| 1 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 2 | |
| 3 | [[folder:Debuted in Shin-Kakutōgi AKA The Pre-Shooting Years AKA Shooto's Forefathers AKA Super Tiger Gym Alumni (1984-88)]] |
| 4 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tiger_gym.PNG]] |
| 5 | [[caption-width-right:350:The Original Logo]] |
| 6 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/20141217_1217792.jpg]] |
| 7 | [[caption-width-right:350:Not To Confused With Shooting Sports]] |
| 8 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/super_tiger_gym.jpg]] |
| 9 | [[caption-width-right:350:Eye of The Tiger (Mask)]] |
| 10 | !!!Hiroyuki Aizawa |
| 11 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 12 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | !!!Toshio Ando |
| 15 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 16 | * {{Jobber}}: Was in Shooto for only two fights. He lost in both. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | !!!Noboru Asahi |
| 19 | -->''"They often call off my passivity. But look, out of my 30 fights, only 5 have went to the judges..."'' |
| 20 | |
| 21 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Alexandre Franca "Pequeno" Nogueira who beat him twice. |
| 22 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama, Victor Koga and Noriaki Kiguchi. |
| 23 | * CoolTeacher: Founded the Tokyo Yellow Mans Gym after he retired. |
| 24 | * DoNotCallMePaul: His real first name is Shin'ichi. |
| 25 | * FourIsDeath: Was a part of the called "Shooto Shitenno" along with Hayato Sakurai, Rumina Sato and Enson Inoue. He also debuted earlier than the others. |
| 26 | * GameBreakingInjury: Retired from fighting in 2004 due to cervical spine injuries. |
| 27 | * HeAlsoDid: Was Shooto’s first producer and helped lay the foundation of Shooto’s training system and complied the Shooto’s fight records. |
| 28 | * HiddenDepths: Is a painter in his spare time and has put on his own art exhibitions. He also designs t-shirts and logos (for example, he drew the Kiguchi Dojo gorilla logo). |
| 29 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: Also trained in UsefulNotes/{{Sambo}} and was one of Noriaki Kiguchi first students in combat wrestling. Some sources list him as having a background in amateur wrestling, but he himself states that while the university he attended had a strong wrestling team, he was never a part of it and he only did baseball before he became a student at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 30 | * NightmareFace: He got his nickname due to the weird shape of his nose and face. |
| 31 | * RedBaron: "Kijin" ("The Strange Man"). |
| 32 | * TheRival: To Yuki Nakai. |
| 33 | * TheWorfEffect: By Royler Gracie at the Vale Tudo Japan. |
| 34 | |
| 35 | !!!Shigeki Chiba |
| 36 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 37 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 38 | |
| 39 | !!!Kazumi Chikiyoshi |
| 40 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 41 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 42 | * {{Jobber}}: Was in Shooto for only one fight beaten by Noboru Asahi. |
| 43 | * RedBaron: "Chigira". |
| 44 | |
| 45 | !!!Gokor Chivichyan |
| 46 | * TheAce: He is officially undefeated in any kind of combat sport competition. |
| 47 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/GeneLebell and is considered his best student. |
| 48 | * BadassTeacher: Is the head coach of Hayastan MMA Academy and has trained many fighters like Harout Terzyan, Karo Parisyan, Manvel Gamburyan, Ronda Rousey, Karen Darabedyan, Sako Chivitchian, Roman Mitichyan, Neil Melanson, Oleg Taktarov, Frank Shamrock, Tony Halme, Tom Howard, Mick Tierney, etc. |
| 49 | * GuestFighter: Perhaps the first one in Shooto. |
| 50 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Sambo}}: As well as UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}, both Kodokan and Kosen, amateur and UsefulNotes/CatchWrestling, UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu as well as Japanese jujitsu, boxing, UsefulNotes/MuayThai, and he also says that he start his martial arts learning with an Armenian wrestling style called Kokh. |
| 51 | * MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong: Sort of, he was born in Armenia when it was still part of the Soviet Union. |
| 52 | * RedBaron: "The Armenian Assassin". |
| 53 | * TeenGenius: Was about 16 or 17 when he first met Wrestling/GeneLebell and started submitting all his other students who were at least a decade older than him. |
| 54 | |
| 55 | !!!Yutaka Fuji |
| 56 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 57 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 58 | * {{Jobber}}: A very short pro career with three fights. He lost all three. |
| 59 | |
| 60 | !!!Mitsuo Fujikura |
| 61 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 62 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 63 | * {{Jobber}}: A very short pro career with 3 fights, winning his first, drawing his second, and losing his last. |
| 64 | |
| 65 | !!!Toshio Fujiwara |
| 66 | * TheAce: In UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}, out of 141 professional fights before retiring at age 35, he won 126, with a remarkable 99 by knockout. |
| 67 | * TheApprentice: To Kenji Kurosaki. |
| 68 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Is the president of the Japan Martial-Arts Directors. |
| 69 | * BadassTeacher: Founded his own gym, Toshio Fujiwara Sports Gym and has trained guys like Satoshi Kobayashi, Masahiro Yamamoto, Sanshu Tsubakichi, Takaaki Nakamura, and of course Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 70 | * {{Determinator}}: Was originally considered too frail for the rigors of the rough new sport of kickboxing by his master, and even was pointed out for not being able to skip rope without falling down. After 6 months of hard training with Kurosaki, Fujiwara entered the ring, where he was badly beaten in his first and second outings. Undaunted, he redoubled his efforts and began to win. Persistent in his efforts, Fujiwara was eventually recognized as a dedicated and serious prospect. |
| 71 | * GuestStarPartyMember: Was a UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} trainer at the Super Tiger Gym before he got his own gym in 1997. |
| 72 | * HiddenDepths: Tried to be a pro golfer after he retired from UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} and is a manager of a golf course. |
| 73 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} and UsefulNotes/MuayThai: Trained at the original Mejiro Gym in Japan and the Kurosaki Dojo. He also trained in UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} at the Kodokan, amateur wrestling with the Takushoku University Wrestling Club, and Western boxing at the Kadoebihōseki Boxing Gym to round off his skills. He also trained in Taikiken and originally trained in Shito-ryu UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} before kickboxing. |
| 74 | * LivingLegend: A Japanese UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} legend. |
| 75 | * NonActionGuy: Was a special adviser in RINGS and UFO. |
| 76 | * OldMaster: Retired from UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} at 1983 and has been a coach since. |
| 77 | * PintSizedPowerhouse: In his prime at 5ft 6 and 61kg. |
| 78 | * RedBaron: "Kikku no Kamisama" ("God of Kicking"). |
| 79 | * SadistTeacher: Noted to be a harsh trainer and Sayama of all people once told him to ease up, as he was scaring students away from his gym. |
| 80 | * StartMyOwn: Fujiwara Festival, an annual UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} event. |
| 81 | * TrainingFromHell: In his active UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} career, an average day of training for him lasts 10 hours and then he spends about 2 hours training in either boxing, wrestling or UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} right after that. |
| 82 | * UrExample: He was the first non-Thai to win a national UsefulNotes/MuayThai title belt in Bangkok, a fact that many older Thais still remember and respect about him. He also became the first ever non-Thai stadium champion in 1978 when he won the lightweight title at Rajadamnern Stadium. |
| 83 | |
| 84 | !!!Kōji Fukuma |
| 85 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama and Yorinaga Nakamura. |
| 86 | * CoolTeacher: Co-founded the Team Jun Fan Shooto Dojo (changes to the Mixed Martial Arts Dojo CLOVERZ, currently goes by Paraestra Hiroshima SOUTH). |
| 87 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}: Before his training at the Super Tiger Gym. He later left with Yorinaga Nakamura to Los Angeles to train in Jeet Kune Do, UsefulNotes/{{Karate}}, UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}, and UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu. |
| 88 | * UnknownCharacter: Like Yorinaga Nakamura, he was another high level Shooto trainer that only competed in the Pre-Shooto years so almost no one has seen him fight. |
| 89 | |
| 90 | !!!Joji Igarashi |
| 91 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 92 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 93 | |
| 94 | !!!Toyohiko/Yuki Ishikawa |
| 95 | -->''"I don’t care about the pro wrestling business, I just think about Battlarts and myself."'' |
| 96 | |
| 97 | * EightiesHair: A mullet in his PWFG days. He shaved it off some time later. |
| 98 | * AffectionateParody: Of Wrestling/AntonioInoki, though as more of a tribute to him and had his own quirks that made him this rather than an {{Expy}}. His ring entrance with the robe and towel over his neck, his usual wrestling attire of the classic black trunks and boots and even a lot of his wrestling style is based on Inoki. He even got to face Inoki in an exhibition match in PWFG and faced Algerian Olympic boxer Mohamed Azzaoui in a Different Styles Fight in Battlarts to create his own version of UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli vs Wrestling/AntonioInoki. |
| 99 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/KarlGotch, Boris Malenko, Wrestling/YoshiakiFujiwara and Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 100 | * ArchEnemy / VitriolicBestBuds: With Wrestling/AlexanderOtsuka and Daisuke Ikeda. |
| 101 | * AscendedFanBoy: A big fan of pro wrestling growing up and took a lot of inspiration for his Battlarts promotion from several wrestlers and promotions. |
| 102 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Owner and president of Battlarts and its successor Battle Arts and wrestled in both regularly. |
| 103 | * CombatCommentator: Has provided commentary for Battlarts shows. |
| 104 | * CoolTeacher: He is a co-founder and the head shoot wrestling and MMA trainer at the Battle Arts Academy. He also trained wrestlers such as Wrestling/KanakoUrai and Wrestling/SantinoMarella at the original Battlarts Dojo, B-Club. |
| 105 | * EarlyBirdCameo: He was part of the Super Tiger Gym in his university years and even fought at a pre-Shooto event in 1988 before he went to train under Wrestling/KarlGotch in Florida. |
| 106 | * EliteFour: Part of the Battlarts Big Four. |
| 107 | * EmbarrassingFirstName: He adopted the name of Yuki because didn't like his born name, Toyohiko. He also gained an EmbarrassingNickname of "Toy" when he was training at the Malenko Gym, which may have added to his name change. |
| 108 | * FakeUltimateHero: Downplayed, as most people didn’t think he had much of a chance in the first place, but he took on Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at Pride 17 to avenge Wrestling/AlexanderOtsuka’s earlier loss to him at a Battlarts show, since he was the head of Battlarts. He got TKO’ed in less than 2 minutes. His other loss in MMA was against RINGS veteran Yasuhito Namekawa, who punched him into submission. |
| 109 | * GuestFighter: Made a few appearances in RINGS. |
| 110 | * HeAlsoDid: Played Toshio Kajiwara in the live action film adaption of Garouden in 1995. He also appeared in Wrestling/YoshiakiFujiwara's Submission Master instructional series where he was featured and led the "bodymaking" segments of the series. |
| 111 | * IKnowKarate: As well as UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}, shoot and UsefulNotes/CatchWrestling. |
| 112 | * MagneticHero: Unlike most heads of U-System promotions, Ishikawa is noted to be quite personable and has made many friends in the business with his sheer charisma and passion for pro wrestling. Kazunari Murakami of all people has admitted that working with Ishikawa was when he developed a love for pro wrestling. |
| 113 | * MultidisciplinaryScientist: The guy has done everything: learned UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}, was taught UsefulNotes/CatchWrestling by Wrestling/KarlGotch and Boris Malenko, was taught shoot wrestling by Wrestling/SatoruSayama at the Super Tiger Gym and even competed at a Pre-Shooto event and also trained under Wrestling/YoshiakiFujiwara in PWFG, competed in Seidokaikan against Masaaki Satake, did MMA, and even took part in Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling's 1995 Young Lions Cup. |
| 114 | * OddFriendship: With Wrestling/SantinoMarella. Yes, ''that'' Santino Marella. |
| 115 | * OldSoldier: While not a pro fighter at the time like Manabu Yamada, he did fight at a Pre-Shooto event long before he arrived at PWFG. |
| 116 | * RealSongThemeTune: "Theme One" by Cozy Powell. |
| 117 | * RedBaron: "Moeru Jonen" ("Burning Sentiment"), "Ikare Shachō" ("Crazy President"). |
| 118 | * StartMyOwn: Wrestling/{{Battlarts}}. |
| 119 | * WouldHitAGirl: Like his master Fujiwara, he is one of the few guys in the U-System that is comfortable with training females and also gets in the ring against them from time to time. |
| 120 | |
| 121 | !!!Yoshimasa Ishikawa |
| 122 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 123 | * BigBrotherMentor: Noboru Asahi says he was one in the early days of Shooto. |
| 124 | * CoolTeacher: A trainer for Shooting Gym Yokohama. He later opened his own school Mixed Martial Arts Shooshindo. |
| 125 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/CatchWrestling: Trained under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym and also learned shootboxing under Caesar Takeshi. |
| 126 | |
| 127 | !!!Kazuyuki Itagaki |
| 128 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 129 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 130 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one pro fight in Shooto, a loss against Hidehiko Satake. |
| 131 | |
| 132 | !!!Shinichi Ito |
| 133 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 134 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 135 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Yuji or Takenori. |
| 136 | |
| 137 | !!!Yūji Itō |
| 138 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama and Noriaki Kiguchi. |
| 139 | * TheCaretaker: Was assigned as Wrestling/KarlGotch’s when he visits Japan. |
| 140 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym and also trained in Combat Wrestling under Noriaki Kiguchi. |
| 141 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: His surname is sometimes spelt as Itoh. |
| 142 | * UrExample: Though he lost, he was in the main event fight at the first pro Shooto event with Yuichi Watanabe. He did avenge his loss a year later though. |
| 143 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Shinichi or Takenori. |
| 144 | |
| 145 | !!!Hiroyuki Kanno |
| 146 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 147 | * CoolTeacher: A trainer at the Shooting Gym Saginuma. |
| 148 | * HoldUpYourScore: Has served as a Shooto judge when he retired from fighting. |
| 149 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. He was also a former Kyokushin karateka. |
| 150 | |
| 151 | !!!Kyōji Katsuyama |
| 152 | * AlliterativeName |
| 153 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama and Singsak Sosiripan. |
| 154 | * CoolTeacher: Was an assistant instructor at the Super Tiger Gym. He later became the head trainer of the Muay Thai Fighting Academy. |
| 155 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/MuayThai: Represented the Singsak Victory Gym and also trained at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 156 | |
| 157 | !!!Kenji Kawaguchi |
| 158 | * AlliterativeName |
| 159 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Was beaten twice by Erik Paulson. |
| 160 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama, Yuko Miyato, and Naoyuki Taira. |
| 161 | * ArchEnemy: Most of his losses came at the hands of foreigners. |
| 162 | * TheBusCameBack: He has done this twice. He retired from full time fighting in 1999, then came back in 2006 with a TKO win against Deividas Petrauskas at Shooto: The Devilock. He came back again in 2015 losing to Yuki Kondo at Pancrase: 271. |
| 163 | * CoolOldGuy: Was in the first pro Shooto event and his latest fight was in 2015, do the math. |
| 164 | * CoolTeacher: The head trainer of Shooting Gym Yokohama. |
| 165 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: Was among the first trainees under Sayama in at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 166 | * RedBaron: "Shodai Shūtā" ("First Shooter"), "Shūtingu Saikyō no Otoko" ("Shooting's Strongest Man"). |
| 167 | * UrExample: Was the first Shooto light heavyweight champion. |
| 168 | * TheWorfEffect: Was undefeated with 10 wins and 4 draws till he was KO'ed by Dutch kickboxer Jan Lomulder at Vale Tudo Japan 1994. He did get his revenge at Vale Tudo Japan 1997. |
| 169 | |
| 170 | !!!Noriaki Kiguchi |
| 171 | -->''"Catch, catch, catch! That is our goal!"'' |
| 172 | -->-- The Combat Wrestling motto. |
| 173 | |
| 174 | * BadassTeacher: Owns the Kiguchi Gym where he trained guys like Takanori Gomi, Rumina Sato, Baret Yoshida, Naoki Sakurada, Norifumi Yamamoto, Noboru Asahi, Yuki Nakai, Hayato Sakurai, Genki Sudo, etc. |
| 175 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Sambo}}: Champion under Victor Koga's tutelage. He also trained amateur wrestling in school, and UsefulNotes/CatchWrestling under Wrestling/SatoruSayama, which he started teaching it at his own gym. |
| 176 | * NonActionGuy: Was a teacher for many of the Shooto guys though he never competed himself. |
| 177 | * OddFriendship: With pro wrestler Dick "The Destroyer" Beyer. |
| 178 | * OldMaster: Was training people in his own basement (nicknamed "Tiger Hole" in English), before he became an instructor at the Super Tiger Gym, then he got his own gym. |
| 179 | * StartMyOwn / UrExample: Founded Combat Wrestling and has been hosting events since the 1990s. |
| 180 | |
| 181 | !!!Kōki Kitahara |
| 182 | * EightiesHair: Always had some close to a mullet in his prime. |
| 183 | * AlliterativeName |
| 184 | * TheApprentice: To Hideyuki Ashihara, Wrestling/SatoruSayama and Wrestling/GenichiroTenryu. |
| 185 | * TheBigGuy: Was for some time the biggest guy from the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 186 | * TheBrute: For Wrestling/GenichiroTenryu in SWS and WAR as he was the only one who was a legitimate shooter in Tenryu’s entourage. |
| 187 | * CoolTeacher: He now owns the Capture International Dojo where he instructs in MMA and pro wrestling. |
| 188 | * DoNotCallMePaul: His real first name is Tatsumi. |
| 189 | * IKnowKarate: Trained in Kyokushin and Ashihara UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} before he started training in shoot wrestling at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 190 | * NonIndicativeName: Once wrestled in Canada as Sumo Hara, even though he never had any training in sumo. |
| 191 | * OldMaster: Was an instructor at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 192 | * OvershadowedByAwesome: Is one of Sayama's least known apprentices that took up pro wrestling. |
| 193 | * PromotedFanBoy: He was a big Wrestling/SatoruSayama fan. He actually went to the UWF Dojo without having watched any UWF shows in order to became his disciple. The dojo rejected him because it was full, so he instead went to the Super Tiger Gym to meet him personally, and eventually he became an instructor of his hero's gym. |
| 194 | * RealMenLoveJesus: Maybe, he has been shown to do the sign of the cross before he walks out for his matches, though it is not known if he is a believer or just does it for luck without the religious influence. |
| 195 | * RedBaron: "Shooting Machine". |
| 196 | * RetiredBadass: Has officially retired from wrestling at the Wrestling/KentaKobashi promoted Fortune Dream 5 event on June 11, 2018. |
| 197 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: His name is sometimes spelled as Kohki Kitahara. |
| 198 | * StartMyOwn: Founded his own wrestling promotion, Capture International, which is basically shoot style wrestling on wrestling mats in arena basements. |
| 199 | * StoutStrength: Was quite a hefty dude in his prime and was strong enough to German suplex Wrestling/KojiKitao. He lost some of his heftiness over the years though. |
| 200 | * WrestlerInAllOfUs: A veteran wrestler for Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling, Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling, Canadian National Wrestling Alliance, Super World of Sports, Wrestle Association R, and Tenryu Project. |
| 201 | * WrestlingDoesntPay: Inverted, he got into puroresu because Shooto did not have professional bouts in his time. |
| 202 | |
| 203 | !!!Atsushi Kobayashi |
| 204 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 205 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 206 | |
| 207 | !!!Victor Koga |
| 208 | -->''"Do you know Victor Koga, who brought Sambo to Japan? I’ve known him since high school. He is in Yokosuka and was a friend of my wrestling coach. I’m bringing this back to my high school years again, but I remember seeing an arrogant foreign looking old man watching our training. He was watching with our coach and I was like “Who is this guy?” Then, he invited me to come over and he caught me in a lot of different techniques. But he said I was interesting, so it would be good for me to go against his son. So, he taught me lots of techniques and taught me how to do the “Victor roll” back then."'' |
| 209 | -->-- Wrestling/MinoruSuzuki |
| 210 | |
| 211 | * TheAce: He was apparently unbeaten in competitive sambo. |
| 212 | * TheApprentice: To Riichiro Watanabe in UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}. |
| 213 | * BadassTeacher: Trained guys like Wrestling/SatoruSayama, Noriaki Kiguchi, Hidetaka Aso, Rusher Kimura, and many more. |
| 214 | * CoolOldGuy: Was still teaching UsefulNotes/{{Sambo}} into his 80s. Also apparently, it was a recommendation by Koga that allowed Wrestling/MinoruSuzuki get into Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling. |
| 215 | * DoNotCallMePaul: His Japanese first name is Shouichi. |
| 216 | * EverythingsBetterWithSamurai: Is a descent of samurai from his father's side, as well as the cossacks from his mother's side. |
| 217 | * GuestStarPartyMember: Was the UsefulNotes/{{Sambo}} trainer at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 218 | * HuskyRusskie: ButNotTooForeign as he was half-Russian and half-Japanese. |
| 219 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Sambo}}: Trained with the top ranked sambists of his time and won the first European Sambo championship. He also trained in UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}, UsefulNotes/{{Aikido}} and amateur wrestling. |
| 220 | * LivingLegend: Of Japanese UsefulNotes/{{Sambo}}, he even has a tournament named after him called the Victor Koga SAMBO Cup. |
| 221 | * MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong: Was sent to the Soviet Union to learn sambo. |
| 222 | * OldMaster: '''The''' master of Japanese UsefulNotes/{{Sambo}}. He was also a technical advisor to Kenji Nakazawa and his Aikisambo organisation. |
| 223 | * RedBaron: "Kamisama no Sambo" ("God of Sambo"). |
| 224 | * SignatureMove: The Victor Roll, a sambo entry into leg locks that he is credited with creating. |
| 225 | |
| 226 | !!!Joji Koguchi |
| 227 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 228 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 229 | |
| 230 | !!!Junichi Kubota |
| 231 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 232 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 233 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one pro fight in Shooto against Suguru Shigeno, which ended in a draw. |
| 234 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Misaki. |
| 235 | |
| 236 | !!!Hideo Kuroda |
| 237 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama and Singsak Sosiripan. |
| 238 | * CoolOldGuy: Won his kickboxing titles in his 40s. |
| 239 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/MuayThai: One of the first to represent the Singsak Victory Gym and was a UKF International Super Lightweight Champion and UKF World Super Welterweight Champion. He originally started at the Super Tiger Gym in his high school years and was the runner up at the first pre-shooting 62kg tournament. |
| 240 | * PromotedFanBoy: Was a Sayama fan before training under him. |
| 241 | |
| 242 | !!!Kazuhiro Kusayanagi |
| 243 | * AlliterativeName |
| 244 | * TheApprentice: To Noriaki Kiguchi and Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 245 | * CoolTeacher: Founded the K'z Factory Shooto Gym. |
| 246 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Combat Wrestling]]: A trainee under Noriaki Kiguchi before training with Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym and was the 74kg champion at the inaugural All Japan Championships in 1994. He also has a black belt in UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu and also has a background in UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} and amateur wrestling. |
| 247 | * TheRival: To Naoki Sakurada. |
| 248 | * TheWorfEffect: Got KO'ed by David Levicki at Vale Tudo Japan 1994 in over a minute. |
| 249 | |
| 250 | !!!Yasushi Maeda |
| 251 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 252 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 253 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one pro fight in Shooto against Hiroshi Matsuoka, though he did win it. |
| 254 | |
| 255 | !!!Hiroshi Matsuoka |
| 256 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 257 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 258 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one pro fight in Shooto against Yasushi Maeda, he lost. |
| 259 | |
