| Masayuki Naruse 成瀬昌由 | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1973-03-15)March 15, 1973 (age 52) Tokyo, Japan[1] |
| Other names | Kyo Senshi ("Mad Soldier"), Ultra Soul, Berserker (MMA) |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) |
| Weight | 87.5 kg (193 lb) |
| Division | Heavyweight Light Heavyweight |
| Fighting out of | Japan |
| Team | Rings Japan |
| Teacher | Akira Maeda |
| Years active | 1995–2004, 2013–present (MMA) |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 23 |
| Wins | 9 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 7 |
| Unknown | 1 |
| Losses | 14 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By submission | 6 |
| By decision | 3 |
| Unknown | 3 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record fromSherdog | |
Masayuki Naruse (Japanese:成瀬 昌由,Hepburn:Naruse Masayuki) (born March 15, 1973) is a Japanesemixed martial artist andprofessional wrestler, competing in thelight heavyweight division who fought most of his career inFighting Network RINGS (RINGS). As a professional wrestler, he notably competed inNew Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) andAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). In MMA, Naruse was the first and onlyRINGS Light-Heavyweight Champion and a formerIWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion in professional wrestling.
Naruse started practisingshotokan karate in high school before turning his attention topuroresu. He was eventually accepted inFighting Network RINGS and trained under his chairmanAkira Maeda.
A longtime competitor in RINGS before the organization began hosting true MMA bouts, Naruse had his first taste of MMA during his early career in mixed-style fights. He had his first shoot fight againstsubmission wrestlerKoichiro Kimura which he won via ankle lock. He then had another special shoot fight against kickboxer Atsushi Tamaki which went on for 24 minutes before Naruse emerged the winner via TKO due to lost points. They then had a rematch two months later which Naruse won again, this time via arm triangle choke.
Naruse experienced little success early in his mixed martial arts career, dropping six of his first seven mixed martial arts bouts, including fights againstValentijn Overeem andMagomedkhan Gamzatkhanov (commonly referred to by his nickname Volk Han).[2]
He turned things around as a participant in the eight-man Light-Heavyweight title tournament in 1997, defeatingLee Hasdell,Wataru Sakata andChris Haseman en route to becoming the firstRINGS Light-Heavyweight Champion.[3] He then went 3–6 over his next nine fights beforeRINGS dissolved in 2002.[2]
After wrestling forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Naruse decided to go back to competing in MMA. On December 31, 2003, he defeatedJan Nortje by rear-naked choke atK-1 PREMIUM 2003 Dynamite!!. He then defeated Tommy Williams via armbar at Jungle Fight 3 in Brazil.
Nine years after retiring in 2004, Naruse returned to MMA on October 27, 2013, as he lost toSanae Kikuta via armbar at Grabaka Live! 3.[4] Naruse then faced Japanese MMA legendYuki Kondo at Pancrase: 257 on March 30, 2014.[5] He lost the fight via majority decision.[6]
Naruse debuted forFighting Network RINGS in 1992 where he was billed as a scrappy junior heavyweight. Among the wrestlers he took on during the organization'spuroresu days include Heavyweight wrestlerYoshihisa Yamomoto, kickboxerNobuaki Kakuta,UFC 10 participant Dieseul Berto,Volk Han, MMA veteranSatoshi Honma and future tag team partner Mitsuya Nagai.[7]
Naruse and otherRINGS wrestlers made the transition tomixed martial arts with the promotion in 1995.
In 2001 with RINGS on the verge of collapse, he moved toNew Japan Pro-Wrestling. It was a well timed move as ownerAntonio Inoki was giving former MMA fighters immediate pushes & he was immediately placed into a feud withMinoru Tanaka, who used to work for BattlARTS, RINGS' rival promotion. Within 4 months of his debut, Naruse captured theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship from his rival Tanaka.[8]
He fought for NJPW from 2001 to 2006, defending his Junior Heavyweight title againstShinya Makabe andEl Samurai before losing his belt toTokimitsu Ishizawa, later Kendo Kashin.[1] His next chance at the title was as one of 11 competitors in aBattle Royal on October 13, 2003 which as won byJado.[1]
