Former Bellator bantamweight contender Danny Sabatello will return to Japan on Sept. 28 for his second fight inside the RIZIN ring, the promotion announced. “The Italian Gangster” will face 56-fight veteran Shoko Sato as part of the RIZIN 51 card in Nagoya.
Sabatello (15-4-1) made his RIZIN debut in May after a sole appearance under the PFL banner, stopping Shinobu Ota via third-round knockout to snap a three-fight winless skid. That was his first victory since a 2023 finish over Marcos Breno in Bellator, which was followed by back-to-back Magomed Magomedov and Raufeon Stots plus a majority draw with Lazaro Dayron.
Sato (37-16-2, 1 no-contest) is a former Shooto champion that has competed for most of the Asian MMA promotions over the past 17 years, including Pancrase, Sengoku, Road FC, Vale Tudo Japan and ONE Championship. He’s 3-1 in RIZIN, losing only to future champion Naoki Inoue.
RIZIN 51 will be headlined by featherweight champion Razhabali Shaidulloev in his first title defense opposite Viktor Kolesnik, and also feature the semifinals of the flyweight grand prix. The pairings are yet to be confirmed for Hiromasa Ougikubo, Yuki Ito, Alibek Gadzhammatov, Yuki Motoya, Makoto Shinryu and an alternate fighter.
Check the updated lineup below.
- Razhabali Shaidulloev vs. Viktor Kolesnik
- Shoko Sato vs. Danny Sabatello
- Ryo Takagi vs. Kisa Miyake
- Tetsuya Yamato vs. Takahiro Okuyama
- Genji Umeno vs. Ryusei Ashizawa)
- Daichi Tomizawa vs. Joe Hiramoto