| 260 | !!!Hiroaki Matsutani |
| 261 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 262 | * CoolTeacher: A trainer at K'z Factory Shooto Gym. |
| 263 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 264 | |
| 265 | !!!Mitsuteru Mimura |
| 266 | * AlliterativeName |
| 267 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama and Noriaki Kiguchi. |
| 268 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: A certified manager of the Shooto Commission, Director of the Fukui Echizen City Wrestling Association and the Japan Combat Wrestling Association Fukui Prefecture Headquarters. |
| 269 | * CoolTeacher: Founded the Shooto-Kai Mimura Dojo. He also ran the AGF Freestyle Club when he was still part of Kiguchi Dojo. |
| 270 | * IKnowKarate: and trained in UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} at the Mejiro Gym. He later trained in Combat and shoot wrestling at the Super Tiger Gym and Kiguchi Dojo. |
| 271 | * UnknownCharacter: Like Yorinaga Nakamura, he was another high level Shooto trainer that only competed in the Pre-Shooto years so almost no one has seen him fight. |
| 272 | |
| 273 | !!!Kaori Miyako |
| 274 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 275 | * CoolTeacher: A trainer at K'z Factory Shooto Gym. |
| 276 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 277 | |
| 278 | !!!Yorinaga Nakamura |
| 279 | -->''"He was definitely one of the most knowledgeable guys on leglocks."'' |
| 280 | -->-- Erik Paulson |
| 281 | |
| 282 | * TheApprentice: One of the first trainees under Sayama. |
| 283 | * AscendedFanboy: Was inspired by Creator/BruceLee movies to pursue martial arts and was a Manga/TigerMask fan before he joined the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 284 | * CoolTeacher: He is the founder and head instructor of the Inosanto United Martial Arts (IUMA) schools in Japan. |
| 285 | * IKnowKarate: And kung fu, and UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}. Notably, he knows Kansui-ryu UsefulNotes/{{Karate}}, the style founded by Wrestling/AntonioInoki. He also learned kali, silat, UsefulNotes/MuayThai and jeet kune do when he went to America under Dan Inosanto. |
| 286 | * OldMaster: A former instructor of the Super Tiger Gym. Introduced and teaches shoot wrestling in Dan Inosanto's academy and also teaches kali, silat, UsefulNotes/MuayThai and jeet kune do. |
| 287 | * UnknownCharacter: He was the first high level Shooto trainer and one of the winners of the first tournament in the promotion (the 66kg class), but as the event was amateur and untelevised and he left for United States shortly after to teach shoot wrestling, almost nobody in the sport's fandom has seen him fight. |
| 288 | * UnrelatedBrothers: Has no relation to Keitaro. |
| 289 | * UrExample: Brought Shooto to the US. He also brought Jeet Kune Do to Japan. |
| 290 | * WrestlingFamily: Has a younger brother, Yukihiro Nakamura who is a professional mask craftworker who owns YN Studio and is the exclusive craftsman for Wrestling/SatoruSayama under the brand, Tiger Arts, and has also worked for his trainees like Tiger Mask IV, Super Tiger II and Tiger Shark, as well as others like Wrestling/UltimoDragon and Mister Cacao. He also founded and is the director of a professional wrestling mask museum in Tsu city, Mie prefecture and the Wrestling/SatoruSayama museum in Misaki Town, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. |
| 291 | |
| 292 | !!!Kenjiro Nomoto |
| 293 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 294 | * CoolTeacher: Was an assistant instructor at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 295 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 296 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: His name is sometimes spelt as Kenjiroh. |
| 297 | |
| 298 | !!!Tomonori Ohara |
| 299 | * EightiesHair: A mullet. |
| 300 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Is the President of the Japan Martial Arts Association. |
| 301 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama and Noriaki Kiguchi. |
| 302 | * CoolTeacher: A trainer at the Shooting Gym Tokai. |
| 303 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/CatchWrestling: Trained under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym , combat wrestling at the Kiguchi Gym, and also learned shootboxing under Caesar Takeshi. He also trained in boxing and was a pro boxer. |
| 304 | * {{Jobber}}: A pro record of 5 wins, 12 losses and a draw. |
| 305 | |
| 306 | !!!Makoto Ozaki |
| 307 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 308 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 309 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one pro fight in Shooto losing against Kenichi Tanaka. |
| 310 | * UrExample: Was in the first pro Shooto fight against Kenichi Tanaka. |
| 311 | |
| 312 | !!!Tomoyuki Saito |
| 313 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 314 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 315 | * {{Jobber}}: Has only two wins in his pro career with 4 draws and 3 losses. |
| 316 | |
| 317 | !!!Kazuhiro Sakamoto |
| 318 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 319 | * CoolTeacher: A former trainer for Shooting Gym Yokohama, now the head trainer of Shooting Gym Tokyo. |
| 320 | * IKnowKarate: Trained in this and amateur wrestling before becoming a trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. He was the lightweight champion of the second pre-shooting tournament. |
| 321 | * TheRival: With Kenichi Tanaka as they fought 4 times with each getting two wins and losses. |
| 322 | |
| 323 | !!!Naoki Sakurada |
| 324 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Was beaten by Kenji Kawaguchi twice. |
| 325 | * TheApprentice: Was one of Noriaki Kiguchi's first students. |
| 326 | * CoolTeacher: Better known as a trainer than a fighter. He helped Noriaki Kiguchi train many others in combat wrestling and teaches Shooto at his own gym, the Gutsman Shooto Dojo. |
| 327 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Combat Wrestling]]: One of the first guys to learn the sport and of course shoot wrestling and fought in the first pro Shooto event. |
| 328 | * RedBaron: "Mr Gutsman". |
| 329 | |
| 330 | !!!Masayuki Sakurai |
| 331 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 332 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 333 | |
| 334 | !!!Hidehiko Satake |
| 335 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 336 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 337 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one pro fight in Shooto, a win against Kazuyuki Itagaki. |
| 338 | |
| 339 | !!!Yasuto Sekishima |
| 340 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 341 | * CoolTeacher: A trainer at the Shooting Gym Narita. |
| 342 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/CatchWrestling: Trained under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. He was originally a judoka and also trained in shootboxing under Caesar Takeshi and combat wrestling under Noriaki Kiguchi. |
| 343 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: Has also been listed as Yasushi Sekishima. |
| 344 | * UrExample: The first Shooto middleweight champion. |
| 345 | |
| 346 | !!!Suguru Shigeno |
| 347 | * AlliterativeName |
| 348 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 349 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 350 | * {{Jobber}}: Has only two wins on his pro record with 5 losses and 5 draws. |
| 351 | |
| 352 | !!!Katsunori Suzuki |
| 353 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 354 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 355 | |
| 356 | !!!Toshiharu Suzuki |
| 357 | * CombatReferee: For a long time, Suzuki was Shooto's only referee. He is now the head referee of Shooto. |
| 358 | * GameMaster: He was the official rulemaker of Shooto and was also a board member of the International Shooto Commission. |
| 359 | |
| 360 | !!!Yōichi Suzuki |
| 361 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 362 | * CoolTeacher: Founded the ALIVE Dojo. |
| 363 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee at the Super Tiger Gym. He later gained a black in UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu. |
| 364 | * UnknownCharacter: Like Yorinaga Nakamura, he was another high level Shooto trainer that only competed in the Pre-Shooto years so almost no one has seen him fight. |
| 365 | |
| 366 | !!!Naoki Tagawa |
| 367 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 368 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 369 | |
| 370 | !!!Naoyuki Taira |
| 371 | -->''"Baki is modeled after Naoyuki Taira. Back in the early 90's, when nobody knew of BJJ, Taira, a shootboxer with Daidojuku karate, Sayama's shooting (now known as shooto), boxing, and sambo backgrounds, was one of the most complete fighters in Japan. At that time, Taira's fighting style was really really entertaining, just like Sakuraba in his prime. He KOed his opponents with flying high kicks, backspin kicks, and sometimes threw his opponent with damn beautiful German suplex (Throws are allowed in shootboxing). The yound Taira was really like Baki. In 1994, Taira went to Denver to watch the 2nd UFC, saw the defeat of Minoki Ichihara by Royce Gracie, and cried. After that he started learning BJJ under Carley Gracie."'' |
| 372 | -->-- From a [[https://www.google.com.sg/amp/s/www.mixedmartialarts.com/forums/amp/Japan/Grappler-Baki:380209 Mixed Marital Arts forum]] user named hinerin. |
| 373 | |
| 374 | * TheApprentice: To Takashi Azuma, Kazuyoshi Ishii, Isamu Kuwata, Wrestling/SatoruSayama, Victor Koga, Caesar Takeshi, Sot Chitalada, Napa Kiatwanchai, Chamuekpet & Panomtuanlek Hapalang, Adam Hsu, Michio Shimada, Kenji Shimazu, and Carley Gracie. |
| 375 | * AscendedFanboy: Like Yorinaga Nakamura, he was a Creator/BruceLee fanboy. |
| 376 | * BadassFamily: His father was a professional boxer and his brother was an amateur boxing champion. |
| 377 | * CaptainErsatz: Is the inspiration and model for Manga/BakiTheGrappler's main character, Baki Hanma. Averted in his guest role in the anime, as the voice of a referee. |
| 378 | * CombatPragmatist: He may have oiled himself up in his second RINGS fight with Eric Edelenbos. |
| 379 | * CombatReferee: He has served as a referee in ZST, K-1, shootboxing, and professional wrestling matches. He even voice acted as a referee in the Manga/BakiTheGrappler anime. |
| 380 | * CoolTeacher: He now owns and is the head instructor of Strapple MMA Gym. He also had a previous club called Zenshō Sōgō Kakutōgi-bu. |
| 381 | * GuestFighter: Had a few fights in RINGS. |
| 382 | * HiddenDepths: Worked part-time jobs at various restaurants during his fighting career and was reportedly a great cook. |
| 383 | * IKnowKarate: A Kyokushin and Seidokaikan black belt and also trained in Daidōjuku, boxing at Tokyo's Teiken Boxing Gym and Sot Chitarada Gym, shoot wrestling and UsefulNotes/{{Sambo}} at Super Tiger Gym, shootboxing at Caesar Gym, UsefulNotes/MuayThai at Hapalang Gym in Thailand, several forms of Kung Fu, Taikiken (a Japanese martial art inspired by and modified from the Chinese martial art, Yiquan), Yagyū Shingan-ryū (a traditional Japanese martial art), and is a 2nd degree UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu black belt and trained at Carley Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy. He also did UsefulNotes/{{Bodybuilding}} and Sotai (a Japanese form of muscular or movement therapy invented by Keizo Hashimoto). |
| 384 | * LightningBruiser: Loved launching into his opponents with flying knees. |
| 385 | * MasterOfAll: He could really do it all in the ring, he had decent boxing, superb kicking and knees, excellent throws and suplexes, and most of his wins in his short MMA record were by submission. |
| 386 | * OddFriendship: With Manson Gibson. |
| 387 | * OldMaster: He served as an instructor at Super Tiger Gym and had a hand in training Wrestling/MitsuyaNagai, Tri-Force owner Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa, and Grabaka fighters Sanae Kikuta, Yuki Sasaki, and Takeshi Yamazaki. |
| 388 | * PowerTrio: With his Shootboxing pals Makoto Ohe and Kenichi Abe. |
| 389 | * RedBaron: "Gurappurā" ("The Grappler"), "The Prize Fighter", "The Real Baki". |
| 390 | * RenaissanceMan: Just look who he has trained with. |
| 391 | * SpectacularSpinning: Threw spinning backfists and kicks when he felt like it, which was actually quite often. |
| 392 | * WrestlerInAllOfUs: Has wrestled for Wrestling/MichinokuProWrestling and Battlarts. |
| 393 | |
| 394 | !!!Somuchāi Takatsu |
| 395 | * TheApprentice: To Naoyuki Taira, Yorinaga Nakamura, and Kōki Kitahara. |
| 396 | * AscendedFanBoy: Sort of, interestingly he was not a fan of Wrestling/SatoruSayama, but was a fan of one of his enemies Kuniaki Kobayashi. |
| 397 | * BrattyHalfPint: Was 17 when he trained at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 398 | * CoolTeacher: Was a trainer of the OGUNI Gym. |
| 399 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}: A professional kickboxer, he also went to Thailand to learn UsefulNotes/MuayThai, was a former trainee of the Super Tiger Gym in high school. |
| 400 | |
| 401 | !!!Seiji Takeuchi |
| 402 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 403 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 404 | |
| 405 | !!!Kenichi Tanaka |
| 406 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 407 | * CombatReferee: Was one for Seikendo events. |
| 408 | * CoolTeacher: A former trainer at the Shooting Gym Tsudanuma and founded Super Tiger Gym Tanaka Juku. |
| 409 | * IKnowKarate: A kyokushin practitioner before training under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym and also trained at his Seikendo school. He also trained in koppo at Chogokai gym. |
| 410 | * TheRival: To Kazuhiro Sakamoto, who he fought with 4 times with 2 wins and losses over each other. |
| 411 | * TheWorfEffect: Was beaten badly by Kenichi Iimura (one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Daido Juku) under Daido Juku rules (which to be fair limited his groundfighting skills and the helmets’ poor visibility didn’t help, plus his opponent had a weight advantage). |
| 412 | * UrExample: Was in the first pro Shooto fight with a win over Makoto Ozaki and was also the first Shooto Lightweight Champion. |
| 413 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Tomohiro or Koichi. |
| 414 | * WorthyOpponent: To Noboru Asahi who he drew with twice. |
| 415 | |
| 416 | !!!Yoshiharu Tashiro/Taro Minato |
| 417 | * TheApprentice: To Toshihiro Yamaki, Wrestling/SatoruSayama, Noriaki Kiguchi and Rambo Matsukaze. |
| 418 | * CoolTeacher: Owned the Fuchu UsefulNotes/MuayThai Club. |
| 419 | * GuestFighter: Made a few appearances in RINGS and Pancrase. |
| 420 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}: A world middleweight champion, he also went to Thailand to learn UsefulNotes/MuayThai, was a former trainee of the Yamaki Gym, Super Tiger Gym and Kiguchi Dojo in high school and also trained at KIBA Martial Arts Club. |
| 421 | * {{Jobber}}: Had a MMA record of 6 losses. |
| 422 | * RedBaron: Was called "The Tiger" in The USA. |
| 423 | |
| 424 | !!!Kaoru Todori |
| 425 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama and Koki Kitahara. |
| 426 | * GuestFighter: He later appeared at the first Capture International show. |
| 427 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 428 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one pro fight in Shooto against Kazuhiro Kusayanagi which he lost. |
| 429 | |
| 430 | !!!Takashi Tojo |
| 431 | * AlliterativeName |
| 432 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 433 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 434 | * {{Jobber}}: A short pro career with no wins, 2 losses and 3 draws. |
| 435 | |
| 436 | !!!Kengo Tsuchida |
| 437 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 438 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 439 | * {{Jobber}}: Was only in Shooto for two pro fights, which he both lost. |
| 440 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: Tsuchida or Tsuchiya? |
| 441 | |
| 442 | !!!Yoshihiko Watanabe |
| 443 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 444 | * CoolTeacher: Founded the Shooting Gym Hakkei. |
| 445 | * HiddenDepths: Is referred to by peers as a doctor, though a doctor of what has not been revealed. |
| 446 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/MuayThai: Competed in Thailand before he trained at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 447 | * UnknownCharacter: Like Yorinaga Nakamura, he was another high level Shooto trainer that only competed in the Pre-Shooto years so almost no one has seen him fight. |
| 448 | |
| 449 | !!!Yuichi Watanabe/Super Rider |
| 450 | * AnimalMotifs: A grasshopper as Hopper King. |
| 451 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 452 | * BadassFamily: He has two sons, Shuto "Shooto" Watanabe and Kenshiro Watanabe that are now MMA fighters that have worked for ZST. Yuichi’s father was also a judoka. |
| 453 | * CombatReferee: Was one for Seikendo events. |
| 454 | * CoolMask: As Hopper King and Super Rider. |
| 455 | * CoolTeacher: Was a trainer at the Shooting Gym Mobara. He also was an instructor for his master's Seikendo school, now he runs the Super Tiger Gym Gunma. |
| 456 | * IHaveManyNames: Has wrestled as Hopper King and Super Rider. |
| 457 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/CatchWrestling: A trainee under Wrestling/SatoruSayama in Shooto and was also one of his first trainees at his Seikendo school. He also learned shootboxing under Caesar Takeshi, was an amateur wrestling champion in high school, was the captain of his high school club wrestling club with Wrestling/MitsuharuMisawa as his vice-captain and Wrestling/ToshiakiKawada as his junior, competed in the 1984 All Japan Student Wrestling Championships representing Nihon University losing to future Olympic medalist Kosei Akaishi in the finals in the 68kg freestyle division, and also trained in UsefulNotes/{{Sambo}} and a bit of UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}. |
| 458 | * MaskedLuchador: Subverted, he was originally a competitive Shooto fighter so he didn't learn the lucha libre style his master could have taught him. |
| 459 | * ThePeteBest: Was perhaps the first of Sayama's trainees to wrestle under a mask, but is not as well known as his later apprentices like Tiger Mask IV. |
| 460 | * RedBaron: "Kamen Shooter". |
| 461 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: For some reason, in his [[TheCameo cameo]] appearance in the Choke documentary, it lists him as Yoshinari Watanabe. |
| 462 | * UrExample: The first Shooto Welterweight Champion. |
| 463 | * WrestlerInAllOfUs: After his Shooto career, he went into pro wrestling working with promotions like W*ING, Network Of Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Crusaders, Social Pro Wrestling Federation, Big Japan Pro Wrestling, IWA Kakutoshijuku, Battlarts, Wrestling/DramaticDreamTeam, Pro Wrestling KAGEKI, Wrestling/ProWrestlingZero1, Diamond Ring, Hard Hit, and of course Real Japan Pro Wrestling. |
| 464 | |
| 465 | !!!Yukimasa Watanabe |
| 466 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama and Wrestling/LouThesz. |
| 467 | * BodyguardingABadass: Was a bodyguard to former NJPW wrestler Kengo Kimura, who is also a politician now. |
| 468 | * EverythingsBetterWithSamurai: He apparently comes from a samurai family. |
| 469 | * FriendToAllChildren: Runs a child care institution called "Love for Children". |
| 470 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/CatchWrestling: Trained at the Super Tiger Gym and Wrestling/LouThesz's wrestling school. He also trained in UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}. |
| 471 | * RealMenWearPink: Wore a pink long robe with hearts all over it during his entrances. |
| 472 | * RedBaron: "Kanashiki Tensai" ("Sad Genius"), "Tatakau Kikoku Shijo" ("Fighting Returnee Child"). |
| 473 | * StartMyOwn: Founded wrestling promotions like United Nations Wrestling and Napoleon. |
| 474 | * WrestlerInAllOfUs: Wrestled in Pro Wrestling Crusaders under his real name and his own promotions as Sad Genius. |
| 475 | |
| 476 | !!!Ken Yamasawa |
| 477 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 478 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 479 | |
| 480 | !!!Tomoyuki Yamashita |
| 481 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 482 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 483 | |
| 484 | !!!Katsuyoshi Yano |
| 485 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 486 | * CoolTeacher: Head instructor of the Musashimurayama Kakuto Club. |
| 487 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym and was a runner up in the second pre-shooting tournament. |
| 488 | * {{Jobber}}: Had two pro fights in Shooto, both which he lost. |
| 489 | * OvershadowedByAwesome: One of the few shootists that competed before pro bouts started in 1989, his pro debut was against Rumina Sato, which he lost. |
| 490 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: Is listed as Katsuaki on English sites for some reason. |
| 491 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Masaru. |
| 492 | |
| 493 | !!!Masaru Yano |
| 494 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 495 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 496 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one pro fight in Shooto against Hiroyuki Kanno and lost. |
| 497 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Katsuaki. |
| 498 | |
| 499 | !!!Tadashi Yokoyama |
| 500 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 501 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Is the vice-president of the Japan Shooto Association. |
| 502 | * HeAlsoDid: Was once part of Shooto’s Human Resources department. |
| 503 | * HoldUpYourScore: Became a Shooto judge after he retired from fighting. |
| 504 | * IKnowKarate: A black belt before he became a trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 505 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one pro fight in Shooto which he lost. |
| 506 | * UnrelatedBrothers: Is not related to Tetsuo. |
| 507 | |
| 508 | !!!Tetsuo Yokoyama |
| 509 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 510 | * CoolTeacher: Was an assistant instructor at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 511 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 512 | * {{Jobber}}: Had a very short pro career with 4 fights and won only one of his last fight. |
| 513 | * UnrelatedBrothers: Is not related to Tadashi. |
| 514 | [[/folder]] |
| 515 | |
| 516 | [[folder:Debuted in The Pro-Shooting Years (1989-94)]] |
| 517 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shooto_3.png]] |
| 518 | [[caption-width-right:350:When Shooto Was Shooto]] |
| 519 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shooto_logo_1.PNG]] |
| 520 | [[caption-width-right:350:This Is What An Awesome Shooto Logo Looks Like]] |
| 521 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shooto_1.PNG]] |
| 522 | [[caption-width-right:350:This is Shooto]] |
| 523 | !!!Shinji Abe |
| 524 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 525 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 526 | * {{Jobber}}: Was in Shooto for only one fight against Noboru Asahi. He lost of course. |
| 527 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Hiroyuki, Kazuya, Masatoshi, or Yoshihiko. |
| 528 | |
| 529 | !!!Yoshihiko Abe |
| 530 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 531 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 532 | * {{Jobber}}: Was in Shooto for only two fights. He lost in both. |
| 533 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Hiroyuki, Kazuya, Masatoshi, or Shinji. |
| 534 | |
| 535 | !!!Satoshi Fukuoka |
| 536 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 537 | * CoolTeacher: Was the head instructor of Shooting Gym Osaka and the main trainer of Jutaro Nakao. |
| 538 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. He was also a former amateur wrestler. |
| 539 | * {{Jobber}}: A short career with 3 fights, two losses and a draw. |
| 540 | |
| 541 | !!!Yuji Hashiguchi |
| 542 | * TheApprentice: To Yoshinori Nishi. |
| 543 | * GuestFighter: From Wajutsu Keishukai. |
| 544 | * IKnowKarate: A Shotokan 7th dan black belt and was a kata champion for the Japan Karate Association. He was also a trainee at Wajutsu Keishukai. |
| 545 | * {{Jobber}}: Had two fights in Shooto, he lost both fights. |
| 546 | |
| 547 | !!!Tetsuya Hirada |
| 548 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 549 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 550 | * {{Jobber}} |
| 551 | |
| 552 | !!!Satoshi Honma |
| 553 | -->''"Satoshi Honma is another of those odd cases: An early MMA pioneer who fought in all four of the great organizations, challenged for one of their championships, and remains almost completely unknown and unrecognized. A lifelong karateka and grappler who started fighting for Shooto in 1990, Honma would have cups of coffee in K-1, Pride and the UFC alike, and twice fought for the Shooto Light-Heavyweight title, but he retired at just 4-6-3--and three of those four victories happened in the first year of a career that lasted fourteen years. I have a weird respect for the fact that he fought the last 89% of his career nearly constantly losing and still kept trying. There is a certain greatness in trying to get back on the horse. When that horse is Ron Waterman outweighing you by 80 pounds and repeatedly punching you in the face, admittedly, it might not have been wise. But this is how history is made."'' |
| 554 | -->-- A profile of Honma from a VideoGame/FireProWrestling user [=CarlCX=] from https://steamcommunity.com |
| 555 | |
| 556 | * TheApprentice: To Kenichi Tanaka, Noriaki Kiguchi, Naoyuki Taira, Kenichi Abe, and Kazuyoshi Ishii. |
| 557 | * CoolTeacher: He has his own dojo affiliated with the Strapple Network. |
| 558 | * IKnowKarate: A Seidokaikan black belt, which he trained in after he left Shooto. He also trained in Combat Wrestling, boxing, shootboxing and was originally a trainee at the Tsudanuma Dojo and also trained at Zenshō Sōgō Kakutōgi-bu. |
| 559 | * MinoredInAssKicking: Aside from MMA he also has a win in UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} against English kickboxing champion Wayne "Homeboy" Turner at K-1 Survival '99. |
