Danny Sabatello’s first title defense is scheduled for RIZIN Landmark 13 in April.
Sabatello, a former Bellator MMA standout, earned bantamweight gold last time out in RIZIN. On April 12, 2026, he will put his title on the line against Joji Goto at RIZIN Landmark 13.
James Gallagher and Patricky Pitbull, two other Bellator ex-pats, will also appear on the card, which takes place at the Marine Messe Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan.
Promotion officials recently announced the newswith the event looking set to be one of the most star-studded of the Landmark series.
Sabatello (17-4-1), known as “The Italian Gangster,” has adopted a Chael Sonnen-style persona when promoting his fights. He used that and a solid run in Bellator to earn a shot at an interim title in Bellator in 2022, but came up short against Raufeon Stots in a fight that was also a semifinal in the promotion’s Bantamweight Grand Prix.
Sabatello went 1-2-1 in his next four fights, including a second loss to Stots, but has found new momentum in RIZIN, where he is 3-0 to date.
Goto (20-8-1) is on a four-fight win streak with his last three wins coming in RIZIN. He has previously fought for Pancrase, Shooto and ONE Championship.
Patricky Pitbull (25-15) takes on UFC alum Yoshinori Horie (14-6) at RIZIN Landmark 13 in lightweight action. Pitbull has lost his last four, including his last Bellator fight, a pair of defeats in the PFL and his RIZIN debut against Shunta Nomura.
Horie has traded wins and losses in his last few fights, defeating Bellator vet Spike Carlyle and… Yamato Nishikawa but lost to Luiz Gustavlo and most recently then-lightweight champion Roberto Satoshi in a championship bout.
James Gallagher (13-3) went 9-3 for Bellator MMA and had a fight booked for the PFL in August 2024 that fell through due to visa issues. Later he asked and got his release through the promotionand joined an exodus of fighters that included Patricio and Patricky Pitbull and Aaron Pico. He will face Kazumasa Majima (18-6) in April in what will be Gallagher’s RIZIN debut.
Former Invicta FC atomweight champion Ayaka Hamasaki (26-7) returns to RIZIN for the first time since 2024 after splitting a pair of fights under the DEEP banner. She is also a former RIZIN Super Atomweight Champion and will take on the Russian LFA veteran Natasha Kuziutina (9-1), winner of eight straight games.
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