| Kazushi Sakuraba | |
|---|---|
 Sakuraba in 2015 | |
| Born | (1969-07-14)July 14, 1969 (age 55)[1] Shōwa, Akita, Japan[1] (nowKatagami, Akita, Japan) |
| Other names | The Gracie Hunter |
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Weight | 75.75 kg (167.0 lb; 11 st 13.0 lb) |
| Division | Welterweight Middleweight Light Heavyweight Openweight |
| Reach | 186.7 cm (74 in) |
| Style | Catch Wrestling Shoot Wrestling |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Team | Takada Dojo Laughter7 |
| Teacher(s) | Nobuhiko Takada Yoji Anjo Billy Robinson |
| Years active | 1996–2011, 2015 (MMA) 1993– present (Wrestling) |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 46 |
| Wins | 26 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By submission | 19 |
| By decision | 3 |
| Losses | 17 |
| By knockout | 10 |
| By submission | 3 |
| By decision | 4 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record fromSherdog | |
Kazushi Sakuraba (Japanese:桜庭 和志,Sakuraba Kazushi, born July 14, 1969) is a Japaneseprofessional wrestler,submission wrestler and formermixed martial artist, currently signed toPro Wrestling Noah, where he was formerly one-half of the formerGHC Tag Team Champions withTakashi Sugiura. He has also competed in traditionalpuroresu forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) andshoot-style competition forUWFi andKingdom Pro Wrestling (KPW). He has fought in MMA competition in theUltimate Fighting Championship,Pride Fighting Championships,Hero's,Dream and most recentlyRizin Fighting Federation.[2][3][4] He is known as theGracie Hunter[5][6][7][8] or theGracie Killer[9][10][11][12] due to his wins over four members of the famedGracie family:Royler Gracie,Renzo Gracie,Ryan Gracie, andRoyce Gracie. Sakuraba is famous for beating 15 champions of different top MMA organizations; opponents who were often many weight-classes above him.
Known for his excellent skills incatch wrestling and unorthodox fighting style, he is considered to be one of the greatest mixed martial art fighters of all time,[13] and also holds notable victories over 7 UFC champions, 3 Pancrase Champions, a DREAM champion, a King of the Cage champion and Battlecade Extreme Fighting champion; formerWelterweight ChampionCarlos Newton, two formerLight heavyweight championsVitor Belfort andQuinton Jackson, formerHeavyweight ChampionKevin Randleman, 3-timeUFC Tournament championRoyce Gracie, formerSuperfight champion andKing of PancraseKen Shamrock, formerKing of PancraseMasakatsu Funaki,DREAM Super Hulk Tournament ChampionIkuhisa Minowa, formerKing of the Cage Light Heavyweight championVernon White, and formerBattlecade Extreme Fighting champion Marcus Silveira. He is also the first of only two Japanese champions in UFC history. Sakuraba's Pride fights routinely draw more than20 million viewers in Japan.[14] Sakuraba is the founder of the submission wrestling promotionQuintet, where he has competed since 2018.
Sakuraba became a fan ofJapanese professional wrestling during his childhood thanks to theTiger Maskmanga, with the eponymousNew Japan Pro-Wrestling wrestlerTiger Mask being his favorite.[15] After being convinced against dropping out of high school to pursue professional wrestling, Sakuraba began a career inamateur wrestling at the age of 15, hoping to gain a useful background to achieve his childhood dream.[13] A high school stand-out, he finished as high as second in the nation before joining thefreestyle wrestling squad ofChuo University, a team which had countedOlympic gold medalistsShozo Sasahara andOsamu Watanabe amongst its ranks. He won the East Japan Freshman championship in his first year and served as their team captain thereafter. In his senior year, he finished fourth place in the All-Japan tournament. Amongst his notable wins was one over futureOlympic bronze medalistTakuya Ota.[16] Upon graduating from college, Sakuraba initially thought about remaining withChuo University as a coach. However, at the last minute, he decided to continue his road to professional wrestling.
Having weighed 68 kg (150 lb) for most of his amateur wrestling career, Sakuraba was encouraged by his peers to gain weight, as it would be difficult to compete as a smaller fighter in pro wrestling. After working to gain the weight needed to compete, he never wanted to lose it anymore, something that would be reflected in his MMA career.[17] Finding himself attracted by theshoot wrestling movement, which had been by his childhood idol Sayama, Sakuraba considered joining themixed martial arts organizationPancrase, but he ultimately chose the promotionUnion of Wrestling Forces International, aprofessional wrestling league that was nonetheless known for its highly technical and realistic-looking bouts.
His time in the UWF-i would prove to be a formative experience for Sakuraba. He received his initial instruction in both grappling and striking under main trainerYoji Anjo, later honing hiscatch wrestling skills under the tutelage ofBilly Robinson.[13] He also trained inmuay thai under master Bovy Chowaikung, the main UWF-i striking teacher. Those disciplines would serve as the base of the unorthodox game that would later lead him to success in thePride Fighting Championships.[18] Over time he became one of Takada's four main trainees, along withKiyoshi Tamura,Yoshihiro Takayama andMasahito Kakihara.
In spite of his amateur pedigree, Sakuraba was forced to work his way up from the bottom of the UWFi's rung, as it is traditional inpuroresu. Sakuraba lost his debut on August 13, 1993, to Steve Nelson and went winless through his rookie year with the league. It is also popularly alleged that under the eye of Kiyoshi Tamura, he was made to perfectly perform menial chores about the dojo.[18] Still undeterred, Sakuraba steadily built a working knowledge of submission holds upon his freestyle wrestling base until his efforts were at last rewarded with a win over Mark Silver in October 1994.
Though his record remained below .500, Sakuraba continued to edge his way closer to mid-card status through the rest of the year. Then, in 1995, theUWFi began an interpromotional feud withNew Japan Pro-Wrestling. The vast majority of UWF-i workers came out on the losing end of the booking to the larger and more mainstream promotion and Sakuraba was no exception. He was defeated in high-profile bouts toTokimitsu Ishizawa,Koji Kanemoto andShinjiro Otani, bringing Sakuraba a new level of exposure to the public. Thering psychology and technical prowess he displayed in the bouts also impressed the management of the UWF-i enough that he was finally pushed towards main event status.
New Japan's dominance in the feud injured the marketability of the UWFi promotion, which had pressed the perception that their athletes boasted legitimate skill in real fighting. In a bid to regain credibility,Yoji Anjo travelled to California to perform adojo challenge onRickson Gracie, only to be swiftly and brutally defeated before the assembled Japanese press that had followed him there. With the UWFi's formerly fearsome reputation in tatters, its attendance numbers swiftly decreased, with the federation closing its doors once and for all in December 1996. In their final show it was Sakuraba who at long last headlined, defeating Anjoh by submission.
Following the close of the UWFi,Nobuhiko Takada, the most popular of the UWFi workers amongst the mainstream public foundedKingdom Pro Wrestling, taking in Sakuraba and the majority of his fellow UWFi alumni. In the vein of its predecessor, Kingdom was primarily a league devoted to shoot-style realistic-looking works. Having by now established his ability, Sakuraba was this time booked as a main-eventer from the outset. However, unlike the UWFi, Kingdom struggled from the beginning to draw substantial crowds.Mixed martial arts was growing in popularity, and the dominance of theGracie family and their fellowBrazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners over the field and more specifically overprofessional wrestlers, left the Japanese public ever more unconvinced as to the fighting ability of Kingdom's stable of athletes.