| 560 | * ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Left Shooto as the pay was too poor for him. |
| 561 | |
| 562 | !!!Takashi Ishizaki |
| 563 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 564 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. He also trained in UsefulNotes/{{Kendo}}. |
| 565 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one win in Shooto with 4 losses and a draw. |
| 566 | |
| 567 | !!!Takenori Ito |
| 568 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 569 | * CoolTeacher: A former trainer at Tsudanuma MMA Dojo. |
| 570 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 571 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Yuji. |
| 572 | |
| 573 | !!!Jun Kanetaka |
| 574 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 575 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 576 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Takeshi Miyanaga. He lost. |
| 577 | |
| 578 | !!!Misaki Kubota |
| 579 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 580 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 581 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only three fights in Shooto, two losses and a draw. |
| 582 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Junichi. |
| 583 | |
| 584 | !!!Masakazu Kuramochi |
| 585 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 586 | * CoolTeacher: A former trainer at the R-Blood Mixed Martial Arts Academy. |
| 587 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 588 | * HiddenDepths: Opened up a video game arcade when he retired from fighting. |
| 589 | |
| 590 | !!!Takuya Kuwabara |
| 591 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Beaten twice by Takenori Gomi. |
| 592 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 593 | * CoolTeacher: A trainer at Purebred Omiya. |
| 594 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. He also had a background in UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} and boxing. |
| 595 | * OvershadowedByAwesome: A decent fighter with draws against Caol Uno and Hayato Sakurai and took decision losses from Takenori Gomi twice and Rumina Sato, he was just never considered a big star. |
| 596 | * RedBaron: "Kuwataku", "Massō (or Massoh)". |
| 597 | |
| 598 | !!!Takeshi Miyanaga |
| 599 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 600 | * EmbarrassingNickname: He was called "Johnny" for some reason. |
| 601 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 602 | |
| 603 | !!!Makoto Mizoguchi |
| 604 | * AlliterativeName |
| 605 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 606 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 607 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only two fights in Shooto, he lost both. |
| 608 | |
| 609 | !!!Eiji Mizuno |
| 610 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 611 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 612 | * {{Jobber}}: Had three fights in Shooto, a win, a loss, and a draw. |
| 613 | |
| 614 | !!!Keiichi Motomura |
| 615 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 616 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 617 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Masaya Onodera and lost. |
| 618 | |
| 619 | !!!Yoshiaki Murai |
| 620 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 621 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: The head of his MMA team Midzukijuku. |
| 622 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 623 | * {{Jobber}}: Had two fights in Shooto, which he both lost. |
| 624 | |
| 625 | !!!Tadashi Murakami |
| 626 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Mamoru Okochi. |
| 627 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 628 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 629 | |
| 630 | !!!Yuki Nakai |
| 631 | -->''"That night I could have died. And I would have chosen to die."'' |
| 632 | |
| 633 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 634 | * AscendedFanBoy: Was a UWF fan. |
| 635 | * BadassTeacher: Started up the Paraestra Shooto Gyms and trained fighters like Shinya Aoki, Masakazu Imanari, Masakatsu Ueda, Satoru Kitaoka, Yukinori Sasa, Kazuya Satoh, Yusuke Honma, Yoshihiko Matsumoto, Arabe Kenji, etc. |
| 636 | * BloodKnight: Bleeding and wobbling, Nakai left the ring after the Pittman fight [[ScreamingWarrior screaming for Rickson.]] |
| 637 | * CoolVersusAwesome: Had a grappling match in Shooto with fellow HandicappedBadass Jean-Jacques Machado. |
| 638 | * {{Determinator}}: A gouged eye and two beatdowns are not enough to stop Yuki. |
| 639 | * DiabolusExNihilo: From the Gracie point of view during the Vale Tudo Japan, Nakai became a stylistically worrying opponent for them after they watched him fend off Pittman with a kind of guard they had never seen. It can be seen in the ''Choke'' documentary, when Rickson looks confused while his brother Royler tries to explain with BuffySpeak how it is Nakai's butterfly guard. |
| 640 | * HandicappedBadass: Had to retire from MMA due to the damaged to his eye, as he lost its eyesight and couldn't see the punches, but he keep competing in grappling, he even rumpled the legendary Ricardo de la Riva Goded in a jiu-jitsu match. |
| 641 | * HeroOfAnotherStory: Or possibly HeroAntagonist in the Choke documentary, which follows Rickson Gracie’s 1995 Vale Tudo Japan run, but most people are likely to say that Nakai was the real star and to Shooto he was most definitely the former as he proved the credibility of Shooto as an effective fighting style after the disappointing performance by the shootists in the 1994 Vale Tudo Japan event. |
| 642 | * HonorBeforeReason: Kept his half blindness a secret to protect the reputation of MMA, knowing that if the press found it out, a herd of MoralGuardians would decry unjustly the sport for being violent and etc. Also, he made a point by releasing the heel hook on Gordeau when he tapped out - [[WhatYouAreInTheDark how many people would have not felt inclined to]] [[PayEvilUntoEvil pay him the same way and leave him crippled forever?]] |
| 643 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}: Most specifically, kosen judo. He is a former Shichitei champion from the Hokkaido university, as well as apprentice of famous Kodokan master Kanae Hirata, he actually started his UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} training in Hokkaido Sapporo North high school, along with amateur wrestling. He also has a black belt in UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu, although he never trained formally at it (he was given the belt by Carlos Gracie after Nakai did well in the world BJJ championships, which he trained with the help of real BJJ black belt Enson Inoue). |
| 644 | * MajorInjuryUnderreaction: Submitted Gerard Gordeau with an eye destroyed, then submitted Craig Pittman half blind and outsized by almost his own weight, and went to stale Rickson Gracie for a time until he was tapped out. |
| 645 | * TheRival: To Noboru Asahi, the cause of his sole defeat before hitting the VTJ. |
| 646 | * OldMaster: A renowned one in grappling, also the first UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu black belt in Japan and president of the Japanese BJJ confederation. |
| 647 | * PintSizedPowerhouse: He is a pretty small guy, but [[Franchise/StarWars the Force is strong in him.]] |
| 648 | * RedBaron: Was given the nicknames "The Cobra" and later "The Giant Slayer" by the English announcer at Vale Tudo Japan 1995. |
| 649 | * TellMeHowYouFight: Has declared in several occasions the idea that fighting is a form of communication, and he teaches martial arts, according to him, to help people to communicate, which is a trouble in the often socially difficult Japanese community. |
| 650 | |
| 651 | !!!Takashi Nishizawa |
| 652 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama and Yorinaga Nakamura. |
| 653 | * CoolTeacher: Taught Shooto in Los Angeles and later ran the RINGS Oregon dojo. Subverted, as it is said that he did all this without permission from Wrestling/SatoruSayama and Wrestling/AkiraMaeda. |
| 654 | * GeniusBruiser: Studied journalism at the University of Oregon. |
| 655 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. He later trained under Yorinaga Nakamura in Jeet Kune Do. |
| 656 | * IntrepidReporter: Is a freelance reporter. Unfortunately, he is well known as an ImmoralJournalist. |
| 657 | * {{Jerkass}}: Was a notable troublemaker in the martial arts industry. |
| 658 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only three fights in Shooto, with 2 losses and won his last fight. |
| 659 | |
| 660 | !!!Hiroki Noritsugi |
| 661 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Got beaten twice in United Full Contact Federation Ultimate Fighting 2 by Dennis Hallman. |
| 662 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama and Matt Hume. |
| 663 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Is the chairman of KAKUMEI Kickboxing organisation. |
| 664 | * CoolTeacher: The head of Nagoya Fight Club. He was also the original head of Chokushinkai Dojo. |
| 665 | * IKnowKarate: A Kyokushin karateka before he became a trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. He also trained with Matt Hume at AMC Pankration. |
| 666 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto losing against Yuki Nakai. |
| 667 | * StartMyOwn: Developed his own form of UsefulNotes/{{Karate}}; Chokushinkai (also spelled Cyokushinkai) based on his background of Kyokushin UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} and shoot wrestling. |
| 668 | |
| 669 | !!!Norito Ogasawara |
| 670 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 671 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 672 | * {{Jobber}}: A loss to Takenori Ito was his only fight. |
| 673 | |
| 674 | !!!Yasuyuki Ogata |
| 675 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 676 | * CombatReferee: A licensed Shooto referee since 1991. |
| 677 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. He only competed in amateur bouts from 1989 to 1991. |
| 678 | |
| 679 | !!!Kenji Ogusu |
| 680 | * TheApprentice: To Noriaki Kiguchi and Noboru Asahi. |
| 681 | * CoolTeacher: Founded the K.O. Gym. |
| 682 | * HiddenDepths: He is now a writer, thinker, osteopath and social entrepreneur. |
| 683 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: As well as combat wrestling at the Kiguchi Gym. He later became a UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu black belt with 2 All Japan Championships and was a 2006 Asian Cup winner. |
| 684 | * {{Jobber}}: A short career mostly filled with draws though he only lost once. |
| 685 | |
| 686 | !!!Masahiro Oishi |
| 687 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 688 | * CoolOldGuy: He started MMA in 1993 and still fighting. |
| 689 | * CoolTeacher: A trainer at the Shooto Gym K'z Factory. |
| 690 | * GuestFighter: Appeared and wrestled at a PWFG show. |
| 691 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 692 | * RedBaron: "Jackal". |
| 693 | * RingOldies: Over 50 and still kick ass. |
| 694 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: Oishi or Ooshi? |
| 695 | |
| 696 | !!!Mamoru Okochi |
| 697 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 698 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Had his own MMA team Okochi Gundan. |
| 699 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 700 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Takayuki. |
| 701 | |
| 702 | !!!Masaya Onodera |
| 703 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 704 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 705 | * {{Jobber}}: A short career with three fights, a win, a loss, and a draw. |
| 706 | |
| 707 | !!!Erik Paulson |
| 708 | -->''"I have trained under Dan Inosanto, Yori Nakamura, the Gracies as well as the Machados. I have had a total of over 40 coaches and trainers to develop my overall game."'' |
| 709 | |
| 710 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Was beaten twice by Paul Jones. |
| 711 | * TheApprentice: To Yorinaga Nakamura and is his most well known student. |
| 712 | * BadassFamily: Has a younger brother named Leif Paulson who is an outstanding up and coming grappler in his own right. |
| 713 | * BraidsOfAction: Horrifyingly deconstructed in the 1995 World Combat Championships, in which he fought with long hair tied in braids because he could not cut it for work schedules (he was a stuntman and double in a film). His opponent James Warring took advantage of it in a very bad way - he pulled it and literally dragged Paulson ByTheHair through the mat, making his corner throw the towel. |
| 714 | * CoolTeacher: Most known as MMA trainer and helped train guys like Josh Barnett, Wrestling/KenShamrock, Renato Sobral, Cub Swanson, Sean Sherk, James Wilksand, and Wrestling/BrockLesnar. |
| 715 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}: And many, ''many'' other martial arts, especially Jeet Kune Do, kali, UsefulNotes/WingChun and silat. |
| 716 | * MightyWhitey: Was the first non-Japanese Shooto champion, besting Kenji Kawaguchi in an upset. |
| 717 | * NeverBeHurtAgain: His reason to learn other martial arts was that UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} failed him as a self-defense art when he was bullied as a child (actually due again to his long hair, which got pulled - it seems that Erik couldn't take a break). |
| 718 | * RedBaron: "The Storm", "The American Wonder". |
| 719 | * StartMyOwn: Founder of Combat Submission Wrestling and STX UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}. |
| 720 | * UrExample: Along with Chad Stahelski of all people, they were the first foreigners to fight in Shooto. He is also the first one in Shooto to have trained in UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu. |
| 721 | * WeUsedToBeFriends: With the Gracies. He started his training in BJJ with them and was the one that invited Rickson Gracie to the first Vale Tudo Japan event, they had a falling out when they found out he had enter the World Combat Championship event, which Renzo was also entering and continued his training in BJJ with the Machado Brothers. |
| 722 | * WorfHadTheFlu: Infamously played in the WCC tournament, in which he was classified as a striker and thus he had forbidden to use submissions, which got him gassed and destroyed after a tough round against a UsefulNotes/MuayThai fighter. When he faced UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} champion James Warring in the next round, he barely could attempt to take him down, and his hair made the rest. |
| 723 | |
| 724 | !!!Chad Stahelski |
| 725 | * TheApprentice: To Yorinaga Nakamura. |
| 726 | * CoolTeacher: Worked as an instructor at the Inosanto Martial Arts Academy before his film career. |
| 727 | * HeAlsoDid: Kind of inverted as he is more famously known from his stunt double work with Brandon Lee on Film/TheCrow1994 and Creator/KeanuReeves on Film/TheMatrix and as a co-director of Film/JohnWick. Barely anyone knows that he fought in Shooto. |
| 728 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}: As well as Jeet Kune Do and shoot wrestling and many other martial arts at the Inosanto Academy. |
| 729 | * {{Jobber}}: Lost his fight with Manabu Yamada. |
| 730 | * UrExample: Along with Erik Paulson, was the first foreigners to fight in Shooto. |
| 731 | |
| 732 | !!!Masato Suzuki |
| 733 | * TheApprentice: To Kenji Kawaguchi. |
| 734 | * CoolTeacher: A trainer at Shooting Gym Yokohama. |
| 735 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee at Shooting Gym Yokohama. He also trained in boxing. |
| 736 | * {{Jobber}}: Well, he did have to face future Shooto superstars Rumina Sato, and Noboru Asahi who beat him twice. |
| 737 | |
| 738 | !!!Akiyuki Takatsuka |
| 739 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 740 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 741 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only fight against Mamoru Okochi and lost. |
| 742 | |
| 743 | !!!Akbar Talei |
| 744 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Is the International Director of WNFCKO. |
| 745 | * CoolTeacher: Has First Class Coaching License for Full Contact and Kick Boxing, and has a Saiko Shihan Certificate in New Full Contact Karate, the highest coaching rank in Japan. |
| 746 | * GuestFighter |
| 747 | * IKnowKarate: A 7th dan in New Full Contact UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} ("Gloved UsefulNotes/{{Karate}}" or "Shin-karate") and world champion. He also competed in UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}. |
| 748 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only fight in Shooto against Kazuhiro Sakamoto and lost. |
| 749 | * UrExample: The first Iranian in Shooto and K-1 and one of the first fighters in Shooto not trained in the Shooto system. Also brought the New Full Contact UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} Style ("Gloved UsefulNotes/{{Karate}}" or "Shin-karate") to Iran and the Middle East. |
| 750 | |
| 751 | !!!Tomohiro Tanaka |
| 752 | * AlliterativeName |
| 753 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 754 | * TheBusCameBack: Retired from full time fighting in 1992, then came back in 2011 at ZST - Swat! in Face 9 losing to Ken Komoda. |
| 755 | * CombatReferee: Became a Shooto referee after he retired from fighting. |
| 756 | * CoolTeacher: A former trainer at the Shooting Gym Yokohama. He now runs the Shooting Circle, a weekly gathering for beginner students. |
| 757 | * TheIdiotFromOsaka |
| 758 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 759 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Kenichi or Koichi. |
| 760 | |
| 761 | !!!Seiichi Tsurusaki |
| 762 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 763 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 764 | * {{Jobber}}: Was in Shooto for one fight against Takashi Nishizawa, which he lost. |
| 765 | |
| 766 | !!!Kyuhei Ueno |
| 767 | * TheApprentice: To Kenji Kawaguchi. |
| 768 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Is the secretary general of the Kyushu Japan Shooto Association. |
| 769 | * CoolTeacher: Was an instructor of the Shooting Gym Yokohama. He is now the head trainer of 9's MMA. |
| 770 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}: Before he became a trainee at the Shooting Gym Yokohama. He later learned UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu at Paraestra Hakata. |
| 771 | * OnlyOneName: Was introduced in Shooto as only Kyuhei. |
| 772 | * OvershadowedByAwesome: Not a bad fighter by his record, but he was not at the level of the guys who beat him like Noboru Asahi, Yuki Naki, and Rumina Sato. |
| 773 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Shinsuke or Takeru. |
| 774 | |
| 775 | !!!Manabu Yamada |
| 776 | -->''"He was a guy that came in from Shooto, who challenged me in the main event for the title of Pancrase champion, and who ''beat Suzuki'' in the semi-finals."'' |
| 777 | --->--Wrestling/KenShamrock |
| 778 | |
| 779 | -->''"Right- originally, I have an illness, when I was 10 years old, I was told I have IDDM, an illness called insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, and my body became weak. And my hopes and dreams kind of disappeared. And there is no known cause. And then I became a middle school student, and I was really weak, and I started to think that I should do some physical training. When I thought that, at the time I was a huge Bruce Lee fan, so I thought I should do karate. And then in high school, I was able to compete in tournaments and I won, and they showed it in the newspaper- so I thought if I could make a name for myself through this, couldn’t I send a message to the other kids suffering from the same illness? So, I really wanted to go into fighting. So, I thought about what was the most really hardcore sport that existed at the time. There’s swimming, and baseball, and basketball, all kinds of sports, but I thought it would really be the greatest if it were fighting. And then, I was doing karate, and I went to a bookstore, and I opened a magazine and it said that Sayama Satoru-san’s Shooting gym had opened, and I thought “Wow, this is something.” I mean, MMA didn’t exist at that time, so I thought “I should do this.” And that’s how it happened."'' |
| 780 | --->--Manabu Yamada |
| 781 | |
| 782 | * AlmightyJanitor: In Pancrase, where he spent most of his career after debuting in Shooto. He defeated both Pancrase founders, Suzuki and Funaki, as well as some other names, but never got promoted in status, and an arm injury aggravated in 1996 made the rest. |
| 783 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Fought for the Shooto Middleweight Championship against Kenji Kawaguchi twice and lost both times. |
| 784 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama and Noriaki Kiguchi. |
| 785 | * ArchEnemy: Jason [=DeLucia=]. |
| 786 | * CoolTeacher: He is now an MMA and Seitai trainer. His gym is Hybrid Wrestling Yamada Dojo. |
| 787 | * CounterAttack: An expert in reversions and counters, he could catch opponents from nowhere. |
| 788 | * GameBreakingInjury: Broke his arm in a UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} match against Maurice Smith and fought through 1996 with the injury, having to retire for two years while getting surgery. |
| 789 | * HandicappedBadass: Downplayed, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 10 years old. |
| 790 | * HeroesLoveDogs: Has a dog named Momo and has a no-kill shelter under his name (alongside Wrestling/KarlGotch). |
| 791 | * HiddenDepths: Served as the dorm cook for the early Pancrase guys as his skills in that were reputedly quite good. |
| 792 | * IKnowKarate: Was a Koshiki UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} (a full contact style that uses “Super Safe” protective equipment unlike Kyokushin) competitor before his Shooto training and was one of the few good strikers on the Japanese side in Pancrase, though obviously not at the level of some foreigners. He also trained in Combat Wrestling. |
| 793 | * OldSoldier: Having been a Shooto contender before the rising of Pancrase, he was really the only guy in the promotion who knew what he was doing in the ring. |
| 794 | * RedBaron: "Oyabun" ("Kingpin"). |
| 795 | * SpannerInTheWorks: According to Wrestling/KenShamrock, Pancrase management were shitting their pants when Yamada made to the finals of the inaugural King Of Pancrase tournament after beating Wrestling/MinoruSuzuki. |
| 796 | * StoneWall: Passed hours with people like Wrestling/MinoruSuzuki and Wrestling/KenShamrock on his back with zero danger for him. |
| 797 | * WrestlerInAllOfUs: Attempted a dropkick on Wrestling/KenShamrock in their match in the first Pancrase championship finals. |
| 798 | |
| 799 | !!!Masanori Yoneyama |
| 800 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 801 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 802 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto which he lost. |
| 803 | |
| 804 | !!!Hiroshi Yoshida |
| 805 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 806 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 807 | * {{Jobber}}: Had two fights in Shooto, both which he lost. |
| 808 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Baret. |
| 809 | [[/folder]] |
| 810 | |
| 811 | [[folder:Debuted in The Vale Tudo & Free Fight Years (1994-96)]] |
| 812 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/images_413.jpg]] |
| 813 | [[caption-width-right:350:Shooto Will Keep Evolving!]] |
| 814 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/images_3_72.jpg]] |
| 815 | [[caption-width-right:350:Shooto... Worldwide]] |
| 816 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/images_2_60.jpg]] |
| 817 | [[caption-width-right:350:We Are The Champions... Of The World]] |
| 818 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shooto_video_4.PNG]] |
| 819 | [[caption-width-right:350:Official Shooto Productions]] |
| 820 | !!!Sunay Ahmed |
| 821 | * TheApprentice: To Larry Papadopoulos. |
| 822 | * AwesomeAussie |
| 823 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: Trained at the Spartan Gym. |
| 824 | * {{Jobber}}: Had one fight in Shooto against Uchu Tatsumi. |
| 825 | |
| 826 | !!!Katsuhisa Akasaki |
| 827 | * TheApprentice: To Kazuhiro Kusayanagi. |
| 828 | * CoolTeacher: Has his own gym, Akasaki Dojo A-Spirit. |
| 829 | * IKnowKarate: A regional champion. He also knows UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu and shoot wrestling. |
| 830 | * {{Jobber}}: A career with 6 wins, 20 losses, and a draw. |
| 831 | * RedBaron: "Genius of Kyushu". |
| 832 | |
| 833 | !!!Jin Akimoto |
| 834 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Mamoru Yamaguchi who beat him twice. |
| 835 | * AnimeThemeSong: He uses some version of the theme from Franchise/LupinIII as his entrance music. |
| 836 | * TheApprentice: To Noriaki Kiguchi and Kazuhiro Kusayanagi. |
| 837 | * CoolTeacher: The head instructor of his own gym, Akimoto Dojo Jungle Junction. He is also a licensed junior high school teacher. |
| 838 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Combat Wrestling]]: A trainee under Noriaki Kiguchi before his start in Shooto. He was a 2 time champion, winning the 1997 58kg division and the 2005 62kg division, with a runner-up title in 1996. He also won the featherweight division in the inaugural All Japan Amateur Shooto Champiobships in 1994. |
| 839 | * WorthyOpponent: Drew twice with Junji Ikoma. |
| 840 | |
| 841 | !!!Ruud Alwart |
| 842 | * TheApprentice: To Peter van den Hemel. |
| 843 | * CoolTeacher: Now a UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} trainer at the Mejiro Gym. |
| 844 | * GuestFighter |
| 845 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/MuayThai: Trained at the Mejiro Gym. |
| 846 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Noboru Asahi and lost. |
| 847 | |
| 848 | !!!Shinji Arano |
| 849 | * GuestFighter: A representative of the All Japan Taijutsu Federation. |
| 850 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Taijutsu]] |
| 851 | * {{Jobber}}: Had two fights in Shooto both he lost. |
| 852 | |
| 853 | !!!Leandro Lima De Azevedo |
| 854 | * TheApprentice: To Eugenio Tadeu. |
| 855 | * GuestFighter |
| 856 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Luta Livre]]: The first practitioner of the art in Shooto. He also trained in UsefulNotes/MuayThai. |
| 857 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight against Noboru Asahi and lost. |
| 858 | |
