-title bouts, losing to Bellator stars A.J. McKee and Patricky Pitbull while picking up victories over UFC vet Spike Carlyle and Japan’s Keita Nakamura.
Sunday’s showdown with Luiz Gustavo, who entered on the strength of a four-fight win streak, had the title on the line, however. And as was the case with his last title defense, Roberto de Souza did not take long to defend his belt.
Not far into the opening round, the champ connected with a kick to the body with a punch trailing. Gustavo dropped, popped back up, but de Souza was on him with punches, and it didn’t take long for the ref to wave things off.
The night’s other title fight saw former UFC star Naoki Inoue claim the vacant RIZIN bantamweight championship, earning a TKO finish against South Korea’s Soo Chul Kim. The end came with Kim on his knees, Inoue raining down a deluge of lefts and rights until the ref made the save.
Full results from Sunday’s RIZIN 48 card from the Saitama Super Arena can be found below.
RIZIN 48 Results
Roberto de Souza def. Luiz Gustavo by KO (punches), Round 1, 0:21
Naoki Inoue def. Soo Chul Kim by TKO (punches), Round 1, 3:55
Yuko Motoya def. Shinobu Ota by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 3, 4:09
Razhabali Shaydullaev def. Juan Archuleta by submission (arm-bar), Round 1, 3:12
Seika Izawa def. Kanna Asakura by unanimous decision
Shoko Sato def. Juntaro Ushiku by unanimous decision
Yusuke Yachi def. Sho Patrck Usami by unanimous decision
Ryo Takagi def. Kyohei Hagiwara by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 2:39
Kyouma Akimoto def. Kintaro by KO (Knees to Head on Ground), Round 1, 3:16
Nkazimulo Zulu def. Jo Arai by TKO (spinning kick and strikes), Round 1, 4:12
Karshyga Dautbek def. Takeaki Kinoshita by KO (punch), Round 1, 1:48