On August 12, 2012, Sakuraba, alongsideKatsuyori Shibata, started appearing inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling. It was Sakuraba's first work for the company since 1995, and the first ever as a free agent instead of a representative from another promotion.[19] Sakuraba and Shibata wrestled their first match on September 23, defeatingHiromu Takahashi andWataru Inoue in a tag team match.[20] Sakuraba and Shibata, collectively dubbed Laughter7,[21] continued their winning ways at the following twopay-per-views,King of Pro-Wrestling on October 8 andPower Struggle on November 11, both times defeating the team ofTogi Makabe and Wataru Inoue.[22][23] Also at Power Struggle,Shinsuke Nakamura nominated Sakuraba as the next challenger for hisIWGP Intercontinental Championship.[23] On December 2, Sakuraba won his first exchange with Nakamura, when Laughter7 defeated Nakamura andTomohiro Ishii in a tag team match to remain undefeated since their return.[24] On January 4, 2013, atWrestle Kingdom 7 in Tokyo Dome, Sakuraba suffered his first defeat since his return to professional wrestling, when he unsuccessfully challenged Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.[25] Sakuraba and Shibata returned to their winning ways at the following pay-per-view,The New Beginning on February 10, where they defeatedHirooki Goto and Wataru Inoue in a tag team match.[26] On April 7 atInvasion Attack, Sakuraba and Shibata suffered their first tag team loss, when they were defeated by Hirooki Goto andYuji Nagata via referee stoppage, when Sakuraba injured his right elbow, after taking abelly-to-back suplex from Nagata, and unable to continue the match.[27] New Japan later announced that Sakuraba would be sidelined for two to three months.[28] Sakuraba wrestled his return match on July 20, defeating Yuji Nagata via submission.[29] On September 8, Sakuraba and Shibata took part in theWrestle-1 promotion'sinaugural event, defeatingMasakatsu Funaki andMasayuki Kono in a tag team match.[30] Sakuraba continued his rivalry with Yuji Nagata at the September 29Destruction pay-per-view, where he and Shibata defeated Nagata andManabu Nakanishi with Sakuraba pinning his rival for the win.[31]
On October 14, Sakuraba was defeated by Nagata in a singles rematch between the two. Following the match, Sakuraba and Nagata came together to accept a challenge issued byDaniel andRolles Gracie[32] On January 4, 2014, atWrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome, Sakuraba and Nagata defeated the Gracies via disqualification, after Nagata was choked out with a gi.[33] A rematch between the two teams took place on February 11 atThe New Beginning in Osaka and saw Rolles submit Sakuraba for the win.[34] Sakuraba suffered another loss against the Gracies on May 3 atWrestling Dontaku 2014, where he teamed with Shinsuke Nakamura.[35] On May 25 atBack to the Yokohama Arena, Sakuraba ended the Gracies' win streak by defeating Rolles in a singles match.[36] Sakuraba then started a new rivalry withMinoru Suzuki,[37] while also forming a partnership withToru Yano, who was also involved in his own rivalry with Suzuki'sSuzuki-gun stable. The partnership led to Sakuraba becoming an associate of Yano and Nakamura'sChaos stable,[38] eventually becoming a full-time member.[39] The rivalry between Sakuraba and Suzuki culminated in a match on January 4, 2015, atWrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome, where Sakuraba was defeated.[40]
On April 5 atInvasion Attack 2015, Sakuraba submitted Katsuyori Shibata in a tag team match, where he and Yano defeated Shibata andHiroshi Tanahashi, igniting a rivalry between the former Laughter7 partners.[41][42] The two faced off on July 5 atDominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall in a match, where Shibata was victorious.[43]
After wrestling sporadically for independent promotions for a few years, Sakuraba returned to wrestling full-time forPro Wrestling Noah, aligning himself with the Sugiura-gun faction headed byTakashi Sugiura. On 30 August 2020 Sakuraba and Sugiura defeated AXIZ (Go Shiozaki andKatsuhiko Nakajima) for the vacantGHC Tag Team Championship, Sakuraba's first ever pro-wrestling title. In September Sakuraba entered the annualN1-Victory tournament as a singles competitor, finishing on 4 points with 2 wins and 3 losses. As of 22 November Sakuraba and Sugiura have successfully defended the GHC tag titles on two occasions.[44]
Though sources[45] often cite Sakuraba's match withKimo Leopoldo on July 14, 1996, as his first experience with mixed martial arts, there is debate about whether it was a shoot or a worked match. Sakuraba himself has stated that he doesn't remember it.[46] However, his first contact with MMA can be traced to his different style fight at 26 June 1996 against Dutch kickboxerRene Rooze, which was won by Sakuraba via ankle hold.[47]
In an attempt to gain attention for the embattled Kingdom Pro Wrestling league,Hiromitsu Kanehara andYoji Anjoh signed on to compete in theUltimate Fighting Championship's Ultimate Japan tournament. Kanehara was injured in his training for the tournament, and Sakuraba wound up as his late-hour substitute. The tournament was intended for heavyweights, but Sakuraba who weighed 183 pounds (middleweight by modern standards), was nearly twenty pounds beneath the UFC's 200 pound designation for the weight class. Having reported himself as 203 pounds (Light heavyweight by modern standards) in order to gain entry, Sakuraba was paired off against the 240 poundBrazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt and former Extreme Fighting champion, Marcus Silveira.
The match saw the two grapplers exchangingleglocks without any decisive movement. Following a barrage of light blows by Silveira, Sakuraba dropped for a lowsingle leg takedown, but refereeJohn McCarthy stopped the fight before Sakuraba could complete it, believing he had been knocked out by the punches. A loud protest followed from the crowd and an angry Sakuraba attempted unsuccessfully to take the microphone and address the Japanese audience. However, after reviewing tape, McCarthy changed his decision to a no-contest.[48] AsTank Abbott, who had earlier defeated Anjoh, had dropped from the tournament due to an injured hand, it was ruled that Sakuraba and Silveira faced off once more that night in what would be the championship bout of the tournament.[48]
Silveira opened their second match taking Sakuraba's back, which the Japanese wrestler answered by attempting to apply aKimura lock. After freeing his arm, Silveira capitalized on another Kimura attempt by Saku to try to twist it into anarmbar from hisguard, only for the Japanese to escape to his knees. Silveira then tried his own Kimura, but at that moment Sakuraba reversed it in the same way and locked the armbar, making the Brazilian submit.[46][48] Afterwards, in the post-fight interview, Sakuraba famously stated, "In fact, professional wrestling is strong" (プロレスラーは本当は強いんです,Puroresurā wa hontōwa tsuyoi n desu). With the victory Sakuraba remains one of the last UFC tournament champions to date.
WithNobuhiko Takada having left Kingdom to challengeRickson Gracie in an event calledPride Fighting Championships, the still struggling promotion capitalized on Sakuraba's newly found popularity establishing him as Kingdom's top talent. He embarked on a winning streak against several foreign mixed martial arts competitors including Paul Herrera, Rene Rooze,Mark Hall and Orlando Weit. However, Kingdom continued to flounder and finally folded in March 1998.