| 859 | !!!Ron Balicki |
| 860 | * TheApprentice: To Dan Inosanto. |
| 861 | * BadassFamily: Is Dan Inosanto's son-in-law. |
| 862 | * BadassTeacher: Is more well known as a trainer. |
| 863 | * BodyguardingABadass: Was once a bodyguard of Creator/StevenSeagal. |
| 864 | * HeAlsoDid: Inverted as he is mostly known as a martial arts trainer, stunt coordinator and fight choreographer on many film projects. Few people know he fought in Shooto. |
| 865 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Kali and Silat]]: Several styles of Filipino martial arts under many different masters. He also knows Jeet Kune Do, UsefulNotes/WingChun, UsefulNotes/MuayThai, Savate, and of course Shoot Wrestling under Yorinaga Nakamura. |
| 866 | * {{Jobber}}: Had two fights in Shooto with a loss against Rumina Sato and a win against Tomoaki Hayama. |
| 867 | |
| 868 | !!!Arthur Cathiard |
| 869 | * TheApprentice: To Rickson Gracie. |
| 870 | * GuestFighter |
| 871 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: Unlike Erik Paulson who also trained in BJJ and was the first guy in Shooto to do it, Paulson was mostly presented as a Shooto representative from America. This makes Arthur the first true representative of BJJ in Shooto. |
| 872 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Yuki Nakai and lost. |
| 873 | |
| 874 | !!!Kenzi Daikanyama |
| 875 | * CoolTeacher: A trainer for Team Roken. |
| 876 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 877 | * {{Jobber}}: Had two fights in Shooto, both which he lost. He got better outside of Shooto. |
| 878 | |
| 879 | !!!Gordon Dehdman |
| 880 | * AfroAsskicker |
| 881 | * TheApprentice: To Anthony Lange. |
| 882 | * AwesomeAussie |
| 883 | * GuestFighter |
| 884 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Amateur Wrestling]]: And trained at Poseidon gym in UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu. |
| 885 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Egan Inoue, he lost. |
| 886 | |
| 887 | !!!Jonathan Eusebio |
| 888 | * TheApprentice: To Yorinaga Nakamura. |
| 889 | * HeAlsoDid: Kind of inverted, as he is more well known as a stunt coordinator and performer, fight choreographer, martial arts technical advisor, and actor for film and television. His credits include [[Film/ThreeHundred 300]], Film/JohnWick, Film/TheExpendables, Film/TheBourneSeries, Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd, Film/{{Shooter}}, Film/{{Collateral}}, Creator/MichaelBay's Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2014 and its sequel, etc. Barely anyone knows he fought in Shooto. |
| 890 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Filipino Martial Arts]]: Studied at the Inosanto Academy, training in a wide range of disciplines, including kali, UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu, Western boxing, shoot wrestling, UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}, UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} and more. |
| 891 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Toshiyuki Wado, which he lost. |
| 892 | |
| 893 | !!!Joe Estes |
| 894 | * ADayInTheLimeLight: He beat Enson Inoue in his Shooto debut, Enson did get his revenge in the rematch. |
| 895 | * TheApprentice: To Matt Hume. |
| 896 | * GuestFighter |
| 897 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Amateur Wrestling]]: And trained in UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} at AMC Pankration. |
| 898 | |
| 899 | !!!Carl Franks |
| 900 | * TheApprentice: To Matt Hume. |
| 901 | * CoolTeacher: A pencak silat instructor. |
| 902 | * GuestFighter |
| 903 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: Trained under Relson Gracie and Egan Inoue. He also trained in pencak silat, boxing, UsefulNotes/MuayThai and also trained at AMC Pankration. |
| 904 | * {{Jobber}}: He only fought in Shooto once to a No Contest against Remco Pardoel. He had more success outside Shooto. |
| 905 | |
| 906 | !!!Zane Frazier |
| 907 | * TheApprentice: To Frank Trejo, Don Wilson, Wrestling/GeneLebell, and Yorinaga Nakamura. |
| 908 | * {{Bouncer}}: Was one. |
| 909 | * HeroKiller: Apparently won a fight against Frank Dux, which got him invited to UFC 1. |
| 910 | * IKnowKarate: A 4 degree black belt in American Kenpo UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} and was a World UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} Federation (WKF) United States super heavyweight champion. He also learned shoot wrestling at the Inosanto Academy and also had a bit of experience in UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} and later UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu. |
| 911 | * {{Jobber}}: Was a low level fighter and one of Dick Vrij's victims. |
| 912 | * RedBaron: "Nasty". |
| 913 | * ScaryBlackMan |
| 914 | * UnskilledButStrong: Describes himself mainly as a street fighter with kenpo experience. |
| 915 | |
| 916 | !!!Yūji Fujita |
| 917 | * TheApprentice: To Enson Inoue, Afonso Celso dos Santos Silva Jr (aka Sego Jr), Wrestling/BillyRobinson and Yuko Miyato. |
| 918 | * CanonImmigrant: Was a Towa Juku Karate representative when he first debuted. He only later got into the Shooto system to better learn the style. |
| 919 | * CoolTeacher: Is now a trainer at CACC Snake Pit Japan (originally the UWF Snake Pit). He also coaches MMA fighter Katsunori Kikuno. |
| 920 | * DelinquentHair: Once dyed his hair green. |
| 921 | * IKnowKarate: Is a Towa Juku Karatedo and an Okinawan Kenpo practitioner and trained for MMA at Purebred Tokyo. He also trained in Luta Livre (and is one of the first Japanese practitioners), UsefulNotes/CatchWrestling and even went to Canada to study UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu at Samurai Club (Carlos Newton’s gym). |
| 922 | * {{Jobber}}: Has a record of 1 win and 5 losses. |
| 923 | * RedBaron: "Luta ☆ Yūji". |
| 924 | |
| 925 | !!!Masato Fujiwara |
| 926 | * TheApprentice: To Yuki Nakai. |
| 927 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: Trained at Paraestra Tokyo along with shoot wrestling. He also is said to have a background in koppo. |
| 928 | * {{Jobber}}: A career with 5 wins, 12 losses, and 6 draws. |
| 929 | |
| 930 | !!!Imre Hagendoorn |
| 931 | * GuestFighter |
| 932 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight against Kazuhiro Sakamoto, which he lost. |
| 933 | * UrExample: Along with Maurice Roumimper, they were the first Dutch fighters in Shooto. |
| 934 | |
| 935 | !!!Yoshinori Haraigawa |
| 936 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 937 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight against Jin Akimoto, which he lost. |
| 938 | |
| 939 | !!!Tomoaki Hayama |
| 940 | * TheApprentice: To Kenji Kawaguchi. |
| 941 | * CoolTeacher: Founded the X-One Gym Shonan. |
| 942 | * IKnowKarate: Has a background in Ryūkyū Kempo and also trained in UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} at the Fujisawa judo club. He trained in shoot wrestling at Shooting Gym Yokohama, competed in shootboxing and later trained in UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu. |
| 943 | * {{Jobber}}: A short career with two wins and three losses. |
| 944 | * RedBaron: "Shonan". |
| 945 | |
| 946 | !!!Hisao Ikeda |
| 947 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Beaten twice by Uchu Tatsumi. |
| 948 | * TheApprentice: To Enson Inoue. |
| 949 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Now the head instructor of Purebred Omiya. |
| 950 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: Trained at Purebred Omiya as well as UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu. |
| 951 | * TheRival: Had a trilogy of fights with Masahiro Oishi. |
| 952 | |
| 953 | !!!Egan Inoue |
| 954 | -->''"My opponent Egan is a dangerous guy. I didn't want to go to the ground as much as possible. I wanted to fight standing up."'' |
| 955 | -->-- Guy Mezger |
| 956 | |
| 957 | * ArchEnemy: Both Inoues have a bad relationship with Relson Gracie. |
| 958 | * BadassTeacher: Founded the Grappling Unlimited MMA and Jiu-Jitsu gyms and trained guys like Baret Yoshida in BJJ. |
| 959 | * BashBrothers: With his younger brother Enson. They have a "enfant terrible" reputation. |
| 960 | * {{Crossover}}: Faced Masanori Suda at [=SuperBrawl=] 29 in an unification match for the Shooto World Light Heavyweight Championship and the [=SuperBrawl=] Middleweight Championship. Which he lost. |
| 961 | * DisproportionateRetribution: Accidentally got eye gouged by Masayuki Naruse in RINGS, Egan was not amused and got himself disqualified just so he could beat up Naruse. Amusingly though, he later stated in an interview about his past fights that he doesn't even remember Naruse's name. |
| 962 | * GuestFighter: He had only one fight in Shooto. |
| 963 | * HeroKiller: Beat Renzo Gracie in the 1999 ADCC Championships. He also beat Wrestling/AlexanderOtsuka and Akihiro Gono in the 1995 Lumax Cup. |
| 964 | * HeroesLoveDogs: His Grappling Unlimited logo is based off an American Pit Bull Terrier, which might mean that Egan likes dogs as much as Enson. |
| 965 | * HiddenDepths: He is a former pro racquetball player, a two time world champion and was once the number 1 ranked racquetball player in the world. He did spear fishing where he set a new world record by catching a 65lbs barracuda at an extraordinary depth. He also founded his own racquet company (E-force), which quickly grew to be one of the leading racquetball manufacturing enterprises in the world. |
| 966 | * IKnowKarate: Started his training in Shotokan UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} and is a black belt, then trained in UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu with his brother under John Lewis, Relson Gracie, the Machados, is a 4th degree black belt and he is the first non-Brazilian to become a World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion in the Blue Belt division in 1996, and the Absolute Weight Purple Belt division in 1997. He also has black belts in UsefulNotes/{{Taekwondo}}, Japanese jiu-jitsu and hapkido, is a brown belt in UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}, and also trained in UsefulNotes/WingChun, boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling, UsefulNotes/{{Kendo}}, UsefulNotes/MuayThai, and jeet kune do. |
| 967 | * RedBaron: "E-Force". |
| 968 | * TagAlongKid: He was brought to Shooto mostly because in was Enson's older brother. |
| 969 | * TheWorfEffect: Was out-grappled by Wrestling/TsuyoshiKohsaka and Sanae Kikuta at the 1995 and 1996 Lumax Cup in the finals and quarter-finals respectively. He also lost to Mauricio Silva at WSKF - World Challenge and Carl Malenko in Malenko's Pride debut, both by decision. |
| 970 | |
| 971 | !!!Enson Inoue |
| 972 | -->''"I was always on the dark side and everyone always thought, 'Enson's a gangster, Enson's a Yakuza...'"'' |
| 973 | |
| 974 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama. |
| 975 | * ArchEnemy: Both Inoues have a bad relationship with Relson Gracie. |
| 976 | * BadassTeacher: Runs several MMA gyms located in Japan, Saipan, Palau and Guam under the name Purebred. He also has affiliated gyms located in Thailand, Canada and the USA. He also trained Norifumi Yamamoto in MMA after an incident with the {{Yakuza}}. |
| 977 | * BashBrothers: With his older brother Egan. They have a "enfant terrible" reputation. |
| 978 | * TheBigGuy: Was for a long time the heaviest guy in Shooto, and one of of the most dangerous in the mat. |
| 979 | * BigBrotherMentor: To Yuki Nakai in BJJ. |
| 980 | * BigLittleBrother: Egan maybe older, but Enson is the bigger of the two. |
| 981 | * CurbStompBattle: A very fast grappler, most of his wins are in under two minutes and little more. Even his fight against Creator/RandyCouture only lasted 1:39. |
| 982 | * {{Determinator}}: He never tapped out in his career. |
| 983 | * FourIsDeath: Was a part of the called "Shooto Shitenno" along with Hayato Sakurai, Rumina Sato and Noboru Asahi. Interestingly, he arguably inherited his role among them from Yuki Nakai, as Nakai had to retire early while Enson (who became his training partner) debuted in the same year. |
| 984 | * GuestStarPartyMember: Was a frequent guest at the UWFI and Kingdom dojos since Shooto didn’t have many heavyweight fighters at the time. |
| 985 | * HeroKiller: Crushed guys like respected Dutch kickboxer Andre Mannaart, vale tudo legend Rei Zulu, and Creator/RandyCouture. |
| 986 | * HeroesLoveDogs / PetTheDog: Once had an American Pit Bull Terrier named "Shooto-kun", who died in March 9, 2010, he also has a few other pit bulls. After the Fukushima disaster he flew back to Japan and got directly involved in relief efforts and personally ventured into the hot zone to try and rescue abandoned animals. |
| 987 | * HiddenDepths: He is a former pro racquetball player. He also ran Japan’s division of E-Force, Egan's racquetball company. Enson also started his very own line of racquets called "Purebred", which he later renamed his gym as. |
| 988 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: Trained it before his start in Shooto under John Lewis, Relson Gracie and the Machados. He also is black belt in taijutsu (no, not that [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Taijutsu]]). He also did amateur wrestling in college, UsefulNotes/{{Taekwondo}}, Hapkido, and trained in shoot wrestling at the Super Tiger Gym and combat wrestling with Noriaki Kiguchi. |
| 989 | * KidsAreCruel: Was bullied by other kids, to which his father told him to fight back or he will kick his ass himself. |
| 990 | * RedBaron: "[[JapaneseSpirit Yamato Damashii]]", "The Croc", "Natural Born Fighter". |
| 991 | * RoleEndingMisdemeanor: Was suspended from Shooto for life and forced to vacate his heavyweight championship for punching a reporter in a RINGS event. |
| 992 | * StoutStrength: One of the heaviest Shooto fighters, and one to fear. He was also an arm wrestling champion and once won an arm wrestling tournament that consisted of other fighters and wrestlers like Wrestling/HiromitsuKanehara, Wrestling/YojiAnjo, Wrestling/AlexanderOtsuka, Kazuo Yamazaki, Wrestling/KensukeSasaki, and Wrestling/ManabuNakanishi (who he beat in the finals). |
| 993 | * UrExample: Was the only Shooto heavyweight champion. |
| 994 | * WrestlingFamily: He was once married to one of Norifumi Yamamoto's sisters, Miyuu Yamamoto. |
| 995 | * {{Yakuza}}: It's known that he has connections with it. |
| 996 | |
| 997 | !!!Tadeshi Kaneko |
| 998 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 999 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Tadashi Murakami which he lost. |
| 1000 | |
| 1001 | !!!Masataka Kawakami |
| 1002 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 1003 | * {{Jobber}}: Had two fights in Shooto. He lost both. |
| 1004 | |
| 1005 | !!!Magnum Kawamura |
| 1006 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 1007 | * {{Jobber}}: Had two fights in Shooto, one win and one loss. |
| 1008 | |
| 1009 | !!!Toru Koga |
| 1010 | * GuestFighter: A representative of the All Japan Taijutsu Federation. |
| 1011 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Taijutsu]]: And placed third in the inaugural All Japan Combat Wrestling Championships in the 90kg division. |
| 1012 | * {{Jobber}}: A short career in Shooto with 3 losses. |
| 1013 | |
| 1014 | !!!Hiroyuki Kojima |
| 1015 | * TheApprentice: To Noriaki Kiguchi. |
| 1016 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Combat Wrestling]]: Trained in this before fighting in Shooto. |
| 1017 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Naoto. |
| 1018 | |
| 1019 | !!!Naoto Kojima |
| 1020 | * TheApprentice: To Yuki Nakai. |
| 1021 | * CanonImmigrant: Was originally a representative of the All Japan Taijutsu Federation before he joined up with Yuki Nakai at his Paraestra gym. |
| 1022 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Taijutsu]]: as well as amateur wrestling later learned shoot wrestling and UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu at Paraestra Tokyo. He was also a runner-up in the inaugural All Japan Combat Wrestling Championships in the 74kg division. |
| 1023 | * {{Jobber}}: A career in Shooto with one win, five losses, and a draw. |
| 1024 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Hiroyuki. |
| 1025 | |
| 1026 | !!!Ed de Kruijf |
| 1027 | * ADayInTheLimeLight: The winner of Cage Fight Tournament 1. |
| 1028 | * TheApprentice: To Gerard Gordeau. |
| 1029 | * GuestFighter |
| 1030 | * IKnowKarate: Kyokushin at the Gordeau brothers' Kamakura gym and also has a background in amateur wrestling. |
| 1031 | * TheWorfEffect: Got worfed by Enson Inoue in his only fight in Shooto, Tom Erikson in Vale Tudo Japan 1997, and lost his second fight with Justin [=McCully=] in the first round by submission. |
| 1032 | |
| 1033 | !!!Kazuyoshi Kudo |
| 1034 | * AlliterativeName |
| 1035 | * GuestFighter: Represented Yasuejuku Karate-Do. |
| 1036 | * IKnowKarate: Apparently a practitioner of Yasuejuku Karate. |
| 1037 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight against Jin Akimoto, which he lost. |
| 1038 | |
| 1039 | !!!Anthony Lange |
| 1040 | * TheApprentice: To John Will. |
| 1041 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Is the former owner of Poseidon Gym, one of the first Australian MMA gyms and was its head fighter. |
| 1042 | * AwesomeAussie: The first Australian from Sydney to learn BJJ. |
| 1043 | * BattleCouple: His wife Nikki is also a BJJ practitioner. |
| 1044 | * CoolTeacher: Has his own gym Lange MMA. |
| 1045 | * GuestFighter |
| 1046 | * IKnowKarate: As well as UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}, arnis, shoot wrestling, Stáv (a Nordic style of martial arts based upon runic postures), but most notably UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu in which he is a black belt, won the gold medal in 2003 at the International Masters in Brazil as a brown belt, a State, National and Pan Pacific champion, and a 2014 World Masters UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu World Champion. |
| 1047 | |
| 1048 | !!!Jean-Jacques Machado |
| 1049 | -->''"Don't worry Luiza, your son will be a champion."'' |
| 1050 | -->-- Carlos Gracie Sr. to Jean's mother after his birth. |
| 1051 | |
| 1052 | * TheApprentice: To Carlos Gracie Jr. |
| 1053 | * BadassFamily: A member of the Machado jiu-jitsu brothers and cousin of the Gracie family. |
| 1054 | * BadassTeacher: Trained guys like Creator/ChuckNorris, Creator/StevenSeagal, Dan Inosanto, Creator/JoeRogan, Eddie Bravo, Richard Norton, Mark Kerr, Ricco Rodriguez, etc. He was also a former coach of Gracie Barra and now has two of his own academies. |
| 1055 | * CoolVersusAwesome: Appeared in Shooto for a grappling match with Yuki Nakai. |
| 1056 | * GuestFighter |
| 1057 | * HandicappedBadass: Suffered birth defects resulting from Amniotic band syndrome, which left him with only the thumb and the little finger on his left hand. Didn't stop him from being a Rio de Janeiro Jiu-Jitsu State and National Cruiserweight Champion for 11 consecutive years from 1982 to 1992, UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu American Champion for 4 consecutive years from 1995 to 1998, Grappling Style Challenge Japan Champion, two-time Black Belt Super Challenge Champion for 1998 and 2000, and a gold and two-time silver medalist in the ADCC. |
| 1058 | * HeroKiller: Has victories over Wallid Ismail, Yuki Nakai, Hayato Sakurai, Caol Uno, Wrestling/TsuyoshiKohsaka to name a few. |
| 1059 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: A 7th degree coral (red and black) belt. He also competed in UsefulNotes/{{Sambo}} and was a US National and Pan American Cruiserweight Champion. |
| 1060 | * TheWorfEffect: Lost his only MMA fight to Frank Trigg at Vale Tudo Japan 1998. |
| 1061 | |
| 1062 | !!!Andre Mannaart |
| 1063 | * BadassTeacher: He is now a renowned trainer at the Amsterdam based Mejiro Gym, where he has coached fighters of the calibre of Peter Aerts and Remy Bonjasky. |
| 1064 | * EarlyBirdCameo: His fight in Shooto against Enson Inoue was this before fighting in RINGS. |
| 1065 | * GuestFighter |
| 1066 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}: A 4 time world champion. |
| 1067 | * {{Jobber}}: His MMA career. |
| 1068 | |
| 1069 | !!!Nozomu Matsumoto |
| 1070 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 1071 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Noboru Asahi, he lost of course. |
| 1072 | |
| 1073 | !!!Michael [=McAuliffe=] |
| 1074 | * AlliterativeName |
| 1075 | * TheApprentice: To Yorinaga Nakamura. |
| 1076 | * CoolTeacher: A trainer at the Inosanto Academy. |
| 1077 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/WingChun: Trained under one of the original masters that came to America. He also has training in shoot wrestling and many other martial arts at the Inosanto Academy. |
| 1078 | * {{Jobber}}: Was Rumina Sato's first opponent, it was his first and last fight. |
| 1079 | |
| 1080 | !!!Kendo Nagasaki |
| 1081 | * CoolMask: As The Dream Machine. |
| 1082 | * CoolOldGuy: Was in his 40s when he fought in Shooto. |
| 1083 | * CoolTeacher: Was a trainer at the Hart Dungeon. |
| 1084 | * GuestFighter |
| 1085 | * IHaveManyNames: Has wrestled as Kendo Nagasaki, Kazuo Sakurada (his real name), Mr. Sakurada, Chan Chung, The Dream Machine, Rambo Sakurada, and The Dragonmaster. |
| 1086 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] SumoWrestling: Debuted as a pro the same year as Wrestling/GenichiroTenryu. |
| 1087 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Zane Frazier, which he lost. |
| 1088 | * RedBaron: "Kendō Oni" ("Kendo Demon"), "Shōka Oni" ("Extinguishing Demon"). |
| 1089 | * WoodenKatanasAreEvenBetter: Carried a shinai when making his entrance. |
| 1090 | * TheWorfEffect: At the time, he had a reputation by pro wrestling insiders as being one of the toughest wrestlers in a street fight, this was probably one of the reasons why he was chosen to take the fight against Zane Frazier, though it didn't really matter as he lost my KO in the first round. |
| 1091 | * WrestlerInAllOfUs: Trained in and trained guys like Wrestling/BretHart in the Hart Dungeon. |
| 1092 | * {{Yakuza}}: His gimmick as The Dragonmaster. |
| 1093 | |
| 1094 | !!!Jutaro Nakao |
| 1095 | * TheApprentice: To Satoshi Fukuoka. |
| 1096 | * ColourCodedForYourConvenience: Is known for his short yellow trunks. |
| 1097 | * CoolTeacher: Has his own gym, the Jutaro Nakao MMA School. |
| 1098 | * HeroicBuild: Nakao is known for his chiseled physique. |
| 1099 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}: A black belt in this and UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu. |
| 1100 | * RedBaron: “The King of Triangle”. |
| 1101 | * SignatureMove: Triangle chokes. He is also one of the few fighters who have a legal win through the popularly called "rape choke" or two-handed stranglehold, after defeating Thomas Denny with it. |
| 1102 | * StoneWall: Known for having a high defense in the ring, being difficult to finish off by his opponents. |
| 1103 | * TheWorfEffect: Was KO’ed by Katsunori Kikuno in the first round. |
| 1104 | |
| 1105 | !!!Kimihito Nonaka |
| 1106 | * TheApprentice: To Enson Inoue. |
| 1107 | * CoolTeacher: Head trainer at Purebred Arena and a former trainer at Purebred Omiya. |
| 1108 | * IKnowKarate: As well as Shoot Wrestling and UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu. |
| 1109 | |
| 1110 | !!!Isamu Osugi |
| 1111 | * GuestFighter |
| 1112 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Sambo}}: A representative of the style in the 1995 and 1996 Lumax Cups. He also competed in combat wrestling. |
| 1113 | * {{Jobber}}: A short career with 5 losses. |
| 1114 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: Osugi or Oosugi? |
| 1115 | * WearingAFlagOnYourHead: Oddly, he wore an American flag styled pair of Muay Thai shorts in his Shooto fights. |
| 1116 | |
| 1117 | !!!Maurice Roumimper |
| 1118 | * TheApprentice: To Remco Pardoel. |
| 1119 | * GuestFighter |
| 1120 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know German Jujitsu]]: Was a participant in the 3rd IJJF World Cup in 1993 and the 1st Netherlands Tournament also in 1993. He is also said to have a background in UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}. |
| 1121 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only two fights in Shooto, he lost both fights. |
| 1122 | * TeenGenius: Was 19 when he fought in Shooto. |
| 1123 | * UrExample: Along with Imre Hagendoorn, they were the first Dutch fighters in Shooto. |
| 1124 | |
| 1125 | !!!Mitsuhiro Sakamoto |
| 1126 | * TheApprentice: To Enson Inoue. |
| 1127 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: And UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu. |
| 1128 | * {{Jobber}}: Though he never lost, he had a short career with 2 wins and 3 draws. |
| 1129 | |
| 1130 | !!!Hayato Sakurai |
| 1131 | -->''"I've been punching opponents since I was 17. If I can't show my best, then I probably need to quit."'' |
| 1132 | |
| 1133 | * TheAce: If a 18-0 winning streak and a Shooto welterweight championship don't say it, nothing does. |
| 1134 | * TheApprentice: To Caesar Takeshi, Noriaki Kiguchi, Noboru Asahi and Naoki Sakurada. |
| 1135 | * BigBrotherMentor: To Takanori Gomi. |
| 1136 | * BrokenAce: With no doubt one of the best fighters ever came from Japan, Sakurai was hit by a car crash, a felt defeat by Anderson Silva and several years of injuries and battle worn, which reached him all around TurnOfTheMillennium. He regained some of his skill and motivation through the years, but consensus is that he is not the same anymore. |
| 1137 | * CoolTeacher: Has his own gym, Mach Dojo. |
| 1138 | * DavidVersusGoliath: Finished Ricco Rodriguez in the absolute division of ADCC. Don't skip that Ricco outweighted him by ''90 ibs''. |
| 1139 | * TheEeyore: Some of his interviews, especially the ones after the end of his streak, are quite depressing. |
| 1140 | * FourIsDeath: Was a part of the called "Shooto Shitenno" along with Rumina Sato, Noboru Asahi and Enson Inoue. |
| 1141 | * HeroicBSOD: Had a hefty one after losing to Anderson Silva. |
| 1142 | * HoistByHisOwnPetard: Sakurai's signature UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} throws backfired horribly against Takanori Gomi, as he botched one of them and crashed head first on the ground, which allowed Gomi to dominate him and win the fight. |
