Tony Laramie makes Rizin history in bloody split decision at Rizin 55

Canadian fighter Tony Laramie made history on Sunday at Rizin 55 in Chiba, Japan, becoming the promotion's first non-Japanese flyweight champion. Laramie earned a split-decision victory over defending champion Makoto Takahashi, with two judges scoring the bout 29-28 in his favor. Despite being dropped in the opening round and suffering severe facial cuts from standing elbows, Laramie outgrappled Takahashi to secure the title.

Elsewhere on the card, Kyrgyz bantamweight prospect Yrysbek Tilenov defeated former champion Naoki Inoue by unanimous decision to earn a title shot against Danny Sabatello. Additionally, Ryuya Fukuda took a unanimous decision over Soo Chul Kim, and Jinnosuke Kashimura pulled off an unusual no-gi Ezekiel choke submission against Shinobu Ota.