Entering the Pride Fighting Championships on the heels of a defeat of stablemateNobuhiko Takada at the hands ofRickson Gracie in the organization's initial event, Sakuraba was paired off againstVernon White, then a veteran of 32 bouts inPancrase who also boasted a 20-pound weight advantage. Showcasing a balance of wrestling and submission prowess, Sakuraba came after White with constant takedowns and unceasing submission attempts. White held Sakuraba off for the first two rounds, but was ultimately submitted by armbar towards the end of the third round.[49]
Next, in Pride 3, Sakuraba was matched against Ultimate Fighting Championship veteranCarlos Newton. Though relatively new tomixed martial arts, Newton had recently disposed of the reigningShooto light heavyweight championErik Paulson with a swift armbar victory and already developed a reputation as a talented grappler. Accordingly, the match was a back and forth grappling affair between the two fighters. At the second round, after several exchanges on the mat, Newton looked to capture Sakuraba's back, but the Japanese trapped him in a rollingkneebar and finished him.[50]
Eager to capitalize on Sakuraba'sshoot wrestling prowess to reverse the perception that Japanese professional wrestlers were inferior to Brazilian combatants (in part perpetuated by his teammates' own defeats), Sakuraba's next three bouts were scheduled against Brazilian jiu-jitsu black beltsVitor Belfort,Allan Goes andluta livre black beltEbenezer Fontes Braga. In a trend that would continue through Sakuraba's Pride career, each opponent occupied a spot near the top of the 205-pound class at the time of their meeting with him and held a weight advantage of around 20 pounds.
Sakuraba's match against Goes would be an instrumental point in his fighting's style evolution, pitted against an opponent with a strong defensive guard. Through the bout, Sakuraba attempted several moves to bypass the stationary Goes's defense, includingleglocks, dives and kicks to the legs, but he also would have to defend, as Goes was relentless in his upkicks and submission counterattacks. Sakuraba was threatened by a rear naked choke several times, and in turn he almost finished Allan as well with an armbar, but none of it came to fruition. Due to the absence of judges in Pride's ruleset at the time, the match was ruled a draw. Sakuraba, always humble, stated "I fight his style, not mine. I think I lost the fight",[51] although Goes, aCarlson Gracie protege, would similarly state in a later interview "I've been training my whole life on the ground, and to me, [Sakuraba] was the best guy I ever faced on the ground".[52]
Belfort would be a different matchup, as his boxing prowess was known aside from his great grappling credentials. However, despite several big flurries by the Brazilian to open the match, Sakuraba went unscathed and took Belfort down, proceeding to landground and pound. As Belfort would not leave the mat through the match, in part due to a broken hand in one of his own combos, Sakuraba deployed his improved strategy and punished Vitor with leg kicks and jumping stomps to the head, as well as landing unanswered striking combinations every time Belfort was called up by the referee. At the end, as Pride had just implemented the judges system, Sakuraba was awarded his first decision victory unanimously.[53]
Unlike the previous two matches, Kazushi faced in Braga a consistently aggressive opponent, with the luta livre practitioner landing effective muay thai knees and kicks until Sakuraba put him down. The Japanese wrestler continued his signature guard assault, but also outstruck Braga in his last standing segment before taking him down again and lock an armbar for the tap out.
After defeatingAnthony Macias at Pride 7, Sakuraba was matched againstRoyler Gracie, who had previously conquered Sakuraba's stablemateYuhi Sano. It marked the largest weight advantage Sakuraba has enjoyed in his career to date (being around 30 pounds heavier than Royler). Royler, unable to score a takedown or strike effectively from a standing position, remained on the ground in an effort to bait Sakuraba into a grappling-oriented contest, while Sakuraba, standing, landed punishing kicks to Royler's legs, thighs and head. Eventually, with less than two minutes remaining, Sakuraba finally engaged Royler on the ground and instantly caught him in aKimura lock. As Sakuraba wrenched on the submission, the referee intervened with 1 minute and 44 seconds remaining on the clock, ending the contest and awarding Sakuraba the win by TKO.[54]
Sakuraba's victory over Royler constituted the first loss by a Gracie in professional fighting in several decades and as such, sent ripples of shock and controversy through the mixed martial arts community. Some protested that the victory was tainted due to the fact that Royler (although placed in a debilitating submission hold) never conceded defeat and was little time away from the final bell when the bout was stopped. It is worth noting that the last Japanese athlete to defeat a Gracie prior to Sakuraba's win against Royler, legendaryjudokaMasahiko Kimura, had used the very same technique Sakuraba utilized to beat Royler. That time, the recipient had been Royler's father,Hélio Gracie, who had, like Royler, also refused to submit but likewise lost.
While the Japanese fightmedia rejoiced and elevated Sakuraba to superstar status, theGracie family took great umbrage over the incident, feeling that they had been cheated by Pride. Despite Sakuraba challenging Royler's older brotherRickson Gracie after the match, it was his younger brother and formerUFC ChampionRoyce Gracie who, compelled to set the record straight and re-assert the dominance of his family, returned to the sport of mixed martial arts in 2000 and entered the 16-Man Pride Grand Prix alongside Sakuraba and several other top fighters of the era. Placed on the same side of the bracket, a special set of rules were requested by the Gracies in the event of a Sakuraba-Royce match, including no referee stoppages and no time-limits, the fight ending only in the event of a submission or knock-out (something prohibited in modern MMA because of the widely adoptedUnified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts limiting matches to 25 minutes overall, 5 x 5 minute rounds).
In his first fight of the 2000 Pride tournament Sakuraba once again found himself matched up against a heavier opponent, this time the well-regarded 205 pound fighter, former King of PancraseGuy Mezger. After a closely fought 15 minutes the judges requested an overtime round, and the fight ended in controversy when Mezger's coachKen Shamrock forced his fighter back to the locker room claiming that no additional rounds were agreed upon in the contract. Sakuraba ended up winning the match by forfeit. Meanwhile, Royce defeatedNobuhiko Takada by unanimous decision and thus set the stage for their much anticipated showdown.
In the tournament quarterfinals Royce and Sakuraba battled for an hour and a half (six 15 minute rounds). Gracie opened the fight aggressively, raining punches from Kazushi's back while the Japanese fighter worked an armlock from standing, but Sakuraba kept calm, knowing Royce had no knockout power and expecting him to waste his energy;[55] he even came to the point of smiling to the cameras during the attack. Towards the end of the round, Sakuraba nearly ended the match with akneebar, while Gracie came back with aguillotine choke at the second, but Kazushi again joked to show he was out of danger by simulating topull down Royce's gi pants. Sakuraba switched to attack at the third round, dominating the stand up and making Royce lie repeatedly on the ground to avoid him. As the confrontation stretched on, the Gracie's own no time-limit rules began to work against Royce as Sakuraba'swrestling skills and balance nullified Royce's ability to score a takedown and—in some instances—even pull guard. Even Royce's ever-presentjiu-jitsugi became a weapon for the wrestler to use against him as Sakuraba used it to help him control Gracie on the instances the fight did come to the ground. However, with Sakuraba's control of the takedown, these instances of ground warfare became increasingly sporadic. After Kazushi landed a long series of punishingleg kicks in the fifth and sixth rounds, Royce's brother, Rorion threw in the towel.
Exhausted from his battle with Royce, Sakuraba surprised many when he emerged from the locker room for the tournament semi-finals. His opponent,Igor Vovchanchyn, outweighed him by close to sixty pounds (Sakuraba had come into the bout with Royce lighter than usual, at 176 pounds) and was considered to be the top heavyweight striker of the day. Sakuraba surprised many by taking Vovchanchyn down and nearly finishing him with an armbar. Sakuraba was actually leading the fight past the 10-minute mark, but near the end Igor was able to reverse a takedown and draw the first round even with ground strikes. After the first round was declared a draw Sakuraba's corner threw in the towel before the beginning of overtime, primarily due to fatigue.