| 1143 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shootboxing]]: An all Japan amateur champion. He also knows UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} (he is specially good at it; he possibly trained at the prestigious Newaza Kenkyukai), UsefulNotes/{{Karate}}, amateur and combat wrestling. Subverted for UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu as he has an honourary black belt. |
| 1144 | * MasterOfAll: This was a guy whose flying knees, leg kicks and UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} throws were feared, who finished second in the 1999 ADCC submission tournament representing the always underdog art of shoot wrestling, and who curbstomped fighters from every background for five years. |
| 1145 | * NeverBeHurtAgain: Being beaten down by his seniors at the amateur wrestling school club was an extra motivation for him to become the best. |
| 1146 | * OneHitKill: Had some of the fastest flying knee victories ever. |
| 1147 | * PowerTrio: Was close friends with fellow fighters Michihiro Omigawa and Kazuyuki Miyata, who he knew in school. |
| 1148 | * RedBaron: "Mach" (taken from the original UWF wrestler Mach Hayato), "Wild Charisma". Some of his training partners used to call him "Guts-san", supposedly in tribute to Guts Ishimatsu, though it could also be a tribute to one of his trainers Naoki "Mr Gutsman" Sakurada. |
| 1149 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Ryuta. |
| 1150 | |
| 1151 | !!!Arnold Sas |
| 1152 | * TheApprentice: To Gerard Gordaeu. |
| 1153 | * GuestFighter |
| 1154 | * IKnowKarate: Trained at the Gordeau brothers’ Kamakura gym. |
| 1155 | * {{Jobber}}: Had two MMA fights, one win and one loss. |
| 1156 | |
| 1157 | !!!Rumina Sato |
| 1158 | -->''"Sato was so good that Rickson Gracie of all people called him an excellent grappler; and that's insane in its own right, because Rickson talks shit about just everybody, especially if they are good fighters, which means Rumina actually defused the Aristotelian logic bomb that reigns in Rickson's mind in order to gain his praise."'' |
| 1159 | -->-- Reddit user [=DaShoota=] |
| 1160 | |
| 1161 | -->''"Flying armbars and triangles? I'm always like that."'' |
| 1162 | -->-- Rumina Sato |
| 1163 | |
| 1164 | * TheAce: He submitted people with calf slicers and flying reverse triangle chokes (!), and was the first person in making UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu black belts tap out, even before Sakuraba. |
| 1165 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama and Noriaki Kiguchi. |
| 1166 | * AscendedFanBoy: Was a UWF fan. |
| 1167 | * AttackAttackAttack: His style of grappling was submission attempt after submission attempt, from every angle imaginable and not caring the consequences if failed. |
| 1168 | * AuthorAppeal: Flashy grappling. Also, ironically given his background (though perhaps recurrent among Shooto fighters), he doesn't like ambiguity among pro wrestling and MMA. |
| 1169 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: The head fighter and instructor of the Shooto Gym K’z Factory affiliate in Odawara, the roots MMA and Jiu-Jitsu Gym. |
| 1170 | * BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame: Before Wrestling/KazushiSakuraba submitted Marcus Silveira, Rumina Sato became the first non-BJJ fighter (specifically a shoot wrestler, just like Saku) to beat a black belt BJJ fighter by submission when he defeated Ricardo Botelho with a heel hook. |
| 1171 | * BigBrotherMentor: To Caol Uno. Hayato Sakurai also describes him as a stern if brotherly mentor. |
| 1172 | * BrattyHalfPint: Started competing in amateur Shooto before hitting 18. |
| 1173 | * BrokenAce: Though one of the greatest grapplers in Japan, Sato suffered from very irregular performances, switching from tremendous victories to pathetic defeats sometimes at the same year. When he fought Gilbert Mendelez in 2005, most of pundits agreed that Rumina's old flame was reduced to embers and would not burn anymore. |
| 1174 | * ChekhovsSkill: Taught his flying armbar to Rena Kubota much before she thought to fight in MMA, and she finished her debut match in RIZIN with this same technique. |
| 1175 | * {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: He has photos of himself surfing waves with a Tiger Mask on, in tribute to his master. |
| 1176 | * ColorCodedForYourConvenience: White tights, with [[RedIsHeroic red]] or [[GoldAndWhiteAreDivine golden]] stripes. |
| 1177 | * FourIsDeath: Was a part of the called "Shooto Shitenno" along with Hayato Sakurai, Noboru Asahi and Enson Inoue. |
| 1178 | * GenderBlenderName: His first name, "Rumina", sounds vaguely female in Japan, which was somewhat embarrassing for him. |
| 1179 | * GlassCannon: A fighter endowed with an awesome offensive grappling and a significant striking, but with a rather feeble defense and tendency to get injured. |
| 1180 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Amateur Wrestling]]: As well combat and shoot wrestling, trained in UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} at Rikix under Riki Onedera and is also a blue belt in UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu. |
| 1181 | * MinoredInAsskicking: He was primarily a grappler, but had rather good striking. He beat kickboxer Mike Campbell in a shootboxing event. |
| 1182 | * MurderousThighs: Loved to use triangle chokes and inverted triangle chokes, sometimes as a position to secure his opponent before ground-and-pound. |
| 1183 | * NervesOfSteel: Spent an entire round standing with Ricardo Botelho literally [[BigGuyRodeo hanging from his back]] and working a rear naked choke while Rumina defended the hold and waited patiently the end of the time. He was successful and ended taping out Botelho at the next. |
| 1184 | * OneHitKill: His famous flying armbar victory. |
| 1185 | * ThePeteBest: Before Wrestling/KazushiSakuraba made a name by hunting down BJJ fighters with his shoot wrestling abilities, Rumina had already achieved that feat in at least two occasions, submitting Ricardo Botelho and John Lewis. However, Sato's lack of exposure (occasioned by his refusal to fight outside of Shooto until he gained a title) made him almost unknown to western audiences. |
| 1186 | * RedBaron: "Tsukiookami" ("Moon Wolf"), "Shooto Charisma", "Slimmer". |
| 1187 | * RefusalOfTheCall: PRIDE Fighting Championship and other promotions fought over Sato for their rosters, but he never wanted to fight outside of Shooto. |
| 1188 | * RoaringRampageOfRevenge: After being submitted by Canadian jiu-jitsu fighter Joel Gerson in an upset, Rumina got so frenzied that he chased Gerson to a grappling tournament in Canada and threw opponents right and left until he could reach him and submit him for the revenge. A similar case happened with John Lewis. |
| 1189 | |
| 1190 | !!!Kotaro Shimamoto |
| 1191 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 1192 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Naoki Sakurada and lost. |
| 1193 | |
| 1194 | !!!Ben Spijkers |
| 1195 | -->''"Erik if I see you next time, I will choke the hell out of you."'' |
| 1196 | |
| 1197 | * BullyingADragon: Taunted Renzo Gracie in the press conference for the World Combat Championships event and pranked him on his hotel room the previous night. He got choked out in the bout and got his head stepped on afterwards as Renzo walked away as an act of revenge for the pranking, though Renzo later apologized for the head stepping. |
| 1198 | * CombatReferee: Spijkers became a referee after his active professional judo career. In March 2008 he passed the exam as a referee of the International Judo Federation during the World Cup in Prague. At the beginning of January 2012, Spijkers was selected by the IJF to be allowed to arbitrate at the Olympic Games in London 2012, a crowning achievement of his years of refereeing. Spijkers succeeds Henk Plugge, among others, who refereed at the Olympic Games in Beijing. |
| 1199 | * GuestFighter |
| 1200 | * IKnowKarate: He trained a bit with Gerard Gordeau for his MMA fights, though he is more known for his UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}, being a 6th Dan black belt, a three time representative of the Netherlands at the Olympics with a bronze medal in 1988, a silver medalist at the 1989 World Championships, won bronze in the 1984 and 1988 European Championships with a silver in 1986 and was an 11 time Dutch national champion, with 4 silvers and 3 bronze. |
| 1201 | * {{Jobber}}: Had one fight in Shooto, a loss to Erik Paulson and another loss to Renzo Gracie at the World Combat Championships. |
| 1202 | |
| 1203 | !!!Rene Stigter |
| 1204 | * TheApprentice: To Gerard Gordeau. |
| 1205 | * GuestFighter |
| 1206 | * IKnowKarate: A Kyokushin black belt from the Kamakura Dojo and has also competed in Issin-ryu and Ashiwara Karate as well as UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}. |
| 1207 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only fight in Shooto against Kazuhiro Sakamoto, which he lost. |
| 1208 | |
| 1209 | !!!Masanori Suda |
| 1210 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Beaten twice by Sanae Kikuta at two Lumax Cups finals. |
| 1211 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: The head fighter of Team Club J. |
| 1212 | * CoolTeacher: Head trainer of Trinity Suns Gym. He also had a previous gym called Club J. |
| 1213 | * {{Crossover}}: Faced Egan Inoue at [=SuperBrawl=] 29 in an unification match for the Shooto World Light Heavyweight Championship and the [=SuperBrawl=] Middleweight Championship. Which he won. |
| 1214 | * {{Determinator}}: Pulled double duty at the 1997 Lumax Cup, competing in both the heavyweight and middleweight catergories, getting to the finals in the heavyweight division and winning the middleweight division. |
| 1215 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}: A 3rd dan black belt and was in the same club as high school club as Daijiro Matsui. He also trained in UsefulNotes/{{Sambo}} and was a 1994 All Japan champion before coming to Shooto. |
| 1216 | * RedBaron: "Shooto/PRIDE Seiatsu no Shikaku" ("Shooto/PRIDE Control Thug"). |
| 1217 | * RetiredBadass: He retired in 2006 while still Shooto Light Heavyweight Champion, which he returned to Shooto. |
| 1218 | * TheWorfEffect: Early in his career, he was submitted by Shooto doormat Masato Fujiwara in just over two minutes. |
| 1219 | |
| 1220 | !!!Yoshiyuki Takayama |
| 1221 | * CoolTeacher: A trainer at Shooting Gym Yokohama. |
| 1222 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 1223 | |
| 1224 | !!!Yuzo Tateishi |
| 1225 | * TheApprentice: To Kazuhiro Kusayanagi. |
| 1226 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: And UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu. |
| 1227 | * {{Jobber}}: Has only one win against a debuting Ikuhisa Minowa and 4 losses in Shooto. |
| 1228 | |
| 1229 | !!!Uchu Tatsumi |
| 1230 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Alexandre Franca "Pequeno" Nogueira. |
| 1231 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: A trainee under Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. |
| 1232 | * TheWorfEffect: A good fighter with draws against Noboru Asahi and his first fight with Alexandre Franca "Pequeno" Nogueira, he suffered his first and only defeat in the second fight with Pequeno in the first round. |
| 1233 | |
| 1234 | !!!Caol Uno |
| 1235 | -->''"I'll show [Andre] Pederneiras that Wajutsu can definitely compete with UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu."'' |
| 1236 | |
| 1237 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Defeated Rumina Sato twice and beat Ricardo Botelho in less time than him. |
| 1238 | * TheApprentice: To Yoshinori Nishi. |
| 1239 | * AscendedFanBoy: Was a pro wrestling fan growing up, and got to wrestle at the first Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye event and later for Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling as himself and as The Apeman Nigo. |
| 1240 | * BigBrotherMentor: Had one in Rumina Sato. |
| 1241 | * BrokenAce: Originally thought to be the most promising Shooto apprentice from the era of the Shooto Shitenno, he went to have an irregular career due to high-level opposition and bad luck. Even today, he is known for winning fights in which he is supposed to lose and vice versa. |
| 1242 | * CanonImmigrant: A recurrent Shooto fighter from Yoshinori Nishi's Wajutsu Keishukai dojo, though he originally trained at a Shooto gym under Rumina Sato before switching to Wajutsu Keishukai. |
| 1243 | * ChallengeSeeker: Only see his record and read what opponents has he faced. |
| 1244 | * CoolTeacher: Has his own gym, Uno Dojo (formerly Wajutsu Keishukai Tokyo, not to be confused with the current one). |
| 1245 | * EarlyBirdCameo: Was part of a Wajutsu Keishukai vs. Koppo event (under Koppo rules), losing against a guy named Takashi Yamamoto just before his Shooto career started. |
| 1246 | * HeAlsoDid: Is an advisor for the Cage Force promotion. |
| 1247 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Amateur Wrestling]]: Trained with Osami Shibuya at the same school. He also trained in Yoshinori Nishi's Wajutsu Keishukai dojo, which is based on kudo. He also is a black belt in UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} and UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu with a silver medal at the 1999 ADCC. |
| 1248 | * JapaneseRanguage: His true name is Kaoru Uno, but he writes it in a Western way to be easier to spell by English-speaking fans. |
| 1249 | * NightmareFace: Very much like Noboru Asahi, Uno's interestingly shaped face and head are ruthlessly parodied by Japanese media. His nickname of Little Gremlin comes from it, in fact. |
| 1250 | * OddFriendship: Is friends with former pro boxer and trainer Shin Yamato. He is also friends with baseball players Mitsunobu Takahashi and Jun Heima, Japanese folk duo Yuzu, and even Dana White says they are friendly with each other. |
| 1251 | * RedBaron: "Uno Shoten" ("Uno's Death Ascension"), "PRINCE OF HERO'S", "Little Gremlin", Sōgō Kakutōgi no Paionia ("Pioneer of Mixed Martial Arts"). |
| 1252 | * StoneWall: His submission defense is legendary. |
| 1253 | |
| 1254 | !!!Toshiyuki Wado |
| 1255 | * TheApprentice: To Kazuhiro Kusayanagi and Leo Vieira. |
| 1256 | * CoolTeacher: Head instructor at Club de Jiu-Jitsu and at Academia AZ. |
| 1257 | * DoNotCallMePaul: For some reason, his real last name is Sato. |
| 1258 | * GuestFighter |
| 1259 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: A black belt. He also trained in shoot wrestling at K’z Factory. |
| 1260 | |
| 1261 | !!!Leonid Zaslavsky |
| 1262 | * TheApprentice: To Anthony Lange. |
| 1263 | * AwesomeAussie: The first Australian fighter in Shooto, though he is also part Ukrainian. |
| 1264 | * CoolTeacher: A wrestling coach at Sydney Uni Wrestling Club. |
| 1265 | * GuestFighter |
| 1266 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Freestyle Wrestling]]: Competed at the 1996 Olympics and was an Australian National champion and an Oceania champion. He also trained in UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu at Poseidon Gym. |
| 1267 | * {{Jobber}}: Had two fights in Shooto, which he both lost. |
| 1268 | [[/folder]] |
| 1269 | |
| 1270 | [[folder:Debuted in The Reconquista Year (1997)]] |
| 1271 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hqdefault_449.jpg]] |
| 1272 | [[caption-width-right:350:The Shootists Strike Back]] |
| 1273 | !!!Ricardo Botelho |
| 1274 | * TheApprentice: To João Alberto Barreto (UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu 9th degree red belt under Helio Gracie, former coach of Gracie Humaitá, first Vice President of the first Jiu Jitsu Federation in Brazil, one of the first [[CombatReferee referees]] in the UFC). |
| 1275 | * GuestFighter |
| 1276 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: Trained at Joao Alberto Barreto's Academy and is a black belt and won 3rd place at the 1996 World Jiu-Jitsu Championships in the Peso Leve (Lightweight) division as a brown belt. |
| 1277 | * RealSongThemeTune: "Misirlou" by Dick Dale. |
| 1278 | * ShockingDefeatLegacy: The first UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu black belt to be submitted in international NHB / MMA competition. |
| 1279 | |
| 1280 | !!!Abdelaziz Cherigui |
| 1281 | * TheApprentice: To Carlos Gracie Jr. and Antoine Becaglia. |
| 1282 | * FrenchJerk: Along with Ali Mihoubi and Daniel Quoniam, were the first French fighters in Shooto. |
| 1283 | * GuestFighter |
| 1284 | * IKnowKarate: A black belt. He also has black belts in UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} and UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu and has also trained in amateur wrestling and UsefulNotes/{{Sambo}}. He also trained in shoot wrestling at Hybrid Pancrace Academy. |
| 1285 | * {{Jobber}}: Had two MMA fights which he both lost. |
| 1286 | * RedBaron: "Samurai". |
| 1287 | |
| 1288 | !!!Paul Coonin |
| 1289 | * TheApprentice: To Larry Papadopolous. |
| 1290 | * AwesomeAussie |
| 1291 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: Trained at Spartan Gym. |
| 1292 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Uchu Tatsumi, he lost. |
| 1293 | |
| 1294 | !!!Mauricio Corty |
| 1295 | * TheApprentice: To Carlos Gracie Jr. |
| 1296 | * CoolTeacher: Corty had instructed in Hawaii, Brazil, Japan and California and he brought Gracie Ju Jitsu to Northern Ireland. Was an instructor at Gracie Barra. |
| 1297 | * GuestFighter |
| 1298 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: A black belt. |
| 1299 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Rumina Sato, he lost. |
| 1300 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: Is listed in MMA record sites as Maurice Corty. |
| 1301 | |
| 1302 | !!!Alan Fried |
| 1303 | * TheApprentice: To Mark Coleman. |
| 1304 | * BadassIsraeli: His family is Jewish. |
| 1305 | * CoolTeacher: He was an assistant coach for the Beachwood High School Wrestling Team in Beachwood, OH. He later moved to Medina, Ohio, where he founded the Highland Local School District Wrestling team and worked as an assistant coach. He also has his own wrestling academy. |
| 1306 | * GameBreakingInjury: Injuries to his back and shoulder as well as a broken elbow had taken a toll and required two back surgeries in 1996 and two shoulder surgeries. These issues factored into his retirement from wrestling in 2000. |
| 1307 | * GeniusBruiser: He graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Psychology. He also earned a Juris Doctorate from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 2002 and passed the Illinois State Bar Examination in 2003. He briefly took a position as law clerk at Reminger & Reminger, Co. L.P.A., where his brother Adam is a partner and practices probate law. Alan passed the Ohio Bar Examination in 2005 and practiced law in Cleveland until mid-2007, when he relocated back in Chicago, Illinois to become a Futures Trader. |
| 1308 | * GuestFighter |
| 1309 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Amateur Wrestling]]: Began wrestling in the 5th grade at the Longwood YMCA in Macedonia, Ohio, where a trio of coaches had a major impact on him: head coach Dave Mariola and assistants Bernie Weiskopf and Tim Rutherford. A year later, he traveled to neighboring Pennsylvania to win the Pennsylvania Junior state championship; he repeated as champion the following two years prior to entering high school. Fried also trained under Howard E. Ferguson at St. Edward High School amassing 139-3 record. He was a three-time Ohio State Champion in 1987, 1988, 1989, and finished third in 1986. He would also compete in the USA Junior Freestyle Championships, where he would become the first wrestler to win four Junior National Freestyle titles. He became a three-time All-American, reaching the NCAA finals in 1991 (second place finish, 134 lbs.), 1992 (second place finish, 134 lbs.), and 1994 (National Champion, 142 lbs.) at part of the Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestling team. His high placements helped the Cowboys become team NCAA National Champions in 1990 and 1994. In international competition, Alan represented the USA on two age level World teams and in numerous Olympic age level international competitions. In the 20 years old and under World Championships in 1991, held in Previdza, Czechoslovakia, Alan won the Gold Medal, beating the wrestler from the former Soviet Union in the finals and was awarded the "Best Technical Wrestler" for the championships. In the 18 years old and under category, Fried placed 4th at World Championships in 1988, held in Wolfurt, Austria. He also finished 6th in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Trials, both at 152 lbs., and missed the U.S. Olympic Team. He also trained at Hammer House for MMA. |
| 1310 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Rumina Sato, he of course lost. |
| 1311 | |
| 1312 | !!!Katsuhisa Fujii |
| 1313 | -->''"Katsuhisa Fujii--the man they call Shamoji, which I understand translates to "Gamecock" and that's apparently supposed to be intimidating but for the life of me I do not understand why--is one of the more rare cases of a fighter turned wrestler. It's one of those testaments to the dovetailing worlds of wrestling and fighting in Japan: Fujii trained legitimately in judo and wrestling as a teenager, but got his first MMA training at the Super Tiger Gym... The worlds of fighting and wrestling have always been somewhat inextricable. The vast majority of competitors who tried to do both were not very successful fighters. Katsuhisa Fujii is not an exception, which makes it all the more impressive that his career still took him across the entire MMA landscape. He started in the Japanese MMA genesis that was the Lumax Cup, which he lost in the first round. He then crossed the pond to Hawaii to take part in the Superbrawl 2 openweight tournament, where he... also lost in the first round. He moved to his master's Shooto for a pair of fights, then entered UFC 23 for their second Ultimate Japan tournament... There were very different standards for talent back then. Fujii lost the tournament final, but this means we can say Katsuhisa Fujii had a win in the UFC. That is a technically factual statement. Shamoji would bounce to Pancrase, where he recorded the best winning streak of his career--two--and in the process recorded the biggest victory of his career against Jason DeLucia, a former King of Pancrase challenger. This means we can say Katsuhisa Fujii beat a former world championship-calibre opponent. [[RunningGag That is a technically factual statement]]. Fujii went on to brief guest appearances in RINGS, and the Premium Challenge experiment, and even the first MMA card held in Tahiti before Pride came calling for him. Pride had a tendency to throw prospects to the wolves--and they would, as in his second Pride fight he was eaten alive by the legendary Igor Vovchanchyn in a fight so absurd that at one point the referee gave Fujii a red card and docked 10% of his purse seemingly because he wasn't doing a good enough job of not getting punched in the face--but in his Pride debut at Bushido 3 Fujii himself got to be the wolf, as despite being a 7-9-1 veteran with eight years of combat under his belt, they gave him the 0-0 Jin O Kim. Katsuhisa Fujii wasn't a very good fighter. He retired at 9-18-1, a decade into his career he still didn't seem comfortable throwing a punch, and only two of his nine victories came against opponents with winning records, Osami Shibuya and Jason DeLucia--and DeLucia suffered a knee injury that prevented him from coming out for the second round. But Katsuhisa Fujii fought across five continents and thirteen organizations, recorded wins in the UFC, Pride, Shooto, Pancrase and DEEP, and scored a TKO win over a former world title contender and the winner of the first UFC fight in history. [[OverlyLongGag That is a technically factual statement]]."'' |
| 1314 | -->-- A profile of Fujii from a VideoGame/FireProWrestling user [=CarlCX=] from https://steamcommunity.com |
| 1315 | |
| 1316 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/SatoruSayama, Enson Inoue, and Wrestling/NaoyaOgawa. |
| 1317 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Was the head of the V-Cross fight team. |
| 1318 | * {{Bouncer}}: Was a former one in Roppongi. |
| 1319 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}: Trained in middle school before switching to freestyle wrestling, in which he was a national medalist in high school and university before becoming a trainee of Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym. He also trained in UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu at Purebred Oriya and CORE MMA Team Toshima. |
| 1320 | * RedBaron: "Shamoji" ("Gamecock"). |
| 1321 | * TheWorfEffect: In Pancrase against Yoshiki Takahashi, where Takahashi punched him out while Fuji got almost no offense in. |
| 1322 | * WrestlerInAllOfUs: Has worked for Wrestling/ProWrestlingZero1, Wrestling/FightingOperaHustle and Universal Fighting-Arts Organization. |
| 1323 | |
| 1324 | !!!Masaru Gokita |
| 1325 | * TheApprentice: To Noriaki Kiguchi. |
| 1326 | * CoolTeacher: Founded the Gokita Gym (formerly Kiguchi Workout Studio). |
| 1327 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Amateur Wrestling]]: Also trained in UsefulNotes/{{Sambo}}, combat and shoot wrestling, and UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu. |
| 1328 | * {{Jobber}}: A career of 1 win, 5 losses, and 2 draws. |
| 1329 | |
| 1330 | !!!Stuart Harrison |
| 1331 | * TheApprentice: To Larry Papadopolous. |
| 1332 | * AwesomeAussie |
| 1333 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: Trained at the Spartan Gym. |
| 1334 | * {{Jobber}}: Has only one fight in Shooto, a loss against Erik Paulson. |
| 1335 | |
| 1336 | !!!Mohammad Jarban |
| 1337 | * TheApprentice: To Kenichi Tanaka. |
| 1338 | * IKnowKarate: Trained in kyokushin UsefulNotes/{{Karate}}, amateur wrestling and later shoot wrestling at Super Tiger Gym Tanaka Juku and placed third in the middleweight division of the 3rd All Japan Amateur Shooto Championships. He also competed in combat wrestling and placed third in the 74kg class of the 2nd All Japan Combat Wrestling Championships. |
| 1339 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Yuji Fujita, he did win though. |
| 1340 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: Jarban or Jarvan? |
| 1341 | |
| 1342 | !!!Tetsuji Kato |
| 1343 | * ADayInTheLimeLight: Won the [=SuperBrawl=] 7 Light Heavyweight Tournament. |