Naruse paired withMitsuya Nagai to win theAll Asia Tag Team Championship on July 26, 2004 againstGenichiro Tenryu andMasanobu Fuchi.[1] They defended the belt three times before losing toBarry Buchanan andRico Constantino on February 2, 2005.[9]
His last bout came on January 8, 2006 againstTakashi Iizuka, his 375th career match forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling.[1]
| 23 matches | 9 wins | 14 losses |
| By knockout | 1 | 2 |
| By submission | 7 | 6 |
| By decision | 0 | 3 |
| Unknown | 1 | 3 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 9–14 | Yuki Kondo | Decision (majority) | Pancrase: 257 | March 30, 2014 | 2 | 5:00 | Yokohama,Kanagawa, Japan | |
| Loss | 9–13 | Sanae Kikuta | Submission (armbar) | Grabaka: Grabaka Live! 3 | October 27, 2013 | 1 | 2:25 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 9–12 | Tony Williams | Submission (armbar)[10] | Jungle Fight 3 | October 23, 2004 | 1 | 3:21 | Manaus, Brazil | |
| Win | 8–12 | Jan Nortje | Submission (rear-naked choke) | K-1 PREMIUM 2003 Dynamite!! | December 31, 2003 | 1 | 4:40 | Nagoya, Japan | |
| Win | 7–12 | Ricardo Fyeet | Submission (toe hold) | Rings: Battle Genesis Vol. 7 | March 20, 2001 | 1 | 3:46 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 6–12 | Hiromitsu Kanehara | Decision (unanimous) | Rings: Rise 4th | June 24, 1999 | 3 | 10:00 | Tokyo, Japan[3] | |
| Loss | 6–11 | Magomedkhan Gamzatkhanov | Submission (armbar) | Rings: Rise 3rd | May 22, 1999 | 1 | 4:26 | Tokyo, Japan[3] | |
| Loss | 6–10 | Chris Haseman | Submission (kimura) | Rings: Rise 2nd | April 23, 1999 | 1 | 8:18 | Osaka, Japan[3] | |
| Win | 6–9 | Dave van der Veen | Submission (achilles lock) | Rings: Rise 1st | March 20, 1999 | 1 | 7:36 | Tokyo, Japan[3] | |
| Loss | 5–9 | Joop Kasteel | TKO | Rings: World Mega Battle Tournament | December 23, 1998 | 1 | 8:33 | Fukuoka, Japan[3] | |
| Win | 5–8 | Kenichi Yamamoto | Submission | Rings: Fourth Fighting Integration | June 27, 1998 | 1 | 11:07 | Tokyo, Japan | Defends RINGS Light-Heavyweight Title |
| Loss | 4–8 | Mikhail Ilyukhin | Submission (ankle lock)[11] | Rings: Third Fighting Integration | May 28, 1998 | 1 | 13:52 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 4–7 | Mikhail Ilyukhin | Submission (ankle lock) | Rings – Mega Battle Tournament 1997 Semifinal 1 | October 25, 1997 | 1 | 12:28 | Tokyo, Japan[3] | |
| Win | 4–6 | Chris Haseman | TKO | Rings: Extension Fighting 6 | August 13, 1997 | 1 | 14:26 | Kagoshima, Japan | Wins Rings Light-Heavyweight Title.[3] Title later dissolved. |
| Win | 3–6 | Wataru Sakata | Submission | Rings: Extension Fighting 5 | July 22, 1997 | 1 | 5:55 | Osaka, Japan | Semifinals of Light-Heavyweight Title Tournament.[3] |
| Win | 2–6 | Lee Hasdell | Submission (North/South Choke) | Rings – Extension Fighting 4 | June 21, 1997 | 1 | 12:58 | Tokyo, Japan | Quarterfinals of Light-Heavyweight Title Tournament.[3] |
| Loss | 1–6 | Yoshihisa Yamamoto | Submission (armbar) | Rings – Extension Fighting 2 | April 22, 1997 | 1 | 21:20 | Osaka, Japan[3] | |
| Loss | 1–5 | Valentijn Overeem | TKO (cut) | Rings Holland – The Final Challenge | February 2, 1997 | 1 | 3:58 | Amsterdam, Holland | |
| Loss | 1–4 | Zaza Tkeshelashvili | N/A | Rings – Budokan Hall 1997 | January 1, 1997 | N/A | N/A | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 1–3 | Magomedkhan Gamzatkhanov | N/A | Rings – Battle Dimensions Tournament 1996 Opening Round | October 25, 1996 | N/A | N/A | Nagoya, Japan[3] | |
| Win | 1–2 | Egan Inoue | Disqualification | Rings – Maelstrom 6 | August 24, 1996 | 1 | 11:51 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 0–2 | Willie Peeters | Decision (unanimous) | Rings Holland – Free Fight | February 19, 1995 | 1 | 10:00 | Amsterdam, Holland | |
| Loss | 0–1 | Satir Gotchev | N/A | Rings – Budokan Hall 1995 | January 25, 1995 | N/A | N/A | Tokyo, Japan |
| 3 matches | 3 wins | 0 losses |
| By knockout | 1 | 0 |
| By submission | 2 | 0 |
| By decision | 0 | 0 |
| Draws | 0 | |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 3-0 | Atsushi Tamaki | Submission (arm triangle choke) | Rings Korakuen Experimental League 1993 Round 3 | June 9, 1993 | 1 | 8:39 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 2-0 | Atsushi Tamaki | TKO (lost points) | Rings Korakuen Experimental League 1993 Round 2 | April 30, 1993 | 1 | 24:22 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 1-0 | Koichiro Kimura | Submission (ankle lock) | Rings Mega Battle Special: Foundation | August 21, 1992 | 1 | 9:39 | Yokohama, Japan |