Following the Grand Prix, Sakuraba was christened the "Gracie Hunter" by the Japanese sports media. Keeping in tow with his new nickname, Sakuraba sandwiched a swift victory viaachilles lock againstShannon Ritch between fights against brothersRenzo Gracie andRyan Gracie. In contrast to Royler and Royce, Renzo and Ryan were products ofCarlson Gracie's approach tojiu-jitsu, which placed a stronger emphasis on combat-ready skills and training without agi.
At the time of his bout with Sakuraba, Renzo's only loss in 10 bouts was a closely contested decision to Sakuraba's formerUWFi stablemate and rival,Kiyoshi Tamura whileMaurice Smith,Oleg Taktarov and Abu Dhabi championSanae Kikuta numbered amongst his victims. Renzo's stylistic differences from his cousins were in evidence from the outset of his contest against Sakuraba, as he pressed the pace of the bout with a variety of kicks and punches, although few connected. Sakuraba responded in kind, and the striking seemed to go to a stalemate. Throwing hiswrestling into the equation, Sakuraba timed a number of double and single leg takedowns against Renzo's flurries from where he alternately attempted tocartwheel past Gracie's guard, malign his legs withkicks from the standing position and even attack with abaseball slide. However, Renzo's defensive skills from bottom nullified the entire gamut of Sakuraba's offensive attempts, and after using an entry derived from theDe la Riva guard, he took the wrestler's back, pressing him against the turnbuckle as mere seconds remained in the battle. With time ticking away, Sakuraba locked in akimura from the back and spun around, flipping Renzo to the canvas even as he wrenched his arm behind his back. Like Royler and Helio before him, Renzo refused to submit to the hold despite his elbow being snapped prior to hitting the ground and, even as the referee stopped the contest due to the injury, which awarded victory to Sakuraba.
Renzo took the microphone and, before the 35,000 fans assembled at theSeibu Dome, stated that Sakuraba was "the Japanese version of the Gracie family". Renzo has since referred to the bout as his proudest moment in mixed martial arts.[56] Similarly, years later Gracie called Sakuraba "his hero" and remembered their match as "one of the biggest lessons he learned in his life".[57][58] CommentatorStephen Quadros stated too: "if any fans still doubted the abilities of Kazushi Sakuraba in MMA competition, they are now silent."[59]Ryan Gracie, who had fought on the same card and emerged victorious, jumped into the ring issued a challenge to Sakuraba, which was accepted.Vitor Belfort also demanded a rematch, although Sakuraba had stated not to be interested in rematches due to his interest in facingFrank Shamrock,Tito Ortiz andDan Henderson.[59]
The fight between Sakuraba and Ryan was scheduled to happen atPride 12. Due to a shoulder injury, the fight was limited to a single 10-minute round, where Ryan's spirited efforts were generally stymied and controlled by Sakuraba, who noticeably avoided attacks on his younger opponent's injured arm. Despite it, Kazushi later argued in an interview that he believed Ryan would have been faking the entire injury in order to catch him off guard.[60] Nonetheless, the Japanese threw some of his usual antics during the match, at some points delivering chops to Ryan's rear while controlling him.[60]
Following the win against Ryan, Sakuraba was slated to battlePancrase veteranBas Rutten, but the latter declined and was replaced by Brazilianmuay thai specialistWanderlei Silva.[61] Sakuraba was a heavy favorite to win, but he was fighting through a significant weight disadvantage. The bout was also contested under Pride's new rules, which allowed kicks and knees to the head of a downed opponent, a change that greatly benefitted Wanderlei.[62] During the match, a Sakuraba willing to trade strikes managed to knock Wanderlei down with a right hook, but the Brazilian recovered and dropped the wrestler with a barrage of punches and kicks. As Sakuraba turtled while attempted a takedown, Silva delivered multiple knees to his head and ultimately finished him off with kicks to the face.[62] It marked Sakuraba's second defeat in mixed martial arts and his first loss in the 205-pound division. Sakuraba then shocked the audience further by giving Silva his belt withSaku engraved on it. Wanderlei then stated that he would willingly give Sakuraba a rematch if Sakuraba wanted one,[63] which the Japanese accepted.[62]
After sitting out the next Pride to recuperate, Sakuraba found himself across the ring fromQuinton Jackson, a former collegiate wrestler who had compiled a record of 10–1 on the American circuit. At the sound of the bell, Sakuraba immediately took the bigger man to the canvas with a low single-leg takedown. However, Jackson's superior size and enormous physical strength allowed him to muscle out of Sakuraba's submission attempts. After locking his legs around Jackson for atriangle choke, Sakuraba found himself hefted into the air and repeatedly slammed to the canvas in the way of apowerbomb. Later, he attempted anarmbar against Jackson, only for the Tennessee native to again lift him up and this time attempt to drop him from the ring. His expression unchanging through the course of Jackson's assault, Sakuraba continued to flow from one lock to another. Eventually, he took the back of an exhausted Jackson and submitted him with his firstrear naked choke victory.[64] The contest was a launchpad for Jackson's career, leading to a long-term contract with Pride where he eventually became regarded as a top middleweight competitor, and later, a UFC champion.
The Jackson bout also re-established Sakuraba's proficiency in dealing with larger opponents and placed him back in line for another shot atWanderlei Silva in Pride's next event, this time to decide Pride's inaugural 205-pound champion. Usually prone to humorous entrances, it was a somber and focused Sakuraba that came down the aisle for his rematch with Silva. As with Jackson, Sakuraba was able to score an early takedown in the bout, where he then worked from Silva's guard. After several minutes searching for aleglock, he finally found one when Silva attempted to escape to his feet. Sakuraba started to control the fight, avoiding Silva's strikes and threatening him with clinches and takedown attempts. Halfway through the round, the Japanese locked on a tightguillotine choke, but was countered by a wild slam from Wanderlei which ended up breaking his collar bone. The wrestler managed to end the round with submission attempts from the bottom, but not willing to let him go on so hampered, his corner threw in the towel between rounds.[65][66]
Sakuraba took time off to let his shoulder heal, also briefly training basicBrazilian jiu-jitsu withSergio Penha at Takada Dojo.[67] He then returned against heavyweight kickboxerMirko Cro Cop. Sakuraba was proposed a special ruleset of no strikes on the ground as part of the "K-1 vs Pride theme", but he rejected the offer, not wanting any special rule for him.[68] Ironically, although he managed to take Cro Cop down through hard kicks, Sakuraba would end losing the match while exchanging strikes on Mirko's guard when an upkick from the kickboxer broke his orbital bone.[69]
Finally assenting to place him in competition against fighters of his own weight class, Pride management put him against French jiu-jitsu champion Gilles Arsene in a bout Sakuraba dominated and then against Rickson Gracie protegeAntônio Schembri. With a win over Schembri, it was speculated that Sakuraba might be then groomed for a championship fight in a new weight division for fighters of his size. Sakuraba controlled the fight initially, landing plenty of hits and breaking Antônio's nose, but when he was going for one of his trademark Mongolian chops, Schembri stunned him with a series of knee strikes (controversially preceded by an illegal headbutt), winning by TKO.[70]
After the defeat to Schembri, Sakuraba expressed desire to gain weight and move up to the heavyweight division, hoping to fight eitherBob Sapp or PRIDE Heavyweight ChampionFedor Emelianenko.[71] However, nothing of this was realized, and instead Sakuraba faced Wanderlei Silva for the third time at Pride Total Elimination. The bout reminisced their first encounter, as Sakuraba flashed again a comical entrance and traded strikes with Silva in his own field of specialty. The Japanese utilized a strategy of faking takedowns and attacking withuppercuts, followed by a real takedown attempt which Silva blocked with knees to the head. Sakuraba escaped and kept trading hits, but despite his best efforts to match his opponent's striking acumen, Wanderlei knocked him out with a jab-cross combination.[72] After the fight, there was talk of Kazushi planning to retire, but nothing came from it.