| 1344 | * TheApprentice: To Enson Inoue. |
| 1345 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: And shoot wrestling. |
| 1346 | * TheWorfEffect: A good fighter, he was Anderson Silva's first opponent in Shooto and in Japan, he lost by unanimous decision. |
| 1347 | |
| 1348 | !!!Casemiro Nascimento Martins |
| 1349 | -->''“It was the toughest experience in my career. My father and Rolls were in my corner and were very important to my victory. When the fight was over Zulu came up to me and said: ‘Yeah, kid, congratulations, but you’ve got all that help and I’m a self-made fighter.’ He was right. Thinking of these words, I realized how special a fighter Zulu was and how much I have to thank my family and God for."'' |
| 1350 | -->--Rickson Gracie on his first fight with Zulu. |
| 1351 | |
| 1352 | -->''"At the beginning of the battle, Zulu went for his opponent’s waist, and Rickson let fly a knee strike that took two teeth from the maranhense’s mouth. The King wasn’t even affected. He shook his head, tossed about, and went back towards the boy. The fight was predicted to last at most three ten-minute rounds but, before being submitted, Zulu would escape several strikes and throw the blackbelt out of the ring three times, despite his mouth bleeding from the first strike, which did not stop. A rear-naked-choke ended the fight at two minutes of the second round."'' |
| 1353 | -->--From Correio Braziliense, a national Brazilian newspaper. |
| 1354 | |
| 1355 | * TheApprentice: Averted, he only trained with Waldemar Santana for his fights with Rickson Gracie despite some sites saying he was Santana's top student. He does say he developed his style of fighting with his father. |
| 1356 | * ArrogantKungFuGuy: The patron saint of this trope for vale tudo. Being one is literally part of his fighting strategy. |
| 1357 | * BadassFamily: His son Wágner da Conceição Martins AKA "Zuluzinho" ("Little Zulu" or "Zulu Jr.") is also a vale tudo and MMA fighter. |
| 1358 | * BloodKnight: He had a habit of making faces at opponents and mocking them in an effort to communicate to his opponent, that no matter how tough the fight was, he was enjoying himself. |
| 1359 | * ChallengeSeeker: In his younger days, he would seek out opponents all over Brazil, from street fighters, both students and masters of martial art gyms, to tourists. |
| 1360 | * CloudCuckoolander: Rei Zulu was known for many things, none of them particularly sane. He did acrobatics and silly faces every time he got into the ring, claimed to eat only molten iron, and gave interviews which would have made Wrestling/UltimateWarrior seem articulate. |
| 1361 | * CoolOldGuy: 70 years old now and still carries out his daily physical training with heavy stones, tires, mallet and says he does not like attending gym, so he trains in his backyard. |
| 1362 | * DavidVersusGoliath: Was Goliath in his fights with Rickson Gracie. |
| 1363 | * DefeatingTheUndefeatable: His first fight with Rickson Gracie was his first loss. |
| 1364 | * {{Determinator}}: In his prime, he got knee'd in the face by Rickson Gracie that took out two teeth and didn't even flinch. |
| 1365 | * {{Expy}}: Though it would be difficult to recognize for non-old school MMA fans, Wrestling/BobSapp was the second coming of Zulu: a huge, ScaryBlackMan with a flamboyant personality who lacked fighting training but supplied it with size and strength. They both were wildly popular, got important victories over orthodox martial artists before being figured out and defeated themselves, and both became jobbers and entertainers towards the end of their careers. |
| 1366 | * GlassCannon: In his prime he was mostly a cardio example, in his later years his chin couldn't take much anymore. |
| 1367 | * GuestFighter |
| 1368 | * InsistentTerminology: Claims to represent a style created by himself called "Tarracá" which was based around wrestling, street brawling, UsefulNotes/{{Capoeira}}-like footwork and mocking his opponents. There is a whole article about it in the Portuguese section of Website/TheOtherWiki. |
| 1369 | * IShallTauntYou: He makes faces and mocks his opponents as part of his fighting style. |
| 1370 | * {{Jobber}}: At the end of his career. |
| 1371 | * LargeHam: Does not begin to describe him. |
| 1372 | * LightningBruiser: Renowned for not only his size but his power and quickness in his prime. |
| 1373 | * NicknamingTheEnemy: Referred to Rickson as "Chicken Body" because of the vast weight difference between the two. |
| 1374 | * OldSoldier: A legendary vale tudo fighter since the 1960's. |
| 1375 | * RagsToRiches: A downplayed example as he never got really rich, but the reason he never had an martial arts training was because he could not afford it. |
| 1376 | * RedBaron: "Rei Zulu" ("King Zulu") which is more popular than his real name. |
| 1377 | * RingOldies: Was 50 when he fought in Shooto. His last fight was when he was 63. |
| 1378 | * ScaryBlackMan: One of his appeals. |
| 1379 | * ShockingDefeatLegacy: His fights with Rickson Gracie ended his reign as a top fighter. |
| 1380 | * StoutStrength: Was notable for his size in his prime. |
| 1381 | * ToBeAMaster: Aside from making money, more importantly Zulu fought to prove he was the best vale tudo fighter. |
| 1382 | * UnskilledButStrong: Had no formal training in any martial arts when he started fighting vale tudo, but his strength and size especially for his era gave him an edge. |
| 1383 | * TheWorfEffect: Was beaten by Enson Inoue in Shooto in less than a minute. |
| 1384 | |
| 1385 | !!!Ali Mihoubi |
| 1386 | * TheApprentice: To Antoine Becaglia. |
| 1387 | * FrenchJerk: Along with Abdelaziz Cherigui and Daniel Quoniam, were the first French fighters in Shooto. |
| 1388 | * GuestFighter |
| 1389 | * IKnowKarate: Kempo UsefulNotes/{{Karate}}. He also trained in shoot wrestling at Hybrid Pancrace Academy |
| 1390 | * {{Jobber}}: Has only one fight in Shooto, a loss to Rumina Sato. He also lost to Ralph Gracie at Extreme Fighting 3. |
| 1391 | |
| 1392 | !!!Daniel Quoniam |
| 1393 | * TheApprentice: To Antoine Becaglia. |
| 1394 | * CoolTeacher: Has his own MMA Team, Team Quoniam. |
| 1395 | * FrenchJerk: Along with Abdelaziz Cherigui and Ali Mihoubi, were the first French fighters in Shooto. |
| 1396 | * GuestFighter |
| 1397 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Sambo}}: A French national champion. Also trained in UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}, was one of the first French guys to learn UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu, also one of the first black belts from France, was part the French Jiu-Jitsu team that competed in the first ever Mundial in Brazil in 1996, and was one of the first French guys to learn shoot wrestling at the Hybrid Pancrace Academy. |
| 1398 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Katsuhisa Fujii, he lost. |
| 1399 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: Is mistakingly recorded on MMA sites as Daniel Quonian. |
| 1400 | * UrExample: Pioneered Shooto in France. |
| 1401 | |
| 1402 | !!!Ed Wedding |
| 1403 | * TheApprentice: Trained under many masters like Richard Bustillo, Shane Rice, Andy Wang, Bob Bass, Fernando Vasconcelos, Ramon Rubia, Yorinaga Nakamura, etc. |
| 1404 | * BadassTeacher: A Martial Arts and Self Defense Seminar Instructor for the Schwerin Police Force in Germany, the Acapulco Police in Mexico, and the U.S. Air Force bases El Segundo/San Pedro. |
| 1405 | * CoolTeacher: Has a martial art-personal training site called Warrior Culture Personal Training. He is currently a UsefulNotes/MuayThai Instructor at Alliance Krav Maga, formerly a coach of PKG (Punch, Kick, Grapple) and the now-defunct RAW (Real American Wrestling) Gym. |
| 1406 | * GuestFighter |
| 1407 | * IKnowKarate: Shotokan UsefulNotes/{{Karate}}, also UsefulNotes/{{Taekwondo}}, American Kenpo, UsefulNotes/WingChun, UsefulNotes/MuayThai, boxing, jeet kune do, a black belt in UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu, the Doce Pares San Miguel System of Eskrima, shoot wrestling, etc. |
| 1408 | * {{Jobber}}: Had one fight in Shooto against Yoshiyuki Takayama, he lost. |
| 1409 | [[/folder]] |
| 1410 | |
| 1411 | [[folder:Debuted in The Las Grandes Viajes Year (1998)]] |
| 1412 | [[quoteright:190:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/th_05577_shooto_122_1082lo.jpg]] |
| 1413 | [[caption-width-right:190:Exit The Tiger (And His Mask), Enter The Dragon... Really Guys?]] |
| 1414 | !!!Trent Bekis |
| 1415 | * TheApprentice: To Anthony Lange. |
| 1416 | * AwesomeAussie |
| 1417 | * CoolTeacher: A jujitsu instructor at DFMA Academy - Cho Wa Ryu Ju Jitsu. |
| 1418 | * GuestFighter |
| 1419 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: Trained at the Poseidon Gym and also know Japanese jujitsu. |
| 1420 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Noboru Asahi and lost. |
| 1421 | |
| 1422 | !!!Parinya Charoenphol |
| 1423 | -->''"When you feel like a woman, to be fighting like a man is very difficult. You're a woman doing the manliest thing. When men fight with other men, it matters differently than when they fight with me and lose. And that made them fight extra hard. They were yelled at by their coaches. Their friends told them to quit fighting because they lost to a transvestite. They thought I was less than them. That was why I kissed the opponents whom I defeated. When I won, I could see that my opponents were crestfallen. I would go up to them, say 'sorry' and kiss them on the cheek. And I apologised sincerely. I didn't kiss them because I thought they were cute."'' |
| 1424 | |
| 1425 | * ActionGirl: She is one now. |
| 1426 | * TheApprentice: To Philip Wong. |
| 1427 | * CoolTeacher: Opened a boxing camp, Parinya UsefulNotes/MuayThai, in Pranburi, Thailand which she owns and runs with American actor-writer Steven Khan. She currently teaches UsefulNotes/MuayThai and aerobics to children at the Baan Poo Yai School. |
| 1428 | * {{Crossdresser}}: Before her sex change. |
| 1429 | * GorgeousGeorge: When she was still a he, she wore make-up and lipstick and kissed her opponents after defeating them. |
| 1430 | * GuestFighter: Fought in the Shooto and shootboxing joint event; Shoot the Shooto "Double Cross" XX in a USefulNotes/MuayThai rules fight against Kazuki Wakamiya. |
| 1431 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/MuayThai: Trained at the Fairtex Gym in Bangkok and is a former champion. |
| 1432 | * MoneyDearBoy: At first she only got into UsefulNotes/MuayThai to provide for her family and money for a sex change operation, but later fell in love with the sport. |
| 1433 | * OldFriendNewGender: She had her sex-change surgery in 1999 at Yanhee International Hospital. She was a former actress, model, and even tried to be a singer. |
| 1434 | * PetTheDog: See her quote above. |
| 1435 | * RedBaron: "Nong Toom". |
| 1436 | * ReligiousBruiser: Was once a Buddhist monk (not a nun). |
| 1437 | * SignatureMove: Crushing Medicine, which involves jumping in the air and bringing her elbow down onto the head of her unfortunate opponent. |
| 1438 | |
| 1439 | !!!Ray Cooper Jr |
| 1440 | * TheApprentice: To Bob Ostovich. |
| 1441 | * BadassFamily: His brother-in-law Ronald Jhun is also a MMA fighter. His son, Ray Cooper III is also a MMA fighter. |
| 1442 | * {{Determinator}}: Fought twice in [=SuperBrawl=] 3 in his MMA debut. |
| 1443 | * GuestFighter |
| 1444 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} |
| 1445 | * RealMenLoveJesus: Trained at Jesus is Lord which is a MMA gym that mixes Christian fellowship together with MMA training. If fact the gym got it's name when he fought in [=SuperBrawl=] 3 and wore a shirt with Jesus is Lord on it before his fights. |
| 1446 | * RedBaron: "Bradda". |
| 1447 | * TheRival: Jake Shields. |
| 1448 | * UrExample: The first MMA fighter of the Jesus is Lord MMA gym. |
| 1449 | |
| 1450 | !!!Ramon Dekkers |
| 1451 | -->''"Ramon had incredible technique and was strong, both mentally and physically. He didn’t flinch; he just absorbed all the punishment. Dekkers bought his own version of Muay Thai, rather than trying to be Thai himself. In doing that, he changed the sport."'' |
| 1452 | -->-- Paul Briggs, world Muay Thai champion. |
| 1453 | |
| 1454 | -->''"He was the greatest ever. He took the sport to the next level, and inspired a lot of people. As far as Westerners fighting Thais, the Dutch did it first. They led the way. [Ramon] forced the Thais to change their game plan. Before that, they pretty much just kicked."'' |
| 1455 | -->-- Anthony Vella |
| 1456 | |
| 1457 | -->''"It was very strange for the Thais. They didn’t know where Holland was, then all of a sudden there was a fighter from this place they had never heard of beating their champions. They didn't know what to think."'' |
| 1458 | --> Ramon Dekkers |
| 1459 | |
| 1460 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Was beaten by Den Muangsurinas twice. |
| 1461 | * TheApprentice: To Cor Hemmers. |
| 1462 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: The head of his own UsefulNotes/MuayThai team; Team Dekkers. |
| 1463 | * BadassFamily: He is Cor Hemmer’s stepson. |
| 1464 | * BloodKnight: A UsefulNotes/MuayThai and UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} record of 186 wins 33 losses and 2 draws. He was known for his fast-paced, aggressive fighting style and he never turned down a challenge. |
| 1465 | * CoolTeacher: A trainer for Golden Glory and Team Dekkers. |
| 1466 | * DentedIron: Toward the end of his career Ramon was so injured he couldn’t train, his left ankle having been surgically fused because of repeated breakages. |
| 1467 | * TheDreaded: In his prime, his opponents were so afraid of him that they fought merely to survive. But when this happened it made him change tactics. Rather than to try and shoot it out with his opponent in the middle of the ring, he had to drive them to the corner and to finish them off with his punches and kicks. |
| 1468 | * GoodOldFisticuffs: His kicking abilities are exceptional but his favorite fighting techniques are his punching techniques. One of his stronger weapons was his left hook. |
| 1469 | * GuestFighter: Fought in the Shooto and shootboxing joint event, Shoot the Shooto "Double Cross" XX against Hiromu Yoshitaka in a UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} rules fight. |
| 1470 | * HeterosexualLifePartners: With Rob Kaman. In the beginning of his career Dekkers' manager was Clovis Depretz, who was also the manager of Rob Kaman. This was the reason why Kaman was at ringside during many of Dekkers' matches, including his farewell fight. They often trained together and became good friends. Dekkers and Kaman were dubbed by fight fans in Thailand as "The Double Dutch duo". |
| 1471 | * HeroKiller: Has beaten legends like Richard Nam, Ramkisoen, Kevin and Mike Morris, Gilbert Ballantine, Mungkordum Sitchang, Nangpon Nongeeb Pahuyuth, Cherry S. Wanich, Coban Lookchaomaesithong, Joel Cezar, Saengtiennoi Sor. Rungrot, Sakmongkol Sithchuchok, Orono Por Muang-Ubol, Joe Prestia, Chanoy Pon Tawee, Decharwin, Nattawhut Pralomran, Hassan Kassrioui, Gerald Mamadeus, etc. |
| 1472 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/MuayThai: Trained at Maeng Ho Gym and Golden Glory Gym and is an 8-time world champion, a European and Holland champion. He also trained in UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} and boxing. |
| 1473 | * MightyWhitey: Is considered by many (Thai’s included) to be the best foreigner to ever fight in Thailand and was the first “farang” (foreigner) in Thai history to ever win Fighter of the Year in Thailand in 1992. The Ramon Dekkers Trophy was created by WBC MUAYTHAI for the best foreigner in UsefulNotes/MuayThai. He was so influential that the Thais started copying his style of UsefulNotes/MuayThai. |
| 1474 | * RedBaron: "The Diamond", "The Turbine from Hell", "Creator/MikeTyson of Thai Boxing". |
| 1475 | * TheRival: Coban Lookchaomaesaitong. They fought four times from 1991 to 1993, in what became one of the biggest feuds in UsefulNotes/MuayThai history. He also fought Gilbert Ballantine and Saengtiennoi Sor. Rungrot 3 times each. |
| 1476 | * ScrewedByTheNetwork: The only thing that Ramon dislikes in UsefulNotes/MuayThai is the scoring system inside Thailand. He thinks he won a lot of his fights in Thailand only to have them taken away due to bad decisions. After some bouts he was confident that he had won the fight only to have it changed by the judges. He believes a lot of it has to do with the gambling in Lumpinee Stadium. Some would say that it’s always an entirely different scenario when you go to a man’s country and fight him at his own national sport. It is very difficult for a “farang” fighter in Thailand to win other than by knocking his opponent out. Losing on points can be very frustrating for a fighter trying to force a knockout, instead of being patient to wait for the right chance, but it is a very normal thing in Thailand. |
| 1477 | * [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff Thais Love Ramon Dekkers]]: He was barely known in the Netherlands and USA, but he became so famous in Thailand there were police escorts when he arrived from the airport. When he walked on the streets in Thailand, everybody recognized him and asked for autographs and pictures. He never turned down a challenge and in turn was always respected by the Thai fighters. He also was popular in Japan and France. |
| 1478 | * UrExample: The first foreigner to beat Thais in Thailand. |
| 1479 | * TheWorfEffect: Fought a MMA fight against Genki Sudo and lost by heel hook in under 3 minutes. |
| 1480 | * WorthyOpponent: He considers Namphon Nongkee Pahuyuth and Den Muangsurinas as his toughest opponents. He also states Joe Prestia was the toughest French fighter he faced. |
| 1481 | |
| 1482 | !!!Satoshi Fujisaki |
| 1483 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: Trained at Shooting Gym Yokohama. |
| 1484 | * OvershadowedByAwesome: Drew with Dokonjonosuke Mishima in his debut, but had a short career and never got to be as notable. |
| 1485 | |
| 1486 | !!!Yoshihiro Fujita |
| 1487 | * TheApprentice: To Yuki Nakai. |
| 1488 | * CoolTeacher: Former head instructor of Paraestra Hiroshima. |
| 1489 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: And shoot wrestling. |
| 1490 | * {{Jobber}}: A record of 2 wins, 6 losses, and a draw. |
| 1491 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Yuji or Norio. |
| 1492 | |
| 1493 | !!!Joel Gerson |
| 1494 | -->''"I was a big fan of his. He submitted Rumina Sato... it was a huge deal, one of the biggest MMA fighters in the world. That dude's submitted a lot of people."'' |
| 1495 | -->-- Creator/JoeRogan |
| 1496 | |
| 1497 | * ADayInTheLimeLight: Was the first man to beat Rumina Sato. Rumina got so frenzied that he chased Gerson to a grappling tournament in Canada and threw opponents right and left until he could reach him and submit him for revenge. |
| 1498 | * TheApprentice: To Moni Aizik. |
| 1499 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Was the most senior student and lead instructor at the legendary Samurai Club. |
| 1500 | * CoolTeacher: Owns Revolution MMA & Fitness Inc and is the head instructor. |
| 1501 | * GuestFighter |
| 1502 | * IKnowKarate: A black belt, a 3 time Ontario UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} Champion, and trained extensively with the Canadian Olympic Judo Team. He also trained at the Samurai Club in UsefulNotes/KravMaga and UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu and is a black belt and a 5 Time Canadian Jiu Jitsu Champion (including Open Weight Class Champion). |
| 1503 | |
| 1504 | !!!Manson Gibson |
| 1505 | -->''"Everyone thinks I'm doing kickboxing, but that's not true. What I'm doing is Kung Fu."'' |
| 1506 | |
| 1507 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Lost to Rick Roufus twice. |
| 1508 | * BloodKnight / ChallengeSeeker: He came to Japan because he found the fights in the USA (aside from his fights with Rick Roufus) "uninspiring". |
| 1509 | * ConfusionFu: Had a wild, unpredictable UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} style. |
| 1510 | * GuestFighter: Fought in the Shooto and shootboxing joint event, Shoot the Shooto "Double Cross" XX against Changpuek Kiatsongrit in a shootboxing rules fight. |
| 1511 | * HeroKiller: Has beaten guys like Caesar Takeshi, Tosca Petridis, Changpuek Kiatsongrit, and Coban Lookchaomaesaitong. |
| 1512 | * IKnowKarate: Trained at the Windy City Gym and is a 12-time UsefulNotes/MuayThai and UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} World Champion and also a shootboxing champion. He claims however that his style is mostly based on his background in Praying Mantis Kung Fu, and is also said to have trained in UsefulNotes/{{Taekwondo}}. |
| 1513 | * LargeHam: Was this, as seen in his post-fight interview after drawing with Wrestling/YojiAnjo. |
| 1514 | * RedBaron: "The Master Blaster", "The Thai Killer", "The Black Creator/BruceLee". |
| 1515 | * ScaryBlackMan: Is credited with over 100 wins and more than 80 [=KOs=], including around 40 via headkick. |
| 1516 | * SpectacularSpinning: He was known for his vicious use of spinning techniques especially backfists. |
| 1517 | * TheWorfEffect: Had one MMA match against Jeremy Morrison at Combat Do Fighting Challenge 10 and lost almost immediately by rear naked choke. |
| 1518 | |
| 1519 | !!!Dennis Hall |
| 1520 | * TheApprentice: To Rico Chiapparelli. |
| 1521 | * GuestFighter |
| 1522 | * IKnowKarate: A 10-time US National Champion, a World Champion, and 3-time USA Olympian for Greco-Roman Wrestling. He won a Silver Medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. |
| 1523 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Noboru Asahi, he lost. |
| 1524 | * RedBaron: "Chicken Hawk". |
| 1525 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: MMA sites mistakenly list him as Denis Hall. |
| 1526 | |
| 1527 | !!!Takeyasu Hirono |
| 1528 | * TheApprentice: To Yoshinori Nishi. |
| 1529 | * CanonImmigrant: A recurrent Shooto fighter from Yoshinori Nishi's Wajutsu Keishukai dojo. |
| 1530 | * IKnowKarate: Trained at the Daidōjuku-based Wajutsu Keishukai. |
| 1531 | * {{Jobber}}: A career of 9 wins, 16 losses, and 4 draws. |
| 1532 | |
| 1533 | !!!Katsuo Ise |
| 1534 | * TheApprentice: To Caesar Takeshi. |
| 1535 | * CanonImmigrant / GuestFighter: Fought in the Shooto and shootboxing joint event, Shoot the Shooto "Double Cross" XX against Tatsuya Maeda in a shootboxing rules fight. |
| 1536 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shootboxing]]: Trained at Caesar Gym. |
| 1537 | |
| 1538 | !!!Zvonko Jakovcevic |
| 1539 | * TheApprentice: To Branko "The Croatian Tiger" Cikatić. |
| 1540 | * GuestFighter |
| 1541 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/MuayThai: Trained at the Tigar Gym. |
| 1542 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Caol Uno and lost. |
| 1543 | * UrExample: Along with Ante Jurisic, the first Croatians in Shooto. |
| 1544 | |
| 1545 | !!!Ante Jurisic |
| 1546 | * TheApprentice: To Branko "The Croatian Tiger" Cikatić. |
| 1547 | * GuestFighter |
| 1548 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/MuayThai: Trained at the Tigar Gym. |
| 1549 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Kenji Kawaguchi and lost. |
| 1550 | * UrExample: Along with Zvonko Jakovcevic, the first Croatians in Shooto. |
| 1551 | |
| 1552 | !!!Masashi Kita |
| 1553 | * CoolTeacher: Head trainer at Team Ikazuchi. |
| 1554 | * GuestFighter |
| 1555 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}: As well as boxing, amateur wrestling, UsefulNotes/MuayThai, and UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu. |
| 1556 | * {{Jobber}}: A short career with 1 win and 3 losses. |
| 1557 | |
| 1558 | !!!Jun Kitagawa |
| 1559 | * CoolTeacher: Has his own gym, Gonzui's Gym. He was the former head instructor of Shooting Gym Kobe. |
| 1560 | * IKnowKarate: As well as shoot wrestling, trained at Shooto Gym Blows. |
| 1561 | * {{Jobber}}: A career of 4 wins, 8 losses, and 2 draws. |
| 1562 | * RedBaron: "Gonzui". |
| 1563 | |
| 1564 | !!!Hiroki Kotani |
| 1565 | * TheApprentice: To Kazuhiro Kusayanagi. |
| 1566 | * BadassFamily: His brother Naoyuki is also a MMA fighter. |
| 1567 | * BashBrothers: With his brother Naoyuki. |
| 1568 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Combat Wrestling]]: Trained under Noriaki Kiguchi before his Shooto career. He also learned shoot wrestling and UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu. |
| 1569 | * {{Jobber}}: A record of 3 wins, 12 losses, and 4 draws. |
| 1570 | |
| 1571 | !!!Tatsuya Maeda |
| 1572 | * TheApprentice: To Caesar Takeshi. |
| 1573 | * CanonImmigrant / GuestFighter: From the Shootboxing organization. |
| 1574 | * EarlyBirdCameo: Fought in the Shooto and shootboxing joint event, Shoot the Shooto "Double Cross" XX in a shootboxing rules fight against Katsuo Ise before his MMA fight in RINGS. |
| 1575 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shootboxing]]: Trained at the Shoot Boxing Neyagawa Gym. |
| 1576 | * JackOfAllStats: One of the most complete fighters in shootboxing history. His fusion of strikes and throws captivated the audience. |
| 1577 | |
| 1578 | !!!Colin Mannsur |
| 1579 | * TheApprentice: To Bob Schrijber. |
| 1580 | * CoolTeacher: Owns Mejiro Gym Wormer and Maxifit Wormer. |
| 1581 | * GuestFighter |
| 1582 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/MuayThai: Trained at Fitness Krommenie and Sports Academy Schreiber. He also knows UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}. |
| 1583 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: Was sometimes introduced as Colin Masseur. |
| 1584 | |
| 1585 | !!!Hiromichi Maruyama |
| 1586 | * TheApprentice: To Masashi Horibe. |
| 1587 | * GuestFighter |
| 1588 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Koppo]]: Trained at the Ugokai Wild Phoenix Gym. |
| 1589 | * {{Jobber}}: A career of 1 win, 1 loss, and 1 draw. |
| 1590 | |
| 1591 | !!!Mitsuo Matsumoto |
| 1592 | * AlliterativeName |
| 1593 | * CoolTeacher: A former instructor at Master Japan. |
| 1594 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu]]: Trained at Gracie Barra Tokyo. He was also a welterweight amateur Shooto champion in 1997. |
| 1595 | |
| 1596 | !!!Dokonjonosuke Mishima |
| 1597 | -->''"Young, strong, and big!'' (laughs)''"'' |
| 1598 | |
