Luis Gustavo Felix dos Santos Stops Yusuke Yachi in Rizin ‘Trigger 3rd’ Headliner

グスタボ、2R KOで返り討ち！！
やっぱ強い！！#RIZIN_TRIGGER3 pic.twitter.com/lXP3aPEISV

— たなえい、押忍 (@1_mma_w) April 16, 2022

After more than a two-year hiatus, Luis Gustavo Felix dos Santos made his Rizin Fighting Federation return in emphatic fashion on Saturday.

The 25-year-old Evolucao Thai product defeated recent lightweight title challenger Yusuke Yachi via technical knockout in the Rizin "Trigger 3rd" main event at Musashino Forest Plaza in Tokyo, Japan. Dos Santos swarmed his opponent near the fence, dropped him with a right hand and was pulled off by referee Minoru Toyonaga before any more damage could be done at the 3:14 mark of Round 2. Dos Santos and Yachi previously squared off at Rizin 12, with the Brazilian winning via second-round knockout.

It was the first appearance for dos Santos (11-2, 3-2 Rizin) since December 2019, when he fell to current Bellator lightweight champion Patricky Freire as part of the promotion’s 155-pound grand prix at Rizin 20. Yachi (23-13, 7-7 Rizin) has lost back-to-back outings within the Japanese promotion.

#RIZIN_TRIGGER3 pic.twitter.com/Es4NMdQTaG

— ᴊᴀᴋᴇ (@jakeshredz420) April 16, 2022

In the co-main event, 48-year-old Hideki Sekine (12-5, 2-1 Rizin) won his fourth consecutive fight, spoiling Satoshi Kamiyama’s (0-1, 0-1 Rizin) professional debut in a super heavyweight affair. Soccer kicks and punches from the Bonsai Jiu-Jitsu representative known as “Shrek” brought the show to a close 3:49 into the second frame.

In other action: Masanori Kanehara (27-12, 2-1 Rizin) defeated Kazumasa Majima (14-4, 0-3 Rizin) via technical knockout 3:37 into the opening stanza at featherweight; Takaki Soya (12-4-1, 3-0 Rizin) used punches and a soccer kick to KO Nobuyoshi Nakatsukasa (7-4, 0-1 Rizin) 3:29 into Round 2 at flyweight; Takuma Sudo (6-0, 1-0 Rizin) garnered a split-decision triumph against Shuto Watanabe (23-7-5, 2-3 Rizin) at bantamweight; Kimihiro Eto (19-6-2, 1-0 Rizin) stopped Tatsuya Saika (7-3, 0-1 Rizin) via TKO 4:12 into the second frame of their lightweight clash and Grant Bogdanove (3-0, 2-0 Rizin) earned a TKO triumph over Takeshi Izumi (0-1, 0-1 Rizin) 3:16 into the third round of their 159-pound catchweight matchup.