Those defeats seemed to mark a turning point in Sakuraba's career; though he was unbeaten in his first nine Pride bouts, he thereafter split his next six matches. He had a notable victory overKevin Randleman, a former UFC Heavyweight Champion, widely remembered due to his ring entrance asMario, a pun intended to reflect the Japanese media referring to Randleman asDonkey Kong. In the match itself, Randleman was fast in showing his wrestling accolades at taking down Sakuraba, but the Japanese countered by setting submissions from every available position, until the American made a mistake and was caught in an armbar in the third round.
At Pride Shockwave 2003, Sakuraba would faceAntônio Rogério Nogueira, brother to the famousAntônio Rodrigo Nogueira. The Brazilian, having promised to knock out the Japanese, opened the match lunging at him with punches, but Kazushi answered in kind and opened a cut on Nogueira's eye which almost stopped the bout. The action resumed, both men battled for several minutes, with Rogério gaining the upper hand in striking and Sakuraba in wrestling, allowing him to get in Nogueira's guard and inflict significant damage again. During the second round, Nogueira managed to catch Sakuraba in a triangle choke/armbar combo, but the Japanese escaped the hold and sought his own submission, to no effect. Finally, the third round saw Nogueira taking over with punches and knees, exchanging strikes with Sakuraba almost until the last minute, and ultimately winning the decision.[73]
After a quick TKO victory over decorated judokaYoon Dong-Sik in the opening round, Sakuraba suffered a particularly devastating yet controversial loss againstRicardo Arona in the quarterfinal of the tournament in June 2005. Although Sakuraba put Arona on his back and seemed to put to work his signature jumping stomps, the heavier and stronger Arona soon overpowered him, landing a series of brutal knees to the head, as well as hard soccer kicks to the face. The Brazilian's toenail accidentally slashed open the skin over Sakuraba's left eye, which Ricardo then capitalized on by squeezing the cut and digging his finger into it in order to force the doctor stoppage.[74] The Japanese tried to keep on, but Arona hit another flurry of knees to the head, and ended the fight landing soccer kick after soccer kick, rendering Kazushi's face severely swollen and bloody. Sakuraba would eventually lose the fight by technical knockout after his corner called a stop to the fight at the conclusion of the second round, due to the amount of damage he had sustained.
Following the loss, Pride president Sakakibara suggested Sakuraba might move down in weight to compete in their newly formed 183-pound division. However, instead of moving down in weight, Sakuraba began training atChute Boxe Academy in Brazil alongside his one-time rival Wanderlei Silva. The move had also a symbolic value, as Chute Boxe was at the time in a rivalry with Arona'sBrazilian Top Team.
Upon completion of his training, he made his return to the ring to engage in yet another contest at the 205-pound limit, this time against fellowshoot wrestlerKen Shamrock. Three minutes into the bout, Sakuraba struck through Shamrock's guard with a left hand. Shamrock staggered back and ultimately fell into the ropes, his head hanging out of the ring and his back turned to Sakuraba. Sakuraba rushed in to follow up but before any meaningful offense could be launched, the fight was halted by refereeYuji Shimada. Shamrock got up following the KO and protested vigorously. Opinions were mixed regarding the KO's legitimacy, though Ken's adopted brother and rival,Frank, stated to believe the stoppage was justified: "He got clocked. He went down. According to the rules, he was no longer defending himself and that's the end of the fight."[75]
Prior to Pride'sShockwave 2005 New Year's Eve event, Sakuraba strongly petitioned for a match against fellow shoot wrestler and professional wrestling proponent,Kiyoshi Tamura, even going so far as to publicly request a bout with Tamura. However, with Tamura refusing to face him, Sakuraba recommended another shoot wrestler,Ikuhisa Minowa, who referred to himself as a "real pro wrestler." Sakuraba did not request the match due to any grudge against Minowa, but rather because he believed that he and Minowa would put on a fight worthy of the Shockwave event. The bout was a competitive one, with Sakuraba choosing to fight from the bottom and using both men's submission attempts to force scrambles. After long minutes pinned under Sakuraba, Minowa escaped and took his back, but Kazushi applied a Kimura lock which, although Minowa would not tap to it, nonetheless prompted the referee to halt the contest.[76] The victory marked his final bout under the Pride banner; it also marked one of the few times he was matched against an opponent of his own size from the 183-pound division and his first bout against a Japanese fighter.
On 3 May 2006, Sakuraba surprisingly appeared with Hero's headAkira Maeda at a Hero's event wearing his street clothes (yellow shirt and blue jeans) and a pro wrestling mask in the style of one of his childhood heroes,Tiger Mask. He did not reveal himself, but it was apparent that it was a masked Sakuraba and that he signed with K-1 and FEG. A day later, Sakuraba appeared at a FEG press conference to announce he would fight in Hero's. His defection to Hero's was a culmination of several signs that suggested he was leaving Pride. It was reported that Sakuraba leftTakada Dojo (run by Pride's general manager,Nobuhiko Takada), and conspicuously was not entered into Pride's 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix Tournament.
Sakuraba was then scheduled to compete in Hero's Light Heavyweight Tournament. His first opponent was the 16–5 LithuanianKęstutis Smirnovas. Sakuraba opened the fight striking aggressively, even flooring Smirnovas with a kick, but as he was coming in to follow up he was caught and knocked down to his knees and hands. Kazushi then turned over, sliding beneath the bottom rope, and Smirnovas unleashed repeated blows to his head. As Sakuraba seemed at this point unable to defend himself, when the referee stepped between the two fighters it seemed likely he was moving to put an end to the contest. However, instead of halting the battle, the referee re-positioned the fighters from underneath the bottom rope into the ring and resumed the bout. Though the restarting of fighters who have found themselves near or outside the ropes is common practice, it was nonetheless controversial.[77] Following the restart, Smirnovas picked up where he'd left off and proceed to pound a turtled Sakuraba, but the Japanese managed to escape to his feet and land a sharp combination, staggering Smirnovas and bloodying his face. Having turned the tide of the match, Sakuraba began dominating the Lithuanian on the striking segments until Smirnovas dropped to the ground to escape the assault. Sakuraba then accomplished an armbar, forcing his opponent to give up.[77]
Initially there were some doubts as to whether Sakuraba would be able to make it into the next round of the Hero's tournament based on the severity of the damage he endured against Smirnovas. However, Sakuraba reported that a follow-upCAT scan had found no irregularities and was then slated to face one-timeOlympicjudoka,Yoshihiro Akiyama in the tournament's semi-finals on October 9 in whatK-1 hoped would be a high revenue match-up. The winner of that bout was to face the victor betweenMelvin Manhoef andShungo Oyama to determine a tournament champion. However, during a hard sparring session for the upcoming bout Sakuraba began vomiting and fainted. After being rushed to the hospital he was diagnosed with vertebrobasilar damage that restricted blood circulation to the head and neck area. The doctors determined the damage was caused from years of untreated head injuries dating back to his college years.