| 1599 | * ActionFashionista: While his fashion is mostly for his entrances, he is a fine grappler with draws against names like Caol Uno, Yuki Nakai and Marcio Feitosa in submission matches and a victory over Masakazu Imanari in MMA. |
| 1600 | * TheApprentice: To Naoki Sakurada. |
| 1601 | * ConfusionFu: Uses UsefulNotes/{{Capoeira}} kicks from time to time to confuse his opponents. |
| 1602 | * CoolTeacher: Founded the Cobra Kai MMA Dojo. |
| 1603 | * CostumePorn: In his entrances. |
| 1604 | * TheIdiotFromOsaka: Is from the Naniwa ward of Osaka. |
| 1605 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}: He also learned UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu, combat wrestling and a bit of UsefulNotes/{{Taekwondo}} and UsefulNotes/{{Capoeira}}. |
| 1606 | * MultidisciplinaryScientist: He has professionally competed in MMA, amateur MMA, tag team MMA (no, really) grappling, shootboxing, UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}, UsefulNotes/{{Taekwondo}} and pro wrestling. |
| 1607 | * RealMenWearPink: Like pink bathrobes with stuffed animals. |
| 1608 | * RedBaron: "Naniwa no Karuwazashi" ("The Acrobat from Naniwa"), Naniwa no Sunēkuman ("The Snakeman of Naniwa"), "Naniwa no Sasurai Gurappurā" ("The Wandering Grappler from Naniwa"), "☆SHOW", "The Gutsman". |
| 1609 | * SesquipedalianSmith: Though his real first name is Yoshitomi. |
| 1610 | * ShoutOut: His gym is named [[Film/TheKarateKid Cobra Kai]]. |
| 1611 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: Is it Dokonjonosuke or Dokonjyonosuke? |
| 1612 | |
| 1613 | !!!Takaharu Murahama |
| 1614 | * TheApprentice: To Masashi Horibe. |
| 1615 | * DoNotCallMePaul: His real first name is Tetsuharu. |
| 1616 | * GuestFighter |
| 1617 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Koppo]]: Trained at the Ugokai Wild Phoenix Gym. He also knows UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} and later learned UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu at Gracie Barra Tokyo. |
| 1618 | * WrestlingFamily: Is the older brother of Takehiro Murahama. |
| 1619 | |
| 1620 | !!!Takehiro Murahama |
| 1621 | * TheAce: With no doubt one of the best shootboxers of the sport's early days. He also became the ace of Osaka Pro Wrestling for a time. |
| 1622 | * TheApprentice: To Caesar Takeshi. |
| 1623 | * ArchEnemy: In K-1, Masato. |
| 1624 | * BrokenPedestal: Left shootboxing after his relationship with his trainer Cesar Takeshi got sour. |
| 1625 | * CanonImmigrant: He later became a wrestler for Osaka Pro Wrestling. He also went to ZERO-ONE as an Osaka Pro Wrestling representative, although more in a symbolic light, as he actually did not work for them anymore. |
| 1626 | * CoolTeacher: Trained pro wrestler Yutaka Fukuda. |
| 1627 | * DentedIron: After all the damage of his pro wrestling and fighting career, he should have retired from the latter in 2004, but he keep on. He would have avoided many losses had he done it. |
| 1628 | * {{Determinator}}: Was known as this in his shootboxing career. He was still worn and injured after so many years when he fought Masato, and it was still called one of the best matches of the year. |
| 1629 | ** Not any less in MMA: he pulled a draw against Royler Gracie despite being constantly endangered by him on the ground, and by the end of the match Takehiro had even started taking over. He also led Jens Pulver to the judges. |
| 1630 | * GuestFighter: Fought in the Shooto and shootboxing joint event, Shoot the Shooto "Double Cross" XX against Gaunar Sorkhettalingchan in a shootboxing rules fight. |
| 1631 | * HeroicBSOD: Retired from his home promotion, OPW, when he lost a K-1 match to KID Yamamoto. |
| 1632 | * HeroKiller: Has UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} victories over the famous Kensaku Maeda, and also got a few wins against Thai fighters. |
| 1633 | * IKnowKarate: As well as UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} and shootboxing. |
| 1634 | * IWorkAlone: A famously lone wrestler. In fact, everybody was shocked to when he proposed Katsuhiko Nakajima to team up in the Differ Cup. |
| 1635 | * LoonyFan: Of Wrestling/BobSapp. He fell in love with Sapp's act, so he called himself "Mini Beast" and voiced everywhere his desire to become his cornerman. It seems he didn't. |
| 1636 | * RedBaron: "Rainbow Warrior", "Chisana Kyojin" ("The Little Giant"), "Mini Beast", "SB no Bakudan Kozō" ("Shootboxing Bomb Boy"). |
| 1637 | * WorthyOpponent: Wrestling/JushinThunderLiger. |
| 1638 | * WrestlerInAllOfUs: Wrestled in Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling, Bikkuri Pro, Wrestling/FightingOperaHustle, Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling, Wrestling/ProWrestlingNoah, Osaka Puroresu and Wrestling/ProWrestlingZero1. |
| 1639 | |
| 1640 | !!!Anthony Netzler |
| 1641 | * TheApprentice: To Masaaki Hatsumi. |
| 1642 | * AwesomeAussie: He is actually from New Zealand. |
| 1643 | * CoolTeacher: Owns his own school, Bujinkan Moukokagedo Dojo. |
| 1644 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Ninjutsu]]: Trained in Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu and is a 15th dan black belt. He also trained in UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu, UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}, UsefulNotes/{{Karate}}, combat and shoot wrestling. |
| 1645 | * {{Ninja}}: Pretty much a legit Ninja. |
| 1646 | * OddFriendship: With Enson Inoue as his training partner in Taijutsu. |
| 1647 | * RedBaron: "Tatsuji". |
| 1648 | |
| 1649 | !!!Masaki Nishizawa |
| 1650 | * TheApprentice: To Masashi Horibe. |
| 1651 | * GuestFighter |
| 1652 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Koppo]]: Trained at the Ugokai Wild Phoenix Gym. |
| 1653 | * {{Jobber}}: A short career of 1 win, 3 losses and 2 draws. |
| 1654 | |
| 1655 | !!!Alexandre Franca Nogueira |
| 1656 | * TheAce: He holds the record for longest title reign in any MMA organization, reigning as Shooto Lightweight Champion for six years, eight months, and two days before having to vacate the title due to a knee injury. |
| 1657 | * TheApprentice: To Luta Livre Mestre Eugenio Tadeu and UsefulNotes/MuayThai Mestre Toniko Jr.. |
| 1658 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Has his own fight team, Pequeno Team. |
| 1659 | * BadassFamily: His brother Leonardo "Leozada" Nogueira is also a Luta Livre and MMA fighter and additionally a UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu black belt under Ricardo de la Riva and Reyzinho Duarte. His cousin Huanderson Pavao is also a Luta Livre, MMA fighter, and UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu black belt under Julio César Pereira. |
| 1660 | * BashBrothers: With his brother Leonardo "Leozada" Nogueira. |
| 1661 | * CoolTeacher: Has his own gym, Clube de luta. He was also an instructor at the Shooto Brazil Dojo. |
| 1662 | * HeroKiller: Made his debut by submitting Noboru Asahi, then defeated him again for the Shooto Lightweight Championship in the rematch. He also has beaten Rumina Sato by submission. |
| 1663 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Luta Livre]]: As well as boxing and UsefulNotes/MuayThai. |
| 1664 | * IWasBeatenByAGirl: When he first started luta livre he regularly rolled with some girls in Eugenio Tadeu's gym, since he didn't know luta livre at the time he was regularly submitted, this went on for months. |
| 1665 | * RedBaron: "Pequeno" ("Small"), "Guillotine Master", "Rei do Shooto Japonês" ("King of Japanese Shooto"), "Mikado" ("The Emperor"). |
| 1666 | * SignatureMove: The guillotine choke. |
| 1667 | * UnrelatedBrothers: Despite having the same surname he is not related to the twin Nogueira brothers which is why some sites list him as Alexandre Pequeno. |
| 1668 | |
| 1669 | !!!Takayuki Okochi |
| 1670 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Head of Team Aciu. |
| 1671 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]] |
| 1672 | * {{Jobber}}: A career of 7 wins, 14 losses, and 3 draws. |
| 1673 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Mamoru. |
| 1674 | |
| 1675 | !!!Kenichi Ogata |
| 1676 | * TheApprentice: To Caesar Takeshi. |
| 1677 | * CanonImmigrant / GuestFighter: From the Shootboxing organization. |
| 1678 | * EarlyBirdCameo: Fought in the Shooto and shootboxing joint event; Shoot the Shooto "Double Cross" XX in a Shootboxing rules fight against Gilbert Ballantine. |
| 1679 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shootboxing]]: Trained at Caesar Gym and is a 2nd dan in UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}. |
| 1680 | * RedBaron: "Ogaken", "Shootboxing Soldier". |
| 1681 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: His real name is written as "尾形健一", his ring name is written as "緒形 健一". |
| 1682 | * UrExample: The first Shoot Boxing Japanese Junior falconweight (Super welterweight) Champion. |
| 1683 | * TheWorfEffect: Lost to Curtis Brigham by choke in 43 seconds. |
| 1684 | |
| 1685 | !!!Jay R. Palmer |
| 1686 | * ADayInTheLimeLight: Won two [=FutureBrawl=]s, the progenitor of [=Superbrawl=]. |
| 1687 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Lost twice to Danny "Boy" Bennett. |
| 1688 | * TheBerserker: Noted for being a very aggressive fighter. |
| 1689 | * {{Determinator}}: He was described as squirrely as hell, aggressive, hard to control, and tough. |
| 1690 | * GuestFighter |
| 1691 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Taekwondo}}: A black belt in this and UsefulNotes/{{Aikido}}. He also trained with the Universal Roughhousing team. |
| 1692 | * {{Jobber}}: Had one fight in Shooto against Jutaro Nakao, he lost. He did have better success outside of Shooto. |
| 1693 | * PintSizedPowerhouse: For a black Hawaiian he was quite short at 5ft 9 and about 150 ibs. |
| 1694 | * ScaryBlackMan |
| 1695 | * UnskilledButStrong: He got through his fights by toughness and savagery, not technique. |
| 1696 | |
| 1697 | !!!Damien Riccio |
| 1698 | -->''"The guy show up at Robin’s seminar and started to talk shit and wanted to fight Robin, so Robin did. They fought, the guy punched Robin and Robin shot in, the guy sprawled, Robin pulled guard and punched him from the guard, the blood on Robin’s shirt is from the guy's face. Then the fight stopped. Robin said to the guy that they should setup a time anytime he wants to and have a fight for real. The guy started talking shit about my family and all my brothers and all the Brazilians saying that they are nothing. I am in Spain right now, I am going to take care of this m***er. Robin invited him to my seminar this weekend so that we can have a fight and I will show him what Brazilians are all about, he guy already back down, saying that he has to work that weekend, but he will try. Well if he don't come, I will go see him. That is the story."'' |
| 1699 | -->-- Royce Gracie, edited slightly to correct his English. |
| 1700 | |
| 1701 | -->''"The idea comes in to my head to challenge Robin. But everyone is taken with the fact that the Gracies are strongest and that nobody can beat them in free fight. So in spite of the wound to my leg I decide to go to challenge Robin in closed door. I say to him (The organizer) that I want to make a match of Vale Tudo against him. He bursts out laughing and says "against me, you ask me?" I say to him yes, and he asks me "Now?" I told him no - after your training course and with door closed without spectators. He answers me while laughing without problem. He (the organizer of the seminar) told me already to watch out because (Robin) Gracie is extremely good and that he will put to me on the ground and to beat me easily. I tell them not to worry, and we will see if Gracie will beat me so easily. I say to Robin YOU choose the rules which you want. Robin accepts while saying to my face its best (my way) the French way Robin accepts but decides to make it with spectators with video and Robin wanted a copy of the fight. He does not want the limit of time or gloves, and be Vale Tudo rules. He came in my city while protesting that Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was the best art in the world and that the Gracie's are said to accept all challenges. I came to challenge, to test myself against a Gracie. I say to him that I did nothing but note the famous GRACIE CHALLENGE I came to take up the challenge. He says to me that it is not him which did that but Rickson and Royce and which if I had a problem with them I was to go to see them has them and not him. Robin lost and is a liar."'' |
| 1702 | -->-- Damien Riccio, telling from his view the challenge against Robin Gracie. |
| 1703 | |
| 1704 | * ADayInTheLimeLight: Is most well known for his fight with Robin Gracie. |
| 1705 | * TheApprentice: To his father Laurent Riccio and Jerome Le Banner. |
| 1706 | * ArchEnemy: Became an enemy of the Gracies when he beat Robin Gracie in a "Gracie Challenge" fight under vale tudo rules after a seminar Robin conducted in Perpignan, France. After that happened Royce accused Damien of disrespecting his family and Brazilians because of it, as Robin was not ready to fight and accepted the challenge anyway and then came to Damien's place of work with some of his brothers and tried to wreck the place and Royce actually hurt Damien's little brother Pepe, then sources say either Damien or his other brother Matthias grabbed either a pistol or shotgun and chased them out. |
| 1707 | * BadassFamily: His brother Matthias Riccio is also an MMA fighter and his father Laurent Riccio is a 6th dan shotokan master. |
| 1708 | * BashBrothers: With his brothers Matthias and Pepe. |
| 1709 | * BigBrotherInstinct: His brother Pepe was 12 when Royce attacked him, so it is not surprising if he was the one who pulled a pistol or shotgun to chased the Gracies out. |
| 1710 | * {{Bouncer}}: A former bar bouncer in Perpignan. |
| 1711 | * FrenchJerk: To the Gracies anyway. |
| 1712 | * GuestFighter |
| 1713 | * IKnowKarate: A shotokan black belt under his father. He also trained in UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} at Le Banner Xtreme Team, freestyle wrestling under former Olympian wrestler Georges Carbasse, and trained in shoot wrestling at the Pancration Club Perpignan. |
| 1714 | * {{Jobber}}: More towards the end of his career. |
| 1715 | |
| 1716 | !!!Matt Rocca |
| 1717 | -->''"My general observation was that the seasoned veterans were calm and composed. Myself, I did my best to be composed, but there was a lot of excitement. It’s kind of hard not to think ‘What the hell did I get myself into?’ when you’re standing next to Zane Frazier and Mario Sperry, but I had faith in my trainers, my teammates, in the techniques. I was ready to get after it."'' |
| 1718 | |
| 1719 | * TheApprentice: To Wrestling/KenShamrock. |
| 1720 | * CanonImmigrant / GuestFighter: Was a Lion’s Den fighter. |
| 1721 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: And was a Canadaian National champion UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} and also trained in Tang Soo Do. He trained at the Lion's Den for MMA |
| 1722 | * {{Jobber}}: A career of 1 win and 3 losses. |
| 1723 | * SuperCop: Is now a police officer. |
| 1724 | |
| 1725 | !!!Ryuta Sakurai |
| 1726 | -->''"Sakurai is one of the unsung pioneers of the sport--he made his debut in the legendary proto-MMA Lumax Cup tournaments in 1996 and 1997, and moved quickly into Shooto thereafter. He fought with a much different style than his contemporaries: Where most of Japan's early mixed martial artists were either very technical grapplers or very intense brawlers, Ryuta was more physical, using the combined powers of his all-around game, his heavily-muscled power and his immaculate tan to outmuscle his opponents. His Shooto debut against Masashi Kita saw him get locked in an armbar, use brute strength to keep Kita from extending until his legs were too tired to maintain his grip, and immediately dribble Kita's head off the mat with punches until the referee stepped in. In 1998, it was a unique approach. It also wasn't a very good one. By the turn of the century Sakurai was 3-5-2. He resolved to tighten up his technique, both grappling and striking, and took a year and a half off to better learn and grow before returning to competition. It paid off: He went 6-2-2 over the next three years of his career, and as a recently-winning 9-7-4 prospect earned an invitation to Pride's new Bushido initiative. Unfortunately, Sakurai faced the problem that plagued many journeymen: Big league competition. He made three appearances in Bushido, all against extremely stiff competition, all losses: A competitive decision against Yushin Okami, a less competitive decision against Murilo Bustamante, and a four-minute armbar loss to Paulo Filho. In the same timeframe he'd won back-to-back fights in Deep and Shooto twice and even won Deep's middleweight championship, but he just couldn't measure up against world-class opponents. He was one of Japan's most successful journeymen, and never managed to break through into the top twenty. Which should not be interpreted as his being a bad fighter, or as his having had a bad career--neither was true. Ryuta Sakurai was a notoriously tough fighter against whom there were no easy nights, and his record includes a near-submission over Yushin Okami, a back-and-forth battle with Murilo Bustamante, a four-round draw against Mamed Khalidov and a TKO victory over future NJPW star Katsuyori Shibata. He was so important to Deep that he took its name as his own, and he runs his own MMA school in Mito. His place in the sport was earned, and he still fights and defends it to this day. And he's just so darned tan."'' |
| 1727 | -->-- A profile of Sakurai from a VideoGame/FireProWrestling user [=CarlCX=] from https://steamcommunity.com |
| 1728 | |
| 1729 | * TheApprentice: To Kenji Seki. |
| 1730 | * CoolTeacher: Founded R-Blood MMA Academy. |
| 1731 | * HeroicBuild |
| 1732 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Amateur Wrestling]]: And also shoot wrestling at T-Blood MMA academy. He also had some personal UsefulNotes/CatchWrestling training under Wrestling/KarlGotch. |
| 1733 | * RedBaron: "Mr. DEEP". |
| 1734 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Hayato. |
| 1735 | * WrestlerInAllOfUs: Managed to hit a powerbomb on Taisuke Okuno at Deep: Cage Impact 2016. |
| 1736 | |
| 1737 | !!!Omar Salvosa |
| 1738 | * TheApprentice: To Marcus Soares. |
| 1739 | * CoolTeacher: Owns a school, Salvosa BJJ Ascension and is the head instructor. |
| 1740 | * GuestFighter |
| 1741 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: Trained at the Samurai Club and is now a 3rd degree black belt and a 5 Time Canadian Jiu Jitsu Champion, a 2 time Lightweight World Kobudo Federation's Grappling Champion, won Gold at the IBJJF No-Gi World Championship and again at the IBJJF Pan-American Championship in 2015 in the Masters Black Belt, Featherweight Division. He also trained in krav maga. |
| 1742 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Hisao Ikeda, he lost. |
| 1743 | |
| 1744 | !!!Yuki Sasaki |
| 1745 | -->''"Yuki Sasaki was a childhood striker--a karateka with an amateur past in kickboxing, taking advantage of his tall, lanky build--but fighting across Shooto and Pancrase found him focusing on his grappling to the point of nearly excluding his striking altogether. In most fighters, that would be a mistake. Sasaki turned it into a strength, devoting himself to jiu-jitsu until he earned his black belt and justifying it through his continued success as a submission artist in the ring. Sasaki was known for his incredibly tricky armbars--15 of his 25 career wins came by submission, and 10 of those were armbar variations, skills honed through thousands of hours of sparring with his mentor, Sanae Kikuta. His skills carried him to the top of Pancrase: By 2002 he was 13-5-1, with two of those losses coming against the ever-unpredictable Ikuhisa Minowa, and had more than enough of a name for Pride to come calling. Pride 24 was Sasaki's Pride debut--and exit. He met Rodrigo Gracie and the two engaged in a long, technical grappling match that was fascinating for fans of the intricacies of jiu-jitsu--which, speaking as one of those fans, is a polite way of saying it was boring. The two traded sweeps for the full twenty minutes, but could not mount much actual offense against one another, and when Gracie won the decision, Sasaki got his walking papers. Pancrase was much more welcoming to slow, techncial grappling--Pride wanted a show. Sasaki didn't really go anywhere--he stuck around for a long, long time, fighting from 1998 through 2015. Four years after his Pride debut he made his UFC debut--once again, against a jiu-jitsu ace in Dean Lister, and once again, in a tough, defensively sound and ultimately fan-unfriendly decision. He fought in Sengoku during its brief lifespan and even recorded a submission victory over Yuki Kondo in the process, but his time in the sun never really came again. That's his career, really: One of the very rare successful journeymen of Japanese MMA. He went 25-20-2, he fought across Shooto, Pancrase, Pride, DEEP and the UFC, he took out a number of very tough fighters and at one point he was ranked in the top ten worldwide. He never had a belt, but he had plenty of glory."'' |
| 1746 | -->-- A profile of Sasaki from a VideoGame/FireProWrestling user [=CarlCX=] from https://steamcommunity.com |
| 1747 | |
| 1748 | * TheApprentice: To Naoyuki Taira. |
| 1749 | * GoodOldFisticuffs: Subverted, despite his striking background he mostly stuck to grappling in his MMA fights. |
| 1750 | * HeterosexualLifePartners: First met Sanae Kikuta at the Seidokaikan dojo, trained together at Strapple MMA Gym and Shinjuku-Sports Center, eventually helped to start up Grabaka and is his longest sparring partner. |
| 1751 | * IKnowKarate: Trained in Daidojuku and Seidokaikan UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} and is a black belt. He also went to Thailand to train in UsefulNotes/MuayThai and is also a black belt in UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu and trained at Strapple MMA Gym along with shootboxing and shoot wrestling and also trained at Shinjuku-Sports Center. |
| 1752 | * PowerTrio: With Grabaka mates Sanae Kikuta and Takeshi Yamazaki. |
| 1753 | * RedBaron: "Grabaka no Kyūdōsha" ("Grabaka's Investigator"). |
| 1754 | * SignatureMove: Armbars, multiple variations and ways to set them up. |
| 1755 | * StoneWall: His submission defense was impressive has he got out unfinished against guys like Rodrigo Gracie, Ricardo Almeida, Paulo Filho, and Dean Lister. |
| 1756 | |
| 1757 | !!!Ian James Schaffa |
| 1758 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Head of his own MMA team. |
| 1759 | * AwesomeAussie |
| 1760 | * BloodKnight: Was known to accept fights on a days notice. |
| 1761 | * CoolTeacher: The founder of MMAXFIT AUSTRALIA. |
| 1762 | * GuestFighter |
| 1763 | * HeroKiller: Has K-1 UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} KO win over Genki Sudo, decision wins against Keiji Ozaki; a 2006 Rise UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} Champion, Gold Medalist at the Japanese National Championships, Akeomi Nitta; a WKA World Thai Boxing Super welterweight Champion, and Miyata Kazuyuki; a wrestling Olympian. |
| 1764 | * IKnowKarate: A black belt in Kyokushin and a New South Wales Full Contact UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} Champion. He is also a purple belt in UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu and trained at the Poseidon Gym under Anthony Lange, knows amateur wrestling, trained in boxing and UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} at Bondi Boxing Club under Tony Del Vecchio, and was bronze medalist at the 1999 Australian National Greco-Roman Wrestling Championships, a New South Wales Cruiserweight Boxing Champion, a New South Wales UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} Champion, and a professional kickboxer and boxer. |
| 1765 | * RedBaron: "The Goshu Hurricane", "Sharky". |
| 1766 | * ShoutOut: Japanese Hip Hop artist Sphere of Influence wrote a song dedicated to Ian called Goshu Hurricane. |
| 1767 | * SpectacularSpinning: Used a spinning heel kick to defeat Genki Sudo in UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}, which is where he got his nickname, "The Goshu Hurricane". |
| 1768 | |
| 1769 | !!!Gaunar Sorkhettalingchan |
| 1770 | * GuestFighter: Fought in the Shooto and shootboxing joint event, Shoot the Shooto "Double Cross" XX in a shootboxing rules fight against Takehiro Murahama. |
| 1771 | * IKnowKarate: Knows UsefulNotes/MuayThai |
| 1772 | |
| 1773 | !!!Adriano de Souza |
| 1774 | * GuestFighter |
| 1775 | * IKnowKarate: Knows UsefulNotes/MuayThai |
| 1776 | * {{Jobber}}: A short career with 1 win, 1 loss, and 1 draw. |
| 1777 | |
| 1778 | !!!Kazumichi Takada |
| 1779 | * TheApprentice: To Masashi Horibe. |
| 1780 | * GuestFighter |
| 1781 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Koppo]]: Trained at the Ugokai Wild Phoenix Gym. |
| 1782 | * {{Jobber}}: A short career with 3 wins, 3 losses and a draw. |
| 1783 | |
| 1784 | !!!Izuru Takeuchi |
| 1785 | * TheApprentice: To Tenshin Matsumoto and Kazuhiro Kusayanagi. |
| 1786 | * CoolTeacher: He owns a gym, Absolute Okayama. |
| 1787 | * EarlyBirdCameo: Made his debut in MMA at the Lumax Cup: Tournament of J '97 Middleweight Tournament. |
| 1788 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Sambo}}: Trained at SK Absolute and won bronze in the 82kg weight division of the 2005 Combat Sambo World Championships with a silver in 2006, a two time Japan Command Sambo Champion in 1995 and 1997, and a two time All Japan Sambo Champion in 2000 and 2002. He is also a 3rd dan in UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}, as well as in boxing, amateur wrestling and was on the Okayama national team, combat wrestling and is a 2 time All Japan Combat Wrestling 85 kg Champion in 2002 and 2004 and shoot wrestling at Shooto Gym K’z Factory. |
| 1789 | * MinoredInAssKicking: Was the ADCC Japan 2000 qualifying 87kg class champion, though he was eliminated by Dave Menne at that year’s ADCC. |
| 1790 | * RedBaron: "Gankutsuō" ("King of The Caves"), "Guraundo Sokonashi-numa" ("Ground Bottomless Pit"), "Jigoku no 15-funkan" ("15 Minutes of Hell"), "Nankōfuraku no Yōsai" ("Impregnable Fortress"). |
| 1791 | * TheRival: Had a trilogy of fights with Nate Marquardt over the middleweight King of Pancrase title. |
