RIZIN 54 results: Patchy Mix drops fourth in a row, Alex Pereira teammate replicates iconic celebration after violent knockout

RIZIN 54 took place in Tokyo with a strong card featuring prospects and established fighters competing across multiple weight classes. Rising 20-year-old Kyoma Akimoto dominated the main event, defeating former 145-pound champion Kleber Koike via unanimous decision (28-27, 28-27, 28-27) to secure a shot at the featherweight title. Akimoto controlled the fight at distance, preventing Koike from using his Brazilian jiu-jitsu to take the bout to the ground, and left his opponent with visible facial damage. Akimoto expressed confidence in bringing an overseas belt back to Japan, though he suspects his left hand may be broken and plans to recover before pursuing the belt held by either AJ McKee or Razhabali Shaidulloev, with that unification bout scheduled for the PFL's year-end card at Nagoya Dome.

In the co-main event, Patchy Mix suffered his fourth consecutive loss to Shoko Sato via unanimous decision after missing weight by more than six pounds for the bantamweight bout—a miss that cost him two points and likely decided the outcome. Mix pursued early finishes, nearly securing a rear-naked choke in the opening round and again in the third, but Sato stayed composed and damaged Mix's leg while standing, earning all three scorecards at 28-27.

The card's heavyweight grand prix semifinals produced two advancing competitors for November's tournament final. King Edokpolo, trained by Plinio Cruz and a teammate of Alex Pereira, flattened Mikio Ueda with a violent second-round knee strike at 0:47 and celebrated with an homage to Pereira's iconic Khaby Lame meme pose. Tsuyoshi Sudario also advanced, stopping Ryo Sakai in the first round with a TKO (4:26) via right hook and soccer kick.