In spite of this revelation, rather than being granted a break to recover and possibly undergo surgery Sakuraba scheduled to return to action on December 31, 2006, againstYoshihiro Akiyama atK-1 Dynamite!!. During the bout, Sakuraba was hit with several punches and he rushed to get the takedown, but in doing so he slipped from Akiyama's body. As the sequence repeated itself over and over while Sakuraba took punishment, he opted to drop to his back and attempt akneebar from there, but his grip on the judoka inexplicably failed again. Having Sakuraba trapped against the ropes and struggling for his submission, Akiyama was free to attack withground and pound for the referee stoppage.[78] Words were exchanged between Sakuraba and referee Yoshinori Umeki prior to the stop, which was brought on by the sounding of a bell at the behest ofAkira Maeda, the event coordinator, the referee separating the fighters following the bell rather than initiating the stop himself.
Afterwards, the usually soft-spoken Sakuraba surprised many with complaints that Akiyama's body had been greased. The referee in charge subsequently checked Akiyama's body and gave indication to ringside officials that he had not found anything unusual. In the aftermath of the fight the controversy escalated drastically and new accusations of weighed gloves also surfaced. To deal with the growing controversy,K-1 launched an investigation to look into the accusations against Akiyama. Although Akiyama's gloves were found to be regulation, video-tape revealed Akiyama administering alotion to his skin. Akiyama—who attested he was simply treating his dry skin—was found to have been "negligent" and disqualified. The fight was subsequently declared a no-contest and Akiyama's purse was withheld. A press conference followed, wherein Akiyama—now heavily maligned by the Japanese sports media—offered a public apology.
Although Sakuraba wore a shirt into the ring against Akiyama which read "K Sakuraba: End of Service", his experience against Akiyama apparently changed his plans regarding retirement and at Heros 8 he submitted the winless Yurij Kiseliov byarmbar.
Following that win, he would next share the mixed martial arts ring with his fellow shoot wrestler andUWFi alum,Kiyoshi Tamura. Once again donning the guise of his childhood hero, Tiger Mask, as he had to signal his exodus from Pride Fighting Championships to Heros, Sakuraba this time wore the mask to mark the occasion of his return to Pride at their final DSE promoted show, Kamikaze. Before the assembled crowd at the Saitama Super Arena—Pride's most frequented venue—Sakuraba and Tamura publicly voiced their willingness to meet in a Pride ring, before shaking hands and embracing. A bout between Tamura and Sakuraba had been one of Pride's most frequently promised match-ups, one that had never been delivered upon in spite of several efforts to put it together.
On 2 June 2007, Sakuraba rematched Royce Gracie in K-1 Dynamite!! USA. While Sakuraba knocked Gracie to the canvas in the opening seconds, the bout itself was fought at a relatively slow pace, with Kazushi scoring multiple takedowns and Gracie scoring a number of flailing kicks to the legs and face from the bottom, as well as standing knee strikes to Kazushi's injured and bandaged knee. The Japanese wrestler also besieged Gracie on the ground, finishing the bout having taken the back of Gracie and searching for an armbar. Royce won by unanimous decision, which many viewers and MMA sites disputed immediately on the feeling that Sakuraba won the fight.Sherdog scored it 29–28 in favor of the Japanese fighter.[79] Moreover, Gracie tested positive for steroids after the bout.[80]
Sakuraba returned to the ring on 17 September 2007 at K-1 Hero's 10 against former NJPW pro wrestlerKatsuyori Shibata. Prior to the bout, Shibata's trainer,Masakatsu Funaki had challenged Sakuraba on the basis that their styles would make for an entertaining contest. Shibata came out striking aggressively, but was soon taken to the canvas by Sakuraba's trademark single leg. Shibata unleashed a torrent of blows off his back, but the more experienced Sakuraba responded with strikes of his own before transitioning into an armbar and finishing the bout.
Following his victory, Sakuraba praised the fighting spirit of Shibata[81] and accepted Funaki's challenge. Much like Sakuraba, Funaki was trained inshoot wrestling and emerged into the world of mixed martial arts on the heels of a career in theUWF (the direct predecessor of Sakuraba'sUWF International). Both men also held in common a past history of submission wins over world-class opposition and recognition as two of the top Japanese mixed martial artists to date. Appropriately, their bout took place in the main event of K-1's year endDynamite!! show, which garners more TV viewers each year than any other televised mixed martial arts event in Japan. The two fighters exchanged colourful entrances at the arena, Sakuraba's featuring him andbaseball playerTsuyoshi Shimoyanagi dressed in identical fighting gears andUltraman masks.
Once in the match, Sakuraba was able to sneak in a double leg takedown after Funaki committed heavily to a missed right cross. Funaki closed guard around Sakuraba before opening it up to spin for a kneebar, and for a moment Funaki appeared to secure Sakuraba's leg, but he was thwarted by a combination of Sakuraba's submission acumen and their position against the ring ropes. Sakuraba then maneuvered to Funaki's back, only for the Pancrase founder to roll back into the guard position. Breaking away momentarily from the grappling contest, Sakuraba stood up and began to assault Funaki's legs with a series of kicks, which Funaki answered with an upkick of his own, cutting Sakuraba's eye. Kazushi then returned himself to the ground, where Funaki immediately attempted to sweep him, but Sakuraba blocked the attempt and secured a Kimura lock or double wristlock, eventually forcing Funaki to submit.[82]
After the match, event producerSadaharu Tanikawa spoke about a possible matchup between Sakuraba and Rickson Gracie the next year, which the former approved.[83] However, nothing came from it.
In 2008, it was announced that Kazushi Sakuraba would compete in the Middleweight Grand Prix of the new MMA promotion,Dream. On 29 April 2008, Sakuraba defeated Andrews Nakahara in the main event atDream 2: Middle Weight Grandprix 2008 1st Round. However, he was knocked out (and thus eliminated from the tournament) byMelvin Manhoef in the main event ofDream 4: Middle Weight Grandprix 2008 2nd Round. During the match, Sakuraba suffered an ulnar fracture of the left forearm, which was caused by a kick from Manhoef.[84]
Finally it was announced thatKiyoshi Tamura and Kazushi Sakuraba were set to fight at the K-1Dynamite!! 2008 event on December 31. The fight featured Sakuraba fighting mostly from his back, attemptingarmbars,kneebars andtriangle chokes from his guard while Tamura defended them and applied ground and pound. At the end of the first round, Sakuraba appeared to have an armbar locked in, but the bell sounded before he could extend the arm. Tamura held on at the second, controlling much of the action and consistently kicking Sakuraba's injured legs; he was taken down in the final minute by Sakuraba, who immediately launched a barrage of punches, only for the bell to end his attacks again. Ultimately, Tamura was awarded a unanimous decision.
After his return to Dream, Sakuraba defeatedboxer turned mixed martial artistRubin Williams atDream 11, before facing CroatianZelg Galesic onDream 12. Sakuraba took Galesic to the ground via single leg takedown and he immediately transitioned to a leg lock. Galesic tried to defend himself against the submission by raining punches on Sakuraba. Sakuraba absorbed the punches and held on to Galesic's leg until he successfully made the Croatian tap out due to a kneebar.
