Japanese MMA Stars – Where Are They Now?
In recent years, the once-prominent Japanese version of MMA has taken a huge downslide to the point where it’s almost been irrelevant in the present climate as the sport continues to grow in North America and Europe.
The UFC still holds a show at the Saitama Super Arena every year, and Pride founder Nobuyuki Sakakibara came out with upstart promotion Rizin Fighting Federation, which will host a three-day fighting extravaganza featuring Fedor Emelianenko in the main event this New Year’s Eve, but overall, its obvious that the explosive days of Pride FC have now turned to fond memories.
With Japanese MMA back in the news somewhat, now s a great time to take a look back at some of the biggest and best stars from JMMA’s heyday and find out what they’re up to now.
Where are some of your Japanese MMA heroes today? Let’s find out.
3.) Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto
This popular Japanese legend got out to a blazing start to his MMA career with a 17-1(1) with 14 finishes in his first 19 fights, winning the Hero’s 2005 Lightweight Grand Prix in the process.
Putting together some of the most shocking knockouts in Japanese MMA history headlined by his four-second flying knee win over Kazuyuki Miyata at Hero’s 5 in 2006, Yamamoto was set to explode onto the international scene when he signed with the UFC and made his debut at bantamweight against currently dominant UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson in February 2011.
Yamamoto lost that bout, and he went on to lose three straight in the UFC (and five of his last six overall) before taking a long break after his loss to Vaughan Lee at UFC 144 in Japan. “Kid” returned to the octagon at this February’s UFC 184 against Roman Salazar, but the bout ended with an unfortunate no contest after Salazar absorbed an eye poke and was unable to continue.
The now 38-year-old “Kid’s” best fighting days are clearly behind him, but he remains a shining presence in the sport’s history as he keeps up a role in his home country as a prominent promoter of the sport. It’s unknown whether or not he’ll fight for the UFC again, but it would be a sort of no-brainer booking for Sakakibara to include him on the Rizin New Year’s show if it was at all contractually possible.
2. Minowaman
Ikuhisa Minowa made a legendary career for himself as an iron man who was willing to fight anyone at anytime.
His never-give-up attitude lead to an insane 61-39-8 record in MMA, and while he may not be taking on names like Don Frye, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, and Kazushi Sakuraba like he did back in Pride’s heyday, in truth, “Minowaman” is still going strong today. He’s fought a lofty four times in 2015, which is much more than most UFC fighters can say, and he’s won two of those bouts, which were all in different promotions.
The seemingly ageless Minowa also continues to compete in pro wrestling in Japan at 39 years old, proving that he’s one of the toughest and hardest working Japanese MMA fighters to ever set foot in the ring.
His greatest accomplishment will most likely be winning the 2009 DREAM Super Hulk Tournament by stopping monstrous beings Bob Sapp, Hong Man-Choi, and finally UFC fighter Remeau Thierry Sokoudjou, but as an underrated iron man who routinely fought and sometimes won) five times in a year, it’s no surprise to see this legend still going strong.
His influence has spread effectively into more theatrical version of combat, where he debuted as the fifth generation Tiger Mask, and his ability to entertain combat-crazed Japanese fans will remain unparalleled until he retires, if he ever does.
1.) Kazushi Sakuraba
Possibly the most recognizable name in Japanese MMA history, revered submission Kazushi Sakuraba remains a bright light in Japanese MMA history and is still active in combat sports to this day.
After rising to insane levels of stardom in the early 2000’s thanks to his wins over the revered Gracie family that earned him the moniker of “Gracie Killer,” Sakuraba was thrust into the spotlight as Japanese MMA’s great hope to contend with the rest of the world.
While he had mixed results against top names like Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Filipovic, “Lil’ Nog,” and Ricardo Arona, Sakuraba’s influence on his people was nothing but massive and cannot be denied. He stopped fighting in MMA following a submission loss to current UFC athlete Yan Cabral in 2011, a bout that followed losses to mid-level competition like Jason Miller and Marius Zoromskis.
But that wouldn’t deter “Saku,” as he stayed active by joining New Japan Pro Wrestling and participating in a number of high-profile matches. He also took on former rival Renzo Gracie, whom he submitted with a vicious arm-wrenching kimura in Pride that will go down in fighting history, in a grappling match at Metamoris on November 22, 214, a bout that ended in a draw.
Known to take on anyone at anytime similar to his countryman “Minowaman,” Sakuraba earned the respect of his fans and peers with his toughness and grinding style. His run isn’t over quite yet, however, as he’ll return to the ring to take on Japanese grappling sensation Shinya Aoki at Sakakibara’s Rizin Fighting World grand Prix.
He’s long past his prime and will square off with one of the best submission artists in the world at 39, but hey, that’s what made Sakuraba so great in the first place.