On May 29 he facedRalek Gracie, at theSaitama Super Arena inDream 14.[85] It would be the sixth time Sakuraba faced a Gracie, albeit this time with a deep age difference, given the Japanese (41) and the Brazilian (24)'s respective ages. During the match, the wrestler performed significantly against the young Gracie, but the latter kept dominating, evidencing a training specialized to counter Sakuraba's style. There was controversy towards the end of the fight, as Sakuraba seemed to have secured a kimura, only to the referee to pause the match to pull up Ralek's pants. The pause allowed the Brazilian to come back with an armbar, which Kazushi escaped to meet a unanimous decision win for Gracie.
On September 25, at Dream 16, Sakuraba lost toJason "Mayhem" Miller via arm triangle choke.[45]
Sakuraba fought for theDream Welterweight Championship against current championMarius Zaromskis atDynamite!! 2010 in December 2010.[86] The fight ended in doctor stoppage, Sakuraba's ear was partially ripped off.[87]
Sakuraba fought against undefeated Brazilian jiu-jitsu Black BeltYan Cabral atDream 17, losing via head arm triangle. This was Sakuraba's 6th loss in his last 8 fights.
On October 8, 2015, new Japanese mixed martial arts promotionRizin Fighting Federation announced at a press conference that Sakuraba would face fellow Japanese fighter and grapplerShinya Aoki on the December 29, 2015.[88] This was Sakuraba's first fight after taking four years away from the sport. Sakuraba lost the fight via TKO at 5:56 in the first round, after being taken down and receiving ground and pound.
On November 22, 2014, Sakuraba foughtRenzo Gracie in a grappling match inMetamoris V. Renzo played defensive closed guard earlier in the match, with the two exchangingguillotine choke attempts, but he eventually flipped Sakuraba over and pinned him. However, Sakuraba resisted all of his submission attempts, and with 90 seconds left he scrambled and tried to lock a Kimura, which was unsuccessful. The fight ended in a draw.[89][90]
On October 15, 2017, Sakuraba fought former UFC championFrank Shamrock at RIZIN fighting world grand Prix 2017 Autumn: Aki Jin event in Fukuoka, Japan for a grappling exhibition march at 84 kg division. The match ended with a draw decision.[91]
In April 2018, Sakuraba announced the formation of asubmission wrestling promotion namedQuintet (grappling). Based on five-man teams, it is fought under akachi-nuki-shiai tournament format similar toNanatei Judo.[92] He competed in the inaugural event, but his team was eliminated in the semi-final round.
Sakuraba competed atQuintet 4 on September 10, 2023, where he would captain his own team, Team Sakuraba.[93] Sakuraba drew his only match and his team went out in the opening round.[94]
Sakuraba became known for a unique, unorthodox fighting style which has been described as creative[95] and compared to "throwing all we'd thought we'd learned about martial arts on its head."[13] He employed moves and techniques fromprofessional wrestling, among themspinning sole kicks, jumpingstomps,Mongolian chops[13][5] andbaseball slides.[95] He also usedcartwheels topass guard and several kinds of confusing, often comical tricks to gain advantage over his opponent.[5] However, his main strength was his rounded set of abilities developed fromshoot-style wrestling, which included a grinding striking learned frommuay thai[46] and a brilliantcatch wrestling submission expertise. He submitted important grapplers of his time likeRoyler Gracie,Renzo Gracie andMasakatsu Funaki by using his signature double top wrist lock, a technique he opened both from standing and on the ground.[5][95] Though he wasn't afraid of giving hisback to his opponent in order to secure it, Sakuraba would also use the technique as a positional weapon, threatening with it to control his adversary.[95] Renzo Gracie praised his ability to play against his opponent's weaknesses,[61]Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira commended his technical skill,[96] andMark Kerr called him the world's best technician of his era.[97]
Sakuraba is married and has a son.[55] He is anatheist.[55]
He has never cared much about diet and admits to drinkingalcohol and being asmoker.[55][60] Regarding the notable differences in weight between himself and his opponents throughout his career, as well as the banning ofIV's for rehydration (and potentialPED usage), Sakuraba has stated through an interpreter that "it doesn't matter if they [the opponent] use a pill or medicine to get bigger or smaller, I just train hard, eat healthy, fight at my weight and try my best to beat them. For me it doesn't matter if they use drugs, but I would not use it. I'm sure it's bad if they use it to win."[98]
About his proneness to fight outside his weight class, Sakuraba declared "the more impossible the fights got, the more willing to accept them I became". Although he once desired to fight him,[71] he later citedFedor Emelianenko as the only fighter he ever refused to fight.[99]
In June 2021, Sakuraba was a torch bearer for the2020 Summer Olympics.[100][101]
| 46 matches | 26 wins | 17 losses |
| By knockout | 4 | 10 |
| By submission | 19 | 3 |
| By decision | 3 | 4 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| No contests | 2 | |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 26–17–1 (2) | Shinya Aoki | TKO (corner stoppage) | Rizin World Grand Prix 2015: Part 1 - Saraba | December 29, 2015 | 1 | 5:56 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 26–16–1 (2) | Yan Cabral | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Dream 17 | September 24, 2011 | 2 | 2:42 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 26–15–1 (2) | Marius Žaromskis | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Dynamite!! 2010 | December 31, 2010 | 1 | 2:16 | Saitama, Japan | Return to Welterweight. For theDream Welterweight Championship. |
| Loss | 26–14–1 (2) | Jason Miller | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Dream 16 | September 25, 2010 | 1 | 2:09 | Nagoya, Japan | |
| Loss | 26–13–1 (2) | Ralek Gracie | Decision (unanimous) | Dream 14 | May 29, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | Catchweight (192 lb) bout. |
| Win | 26–12–1 (2) | Zelg Galešić | Submission (kneebar) | Dream 12 | October 25, 2009 | 1 | 1:40 | Osaka, Japan | |
| Win | 25–12–1 (2) | Rubin Williams | Submission (kimura) | Dream 11 | October 6, 2009 | 1 | 2:53 | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Loss | 24–12–1 (2) | Kiyoshi Tamura | Decision (unanimous) | Dynamite!! 2008 | December 31, 2008 | 2 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 24–11–1 (2) | Melvin Manhoef | TKO (punches) | Dream 4 | June 15, 2008 | 1 | 1:30 | Yokohama, Japan | 2008 Dream Middleweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal. |
| Win | 24–10–1 (2) | Andrews Nakahara | Submission (neck crank) | Dream 2 | April 29, 2008 | 1 | 8:20 | Saitama, Japan | 2008 Dream Middleweight Grand Prix Opening round. |
| Win | 23–10–1 (2) | Masakatsu Funaki | Submission (kimura) | K-1 PREMIUM 2007 Dynamite!! | December 31, 2007 | 1 | 6:25 | Osaka, Japan | Light Heavyweight bout. |
| Win | 22–10–1 (2) | Katsuyori Shibata | Submission (armbar) | Hero's 10 | September 17, 2007 | 1 | 6:20 | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Loss | 21–10–1 (2) | Royce Gracie | Decision (unanimous) | Dynamite!! USA | June 2, 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | Los Angeles, California United States | Gracie tested positive foranabolic steroids after match. The judges' original decision was not overturned. |
| Win | 21–9–1 (2) | Yurij Kiselov | Submission (triangle armbar) | Hero's 8 | March 12, 2007 | 1 | 1:26 | Nagoya, Japan | |
| NC | 20–9–1 (2) | Yoshihiro Akiyama | NC (overturned) | K-1 PREMIUM 2006 Dynamite!! | December 31, 2006 | 1 | 5:37 | Osaka, Japan | Return to Middleweight. Originally a TKO (punches) win for Akiyama; overturned after he found to have applied lotion to his body. |
| Win | 20–9–1 (1) | Kestutis Smirnovas | Submission (armbar) | Hero's 6 | August 5, 2006 | 1 | 6:41 | Tokyo, Japan | Light Heavyweight debut. 2006 Hero's Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal. |
| Win | 19–9–1 (1) | Ikuhisa Minowa | Technical Submission (kimura) | Pride Shockwave 2005 | December 31, 2005 | 1 | 9:59 | Saitama, Japan | Welterweight debut. |
| Win | 18–9–1 (1) | Ken Shamrock | TKO (punches) | Pride 30 | October 23, 2005 | 1 | 2:27 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 17–9–1 (1) | Ricardo Arona | TKO (corner stoppage) | Pride Critical Countdown 2005 | June 26, 2005 | 2 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | 2005 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal. |
| Win | 17–8–1 (1) | Yoon Dong-sik | KO (punches) | Pride Total Elimination 2005 | April 23, 2005 | 1 | 0:38 | Osaka, Japan | 2005 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix Opening round. |
| Win | 16–8–1 (1) | Nino Schembri | Decision (unanimous) | Pride Critical Countdown 2004 | June 20, 2004 | 3 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 15–8–1 (1) | Antônio Rogério Nogueira | Decision (unanimous) | Pride Shockwave 2003 | December 31, 2003 | 3 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 15–7–1 (1) | Kevin Randleman | Submission (armbar) | Pride Final Conflict 2003 | November 9, 2003 | 3 | 2:36 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 14–7–1 (1) | Wanderlei Silva | KO (punch) | Pride Total Elimination 2003 | August 10, 2003 | 1 | 5:01 | Saitama, Japan | Pride 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix Opening round. |
| Loss | 14–6–1 (1) | Nino Schembri | KO (knees and soccer kicks) | Pride 25 | March 16, 2003 | 1 | 6:15 | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Win | 14–5–1 (1) | Gilles Arsene | Submission (armbar) | Pride 23 | November 24, 2002 | 3 | 2:08 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 13–5–1 (1) | Mirko Cro Cop | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Pride Shockwave | August 28, 2002 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | Heavyweight bout. |
| Loss | 13–4–1 (1) | Wanderlei Silva | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Pride 17 | November 3, 2001 | 1 | 10:00 | Tokyo, Japan | Middleweight debut. For thePride Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 13–3–1 (1) | Quinton Jackson | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Pride 15 | July 29, 2001 | 1 | 5:41 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 12–3–1 (1) | Wanderlei Silva | TKO (knees and soccer kicks) | Pride 13 | March 25, 2001 | 1 | 1:38 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 12–2–1 (1) | Ryan Gracie | Decision (unanimous) | Pride 12 | December 23, 2000 | 1 | 10:00 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 11–2–1 (1) | Shannon Ritch | Submission (achilles lock) | Pride 11 | October 31, 2000 | 1 | 1:08 | Osaka, Japan | |
| Win | 10–2–1 (1) | Renzo Gracie | Technical Submission (kimura) | Pride 10 | August 27, 2000 | 2 | 9:43 | Tokorozawa, Japan | |
| Loss | 9–2–1 (1) | Igor Vovchanchyn | TKO (corner stoppage) | Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals | May 1, 2000 | 1 | 15:00 | Tokyo, Japan | 2000 Pride Openweight Grand Prix Semifinal. |
| Win | 9–1–1 (1) | Royce Gracie | TKO (corner stoppage) | 6 | 15:00 | 2000 Pride Openweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal. Rules modified for unlimited rounds/no ref stoppages. After 90 minutes the fight was ended after six 15 minute rounds, three of them being overtime rounds. | |||
| Win | 8–1–1 (1) | Guy Mezger | TKO (retirement) | Pride Grand Prix 2000 Opening Round | January 30, 2000 | 1 | 15:00 | Tokyo, Japan | 2000 Pride Openweight Grand Prix Opening round. |
| Win | 7–1–1 (1) | Royler Gracie | Technical Submission (kimura) | Pride 8 | November 21, 1999 | 2 | 13:16 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 6–1–1 (1) | Anthony Macias | Submission (armbar) | Pride 7 | September 12, 1999 | 2 | 2:30 | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Win | 5–1–1 (1) | Ebenezer Fontes Braga | Submission (armbar) | Pride 6 | July 4, 1999 | 1 | 9:23 | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Win | 4–1–1 (1) | Vitor Belfort | Decision (unanimous) | Pride 5 | April 29, 1999 | 2 | 10:00 | Nagoya, Japan | |
| Draw | 3–1–1 (1) | Allan Goes | Draw (time limit) | Pride 4 | October 11, 1998 | 3 | 10:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 3–1 (1) | Carlos Newton | Submission (kneebar) | Pride 3 | June 24, 1998 | 2 | 5:19 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 2–1 (1) | Vernon White | Submission (armbar) | Pride 2 | March 15, 1998 | 3 | 6:53 | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Win | 1–1 (1) | Marcus Silveira | Submission (armbar) | UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan | December 21, 1997 | 1 | 3:44 | Yokohama, Japan | Won theUFC Japan Heavyweight Tournament. |
| NC | 0–1 (1) | Marcus Silveira | NC (premature stoppage) | 1 | 1:51 | Heavyweight debut.UFC Japan Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal. Originally a KO (punches) win for Silveira; overturned after review due to a referee error. | |||
| Loss | 0–1 | Kimo Leopoldo | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Shoot Boxing – S-Cup 1996 | July 14, 1996 | 1 | 4:20 | Tokyo, Japan | Openweight bout. |
| 1 match | 1 win | 0 losses |
| By submission | 1 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Rene Rooze | Submission (toe hold) | UWF-i Scramble Wars | June 26, 1996 | 1 | 19:44 | Nagoya, Aichi, Japan |
| 8 matches | 1 win | 2 losses |
| By submission | 0 | 1 |
| By decision | 1 | 1 |
| Draws | 5 | |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
| Loss |  Gilbert Burns | Decision (points) | Quintet Ultra | December 12, 2019 | 1 | N/A | |
| Win |  Takanori Gomi | Decision (points) | Quintet Fight Night 4 | November 30, 2019 | 1 | N/A | |
| Exhibition | Wataru Miki | Exhibition | Quintet Fight Night 2 | February 3, 2019 | 1 | 5:00 | |
| Loss |  Richie Martinez | Submission (D'Arce choke) | Quintet II | July 15, 2018 | 1 | N/A | |
| Draw |  Dan Strauss | Draw | Quintet | April 11, 2018 | 1 | 10:00 | |
| Draw | Shutaro Debana | Draw | 1 | 10:00 | |||
| Draw | Frank Shamrock | Draw | Rizin World Grand Prix Opening Round Part 2 | October 15, 2017 | 1 | 10:00 | |
| Draw | Wanderlei Silva andKiyoshi Tamura | Draw | Rizin FF 1 | 2016 | 1 | 15:00 | Partnered withHideo Tokoro. |
| Draw | Renzo Gracie | Draw | Metamoris V | 2014 | 1 | N/A |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Nagurimono | Ginkaku | |
| 2009 | Baton | Robot Guard | Voice |
| 2018 | Mutafukaz | El Diablo[110] | Voice; Japanese dubbing version |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
,Wrestlingdata.comLinks to related articles | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