| 1792 | * StoneWall: A master of defensive submission grappling and has never been tapped out in his professional career. Only Nate Marquardt has a technical submission over him in which he refused to tap out to a rear naked choke. |
| 1793 | |
| 1794 | !!!Koichi Tanaka |
| 1795 | * CoolTeacher: Founded the Muso Senjyutsu (Red Sword) Gym. |
| 1796 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]] |
| 1797 | * {{Jobber}}: In Shooto and Pancrase where he never won a fight in, he had more success outside them. |
| 1798 | * RedBaron: "Super Red Slayer Guy". |
| 1799 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Kenichi or Tomohiro. |
| 1800 | |
| 1801 | !!!Isao Tanimura |
| 1802 | * TheApprentice: To Tenshin Matsumoto and Yuki Nakai. |
| 1803 | * EarlyBirdCameo: He competed in an amateur RINGS event in 1997 and won the 80kg division. |
| 1804 | * HeAlsoDid: Worked in show business and appeared in a show called VOCABULA, a comedy variety show before he became a fighter. |
| 1805 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: As well as Command UsefulNotes/{{Sambo}} and shoot wrestling. He also competed in Combat Wrestling. |
| 1806 | * RedBaron: "The Babanba". |
| 1807 | |
| 1808 | !!!Katsuya Toida |
| 1809 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Beaten twice by Naoya Uematsu. |
| 1810 | * TheApprentice: To Yoshinori Nishi and Naoki Sakurada. |
| 1811 | * CoolTeacher: A head instructor at Wajutsu Keishukai Toikatsu Dojo. |
| 1812 | * DressedToHeal: Wore a white coat during his entrances to complete his "fighting doctor" gimmick. He was even accompanied by a nurse. |
| 1813 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}: Trained in this before he started training at Wajutsu Keishukai, he also trained in shoot and combat wrestling at the Gutsman Shooto Dojo. |
| 1814 | * MartialMedic: Runs an osteopathic clinic. |
| 1815 | * RedBaron: "Submission Doctor", "Toikatsu Newaza Hakushigō" ("Toikatsu's Doctor of Ground Grappling"). |
| 1816 | * TheRival: Baret Yoshida, who beat him twice in submission grappling, but lost to him in a MMA fight. |
| 1817 | |
| 1818 | !!!Luc Togane |
| 1819 | * GuestFighter: Fought in the Shooto and shootboxing joint event, Shoot the Shooto "Double Cross" XX in a UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} rules fight against Hiroyuki Doi. |
| 1820 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} |
| 1821 | |
| 1822 | !!!Hiroshi Tsuruya |
| 1823 | * TheApprentice: To Yuki Nakai. |
| 1824 | * CoolTeacher: Head of Paraestra Matsudo and started up the Paraestra Chiba Network. |
| 1825 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Amateur Wrestling]]: An All-Japan Amateur Wrestling champion. He also trained in shoot wrestling and is a black belt in UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu and is a 2004 World Master Champion. |
| 1826 | |
| 1827 | !!!Naoya Uematsu |
| 1828 | * TheApprentice: To Kazuhiro Kusayanagi and Yohei Suzuki. |
| 1829 | * CoolTeacher: Owns NEXUSENSE, and is the head instructor. |
| 1830 | * DefeatingTheUndefeatable: First lost against Bao Quach after 11 wins and 2 draws. |
| 1831 | * HeroKiller: Has beaten Caol Uno at the finals of the Lumax Cup: Tournament of J '97 Lightweight Tournament by submission, and Noboru Asahi by majority decision. |
| 1832 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}: He began at the age of 12 in Junior High School. He started training in shoot wrestling at Shooto Gym K'z Factory when he was 16 and immediately became an undefeated champion in amateur competitions. He also trained in SumoWrestling, UsefulNotes/{{Sambo}}, UsefulNotes/MuayThai at the Crosspoint Gym, and is a UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu black belt with training under Biviano Fernandez and Leonardo Vieira. |
| 1833 | * TheWorfEffect: His losses to Jens Pulver, Gilbert Melendez, Urijah Faber, and Daiki Hata. |
| 1834 | |
| 1835 | !!!Kazuki Wakamiya |
| 1836 | * TheApprentice: To Caesar Takeshi. |
| 1837 | * CanonImmigrant / GuestFighter: Fought in the Shooto and shootboxing joint event, Shoot the Shooto "Double Cross" XX in a UsefulNotes/MuayThai rules fight against Parinya Charoenphol. |
| 1838 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shootboxing]]: Trained at Caesar Gym. |
| 1839 | |
| 1840 | !!!Emmanuel Yarbrough |
| 1841 | -->''"Emmanuel's passion was to travel. Even though it was not an easy task for him, it never stopped him from following his dreams, and bringing smiles to the faces of all he would meet. He was to be the subject of a new reality show, and would have continued to bring smiles to all those who had the opportunity to be blessed by his infectious, compassionate, loving presence. He will be missed by his millions of fans around the world, friends and family."'' |
| 1842 | -->-- Beatrice H. Davis, Emmanuel's manager on his life after his death. |
| 1843 | |
| 1844 | * ADayInTheLimeLight: Has a victory in MMA over UWF alumni Tatsuo Nakano by smother and weight pressure. |
| 1845 | * BigFun: Had a very cheery disposition and fan-friendly personality. |
| 1846 | * DavidVersusGoliath: The Goliath in all his fights. |
| 1847 | * FatAndProud: Subverted, struggling throughout his life with obesity, Yarbrough often claimed "I am a prisoner in my body." By the age of 14 he already weighed 320 pounds, which he attributed to a poor diet of fried foods. In 2007, he was hospitalized for a week due to heart failure, and after seeing an obesity specialist and changing his diet he reduced his weight from over 800 to around 670 pounds. |
| 1848 | * GentleGiant: Known among his peers as one of the biggest and nicest guys MMA has ever produced. |
| 1849 | * TheGiant: He was 6 ft 8 in tall and has weighed up to 882 lb, holding the Guinness World Record for the heaviest living athlete. Keith Hackney's victory over Emmanuel is what got him named "The Giant Killer". |
| 1850 | * GuestFighter |
| 1851 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] SumoWrestling: Was the 1995 World Amateur Sumo Champion, competed in 4 Sumo World Championships in Open Division placing in the top 3 every time and was considered to be one of the most famous sumo wrestlers outside Japan. He was also a brown belt in UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} under Yoshisada Yonezuka and took second place at the U.S. Nationals in 1989 and was an amateur wrestler achieved All American status in the Heavyweight class in 1983 Division II and 1986 Division I. |
| 1852 | * MightyGlacier |
| 1853 | * TheOneWhoWearsShoes: In his Shooto fight against Tatsuo Nakano he wore shoes, it was not explained why. |
| 1854 | * RedBaron: "The GentleGiant", "The Proverbial Immovable Object" in the UFC. |
| 1855 | * ScaryBlackMan: An over 600 lb black man. |
| 1856 | * StoutStrength: A former sumo over 600 lb. |
| 1857 | * WrestlerInAllOfUs: Wrestled for Catch Wrestling Association in Germany, where he had gimmick matches based around his sumo career. |
| 1858 | |
| 1859 | !!!Hiroaki Yoshioka |
| 1860 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Was beaten twice by Junji Ikoma. |
| 1861 | * TheApprentice: To Yuki Nakai. |
| 1862 | * CoolTeacher: Head instructor of Paraestra Izumi. |
| 1863 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: A black belt and also knows shoot wrestling. |
| 1864 | |
| 1865 | !!!Hiromu Yoshitaka |
| 1866 | * ADayInTheLimeLight: Won the Shoot Boxing World Tournament 1995. |
| 1867 | * TheApprentice: To Caesar Takeshi. |
| 1868 | * CanonImmigrant / GuestFighter: Fought in the Shooto and shootboxing joint event, Shoot the Shooto "Double Cross" XX in a shootboxing rules fight against Ramon Dekkers. |
| 1869 | * CoolTeacher: He is a shootboxing instructor at Team Yoshitaka. |
| 1870 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shootboxing]]: Trained at Caesar Gym. |
| 1871 | [[/folder]] |
| 1872 | |
| 1873 | [[folder:Debuted in Pro Shooto's 10th Anniversary Year (1999)]] |
| 1874 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shooto.jpg]] |
| 1875 | [[caption-width-right:350:What A Difference A Decade Makes]] |
| 1876 | !!!Kazuya Abe |
| 1877 | * TheApprentice: To Yuki Nakai. |
| 1878 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: As well as shoot wrestling. |
| 1879 | * RedBaron: "Abkz". |
| 1880 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Hiroyuki, Masatoshi, Shinji or Yoshihiko. |
| 1881 | |
| 1882 | !!!Hiroyuki Abe |
| 1883 | -->''"Even in the relatively weird world of late 90s mixed martial arts, Abe was an unusual fighter. Where most fighters of the era still had one particular martial specialty, Abe was a hybrid fighter who mixed the lessons of his training in judo, jiu-jitsu and karate, as liable to throw front kicks and hard crosses as rolling heel hooks and single-leg takedowns. His varied attacks (and his immaculate hair) gave him a larger fan following than many of his peers--particularly given that his actual record was a little lacking. Four years after his 1998 debut he was 4-1-2, with all his victories coming against less than impressive competition... When he was matched up in a non-title fight with Hiroyuki Abe, it was seen as a bit of a mismatch: Pequeno was dominating the entire division and Abe's previous fight had been a draw with the 4-3 Baret Yoshida. And Abe knocked him out cold in one round. It's a magical moment to go back and revisit. It's a left hook out of nowhere, placed right on Franca's chin as he's circling away from a front kick. With one perfect punch, Hiroyuki Abe jumped from the top 15 to the world's undisputed #1 featherweight. He was on top of the world. A few months later they had a rematch and Pequeno choked him out in a little under four minutes. The balance was restored... And somehow, in the middle of that, he managed to train some of the greatest women's mixed martial artists in history. Smackgirl middleweight champion Hitomi Akano, Invicta and Rizin champion Ayaka Hamasaki, and women's GOAT Megumi Fujii all learned to fight under Abe Ani's tutelage. He instilled that one perfect moment in every single one of them. He's still, inescapably, a jobber--he retired at 8-15-3 (1) and half of his victories came against competition with more losses than wins--but between knocking out Pequeno and training multiple generations of top-flight fighters, there's no shame whatsoever in his career. He went everywhere, he saw everything, and for one brief, beautiful moment, he was the best in the world."'' |
| 1884 | -->-- A profile of Abe from a VideoGame/FireProWrestling user [=CarlCX=] from https://steamcommunity.com. |
| 1885 | |
| 1886 | * ADayInTheLimeLight: He has a win by KO over Alexandre Franca Nogueira, he lost the rematch though. |
| 1887 | * TheApprentice: To Kazuhiro Kusayanagi and Yoshinori Nishi. |
| 1888 | * BadassFamily: His brother Masatoshi Abe is also a MMA fighter. |
| 1889 | * BadassTeacher: Owns a gym, the Abe Ani Combat Club (AACC) and most famously trained Megumi Fujii. He also founder of the Wajyutsu Keisyukai Real Japan Wrestling (RJW) Dojo before he left to form the AACC. |
| 1890 | * BashBrothers: With his brother Masatoshi Abe. |
| 1891 | * CanonImmigrant: Was a representative of Wajyutsu Keisyukai RJW and not a Shooto system trainee. |
| 1892 | * IKnowKarate: A black belt in this and UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} and UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu, he started his training in amateur wrestling and trained shoot wrestling at Shooto Gym K'z Factory and also trained at Wajyutsu Keisyukai. |
| 1893 | * RedBaron: "Abe Ani". |
| 1894 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Kazuya, Shinji or Yoshihiko. |
| 1895 | |
| 1896 | !!!Charles Diaz |
| 1897 | * TheApprentice: To Frank Shamrock and Charlie Kohler. |
| 1898 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Head of his own fight team, C-4 FIGHT TEAM. |
| 1899 | * GuestFighter |
| 1900 | * IHaveManyNames: Has fought as Charles Taylor, Charles Taylor Marshall and Charles Diaz. |
| 1901 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/MuayThai: As well as UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu and boxing at San Diego Fight Club. |
| 1902 | * RedBaron: "C-4". |
| 1903 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Ryan. |
| 1904 | |
| 1905 | !!!Ryan Diaz |
| 1906 | -->''"Martial Arts is my life. I have lived my life as a modern day samurai and traveled all over the world fighting and learning so I can bring you the most up to date techniques and drills. Fighting is my passion and now I get to teach that passion to you."'' |
| 1907 | |
| 1908 | * TheApprentice: To Trevor Lally, Jameson White, and Steve Rosenberg. |
| 1909 | * CoolTeacher: Owner and head instructor of Diaz Combat Sports. |
| 1910 | * GuestFighter |
| 1911 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/MuayThai: As well as UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu at Arizona Combat Sports. |
| 1912 | * RedBaron: "The Lion". |
| 1913 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Charles. |
| 1914 | |
| 1915 | !!!Norio Fujita |
| 1916 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]] |
| 1917 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Takayuki Okochi, it ended in a draw. |
| 1918 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Yoshihiro or Yuji. |
| 1919 | |
| 1920 | !!!Takanori Gomi |
| 1921 | -->''"That little guy, I don't know what the fuck, he was doing some karate in there... He's fuckin' do some little Hadouken fuckin' punch in there to me. You know, he's knocking people out, busting their shit up."'' |
| 1922 | --->--Nick Diaz about Takanori Gomi. |
| 1923 | |
| 1924 | -->''"I chose to box because I didn't want to finish my life without a challenge."'' |
| 1925 | --->--Takanori Gomi about his fighting career. |
| 1926 | |
| 1927 | * TheAce: Amassed two winning streaks of 14-0 and 10-0 back to back against names like Sakurai, Mishima, Sato, Ralph Gracie, Tatsuya Kawajiri and others. |
| 1928 | * AchillesHeel: Though a terrifying fighter, he was bad when fighting from his back. |
| 1929 | * TheAlcoholic: According to Genki Sudo, Gomi spends more in sake than Wrestling/SatoruSayama in candy. |
| 1930 | * TheApprentice: To Sagamihara Yonekura, Kazuhiro Kusayanagi, and Noriaki Kiguchi. |
| 1931 | * AlternateCompanyEquivalent: Is sort of the Japanese equivalent of Vitor Belfort, both were dangerous punchers that preferred to sprawl-and-brawl despite also having extensive backgrounds in their own grappling disciplines. |
| 1932 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Head fighter of Kugayama Rascal. |
| 1933 | * TheBerserker: Had tendency to fight with a palpable sense of anger that saw referees having to physically intervene to stop him from punching unconscious his opponents. |
| 1934 | * BloodKnight: While he had many decision wins in Shooto, in PRIDE he made in a point to go for [=KOs=], particularly in the three year end shows he was part of. |
| 1935 | -->''"Judgment on New Year's Eve? No, it must be KO!"'' |
| 1936 | * BoxingBattler: A former boxer, and possibly the best puncher in the history of Japanese MMA. |
| 1937 | * BrattyHalfPint: Started his Shooto training at 16. |
| 1938 | * BrokenAce: His UFC run, where fought 13 times and won only four. Eight of his nine losses came by stoppage, and seven of those eight stoppages came in the first round. |
| 1939 | * CoolTeacher: Head instructor of Higashi Rinkan Rascal Gym. |
| 1940 | * {{Determinator}}: Refused to tap to Marcus Aurelio's arm triangle choke and was rendered unconscious. |
| 1941 | * EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: He actually relied more on his grappling skills in his early Shooto days over his boxing. It was only later in PRIDE where he sprawl-and-brawled his way to the top. |
| 1942 | * GoodOldFisticuffs: A pure sprawl-and-brawler, he favours punching people in the f'n' head over more complicated strategies. The funny part is that he is actually a very good grappler, with four All Japan Combat Wrestling championships and some victories against decorated wrestlers on his belt; it's just that he likes more the other way. |
| 1943 | * HiddenDepths: Originally dreamed of being a baseball player, when his love for the sport got him to neglect his studies and drop out of high school, he got disowned and lost any chance of that dream happening. |
| 1944 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Boxing]]: Trained at Yonekura Boxing Gym, and also trained in freestyle, shoot, and combat wrestling. Some sources say that he also trained in a UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} style called Mushinjuku, though it is dubious. |
| 1945 | * InsistentTerminology: Refers to his KO victories as “suka-gachi” |
| 1946 | * MeaningfulRename: A tragic example. He changed his family name to Gomi, which means trash in Japanese, when his parents disowned him for dropping out of high school. |
| 1947 | * RedBaron: "The Fireball Kid", "Tenkamuso no Hinotama Boy" ("The World's Unparalelled Fireball Boy"). |
| 1948 | * UrExample: He was the first and only PRIDE Lightweight Champion. |
| 1949 | |
| 1950 | !!!Dennis Hallman |
| 1951 | -->''"If I had to all the way to the other side of the world to avenge my only loss, then so be it. It was at UFC Japan, and even though there were hundreds more people in the audience this time, the sound level was very much the same as it had been at Monte's show. The cage had eight sides instead of four. But that didn't matter. What mattered is that I was looking into the eyes of the only man who had ever beaten me in a fight: Dennis Hallman."'' |
| 1952 | -->-- Matt Hughes on his rematch with Hallman in his autobiography, Made In America. |
| 1953 | |
| 1954 | -->''"I won't say what the bet was about, but I lost a bet to those guys and losing the bet meant that I got to wear some speedos."'' |
| 1955 | -->-- Dennis Hallman on the "Speedoman" story. |
| 1956 | |
| 1957 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Was beaten twice by Frank Trigg. |
| 1958 | * TheApprentice: To Matt Hume. |
| 1959 | * CoolTeacher: Owns Victory Athletics Combat Sports Academy and was a PCJWL Kid's Wrestling coach. |
| 1960 | * EmbarrassingNickname: "Speedoman" after he lost a bet between Len Bentley and Sterling Ford and had to wear speedos in his fight with Brian Ebersole. He thought it was funny, but Dana White was not amused. |
| 1961 | * GameBreakingInjury: Hallman had planned to continue his wrestling career at a community college, but broke his leg during the pre-season training, and had to be sidelined for the entire season. He then got into MMA. |
| 1962 | ** He also has Coeliac Disease, an autoimmune digestive reaction to wheat gluten, which hindered his ability to recover properly from physical activities such as training and fighting. |
| 1963 | * GuestFighter |
| 1964 | * HeroKiller: He beat Matt Hughes twice. |
| 1965 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Amateur Wrestling]]: Started when he was eight years old. He was on the wrestling team at Yelm High School and won the 135-pound state championship in his senior year. He also trained in boxing, is a black belt in UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu under Fabiano Scherner, a black belt in UsefulNotes/{{Karate}}, and also trained at AMC Pankration. |
| 1966 | * MinoredInAssKicking: His professional boxing record stands at 1-1-0. |
| 1967 | * RedBaron: "Superman". |
| 1968 | * UnderwearOfPower: His speedos in his fight with Brian Ebersole. |
| 1969 | |
| 1970 | !!!Teruyuki Hashimoto |
| 1971 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: Trained at Shooting Gym Kita-Kanto. |
| 1972 | * {{Jobber}}: A short career of 3 losses. |
| 1973 | |
| 1974 | !!!Kieran Hewett |
| 1975 | * TheApprentice: To Larry Papadopolous. |
| 1976 | * AwesomeAussie |
| 1977 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: Trained at the Spartan Gym. |
| 1978 | |
| 1979 | !!!Matt Hughes |
| 1980 | -->''"You are the greatest champion of all time."'' |
| 1981 | -->-- Dana White to Hughes in the cage after beating B.J. Penn at UFC 63. |
| 1982 | |
| 1983 | -->''"When you lose, say little... When you win, say less."'' |
| 1984 | -->-- Matt Hughes |
| 1985 | |
| 1986 | * TheAce: Had an 18 win streak, and won two UFC welterweight titles. |
| 1987 | * AlwaysIdenticalTwins: With his twin brother Mark. |
| 1988 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: His brother Mark once beat him in the finals of a wrestling tournament. |
| 1989 | ** He also was beaten twice by Dennis Hallman in MMA. |
| 1990 | * TheApprentice: To Pat Miletich. |
| 1991 | * ArchEnemy: Matt Serra. Serra despised Hughes for insulting Gracie jiu-jitsu and treating GSP with disrespect during Season 4 of Series/TheUltimateFighter. Their match was delayed for several months when Serra was injured during training, with the two finally meeting at UFC 98. Hughes won a back-and-forth unanimous decision that was awarded Fight of The Night honors. |
| 1992 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Founded The H.I.T. (Hughes Intensive Training) Squad MMA team and is its top fighter. |
| 1993 | * BadassFamily / WrestlingFamily: His brother Mark is also an amateur wrestler, MMA fighter and additionally a BJJ black belt. |
| 1994 | * BadassTeacher: Has coached on the Series/TheUltimateFighter as a main coach and guest coach. |
| 1995 | * BashBrothers: With his twin brother Mark. |
| 1996 | * BigLippedAlligatorMoment: His decision to hold a Bible reading session for his team in Series/TheUltimateFighter, using it to compare himself to Queen Esther. Matt Serra, his bitter rival and opposing coach, certainly did not hold back his disdain for the act. |
| 1997 | * CallingTheOldManOut: In his autobiography, he states he and his brother once beat up their father for being a neglectful, abusive douche to them and their mom. |
| 1998 | * CarpetOfVirility: Simple country boy Matt Hughes never does something as sissified as shave his chest. |
| 1999 | * DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Was the most dominant UFC champ in history until his rematch with Georges St-Pierre, who stopped him in the second round with surprising ease. |
| 2000 | * EarlyBirdCameo: Had a fight in Shooto with Akihiro Gono before coming to RINGS. |
| 2001 | * FaceHeelTurn: In Season 2 of Series/TheUltimateFighter. Through most of his fighting career, Hughes was generally liked and seen to be a down-to-earth country boy. During his stint as a coach, however, he came off as much more of a JerkAss. It was especially pronounced during his stint as a guest coach on Season 4, when he repeatedly antagonized fellow guest coach Georges St-Pierre, earning him the ire of Matt Serra. He continued this trend during his second coach stint on Season 6. His attempts to connect with his team through Bible study backfired, and he ultimately came off as self-important and condescending. |
| 2002 | * GuestFighter: From Miletich Fighting Systems. |
| 2003 | * HeroKiller: Has beaten guys like Royce Gracie, Renzo Gracie, Ricardo Almeida, and Matt Serra. |
| 2004 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Amateur Wrestling]]: An accomplished wrestler. |
| 2005 | * InsistentTerminology: Prefers to be known as an amateur and submission wrestler instead of a BJJ guy despite guys like Creator/JoeRogan saying he deserves a black belt. |
| 2006 | * JerkAss: He has been on Series/TheUltimateFighter in some way three times as a coach and has displayed some boorish behavior. In Season 2, his former "Aw Shucks" Farmboy persona crumbled in many viewers' eyes as he verbally abused several of the fighters. As a guest coach on Season 4, he managed to stir shit between Matt Serra and a trainer, insult Georges St-Pierre, and bizarrely referred to an African American fighter's "big lips." He made a concerted effort to try NOT to come off as a jerkass when he coached Season 6 against Matt Serra. |
| 2007 | * ManlyMenCanHunt: An avid hunter and was host of Outdoor Channel's Trophy Hunters TV. He has been criticized for this though. |
| 2008 | * MetronomicManMashing: Is well known for slamming his opponents. |
| 2009 | * {{Misblamed}}: His autobiography is a great source of things that gets him looking more of a dick then he really is. |
| 2010 | ** In the beating up his dad story, people seem to think he is actually bragging about it. |
| 2011 | ** That he and his brother were sexually active with a minor, which was actually just a story of his brother and his wife kissing, though she was thirteen to his brother's twenty. |
| 2012 | ** That he and his brother threw someone out a window, usually stated to be their mom, when no such event was even mentioned. |
| 2013 | ** That he bad mouthed Creator/RandyCouture, which wasn't in the book either. |
| 2014 | ** That he and his brother tortured pigs for fun, even though castration is a regular part of pig farming, though one may call throwing a pig's testicle at a Marc Fiore just to be funny a little over the line. |
| 2015 | * MistakenForRacist: Matt claims this, after the uproar on the online forums when he made fun of Din Thomas' "big lips" in Season 4 of Series/TheUltimateFighter. Thomas is African American, and many found the comment racist. Matt insists it was just good-natured ribbing between friends. |
| 2016 | ** This is compounded with his singling out African American fighter Rashad Evans for showboating for no apparent reason in Season 2, and has made several public remarks over the years about his dislike for half-Mexican Tito Ortiz, who does not even fight in his weight class (although to be fair, it's Ortiz we are talking about, and Evans rubs a lot of people the wrong way), and recently culminated with pictures of him holding white supremacist paraphernalia (he claims he had no knowledge of the meanings of the symbols). Hughes is retired now and works for the UFC in Talent Relations, and this could jeopardize his job. |
| 2017 | * RealMenLoveJesus: Is a born again Christian and regularly posts Bible verses on his website. |
| 2018 | * RealSongThemeTune: "A Country Boy Can Survive" by Hank Williams, Jr. |
| 2019 | * RedBaron: Surprisingly averted, though some people call him "The Gracie Killer" just like Wrestling/KazushiSakuraba for his wins against Royce, Renzo Gracie and their trainees. |
| 2020 | * StopHavingFunGuys: He detests flashy moves and such, that he cut a promo calling out Rashad Evans for showboating during a fight in Season 2 of Series/TheUltimateFighter. |
| 2021 | * TheWorfEffect: His losses against Dennis Hallman, and his third fight with B.J. Penn. |
| 2022 | * WorthyOpponent: B.J. Penn and Georges St-Pierre who both had a trilogy of fights with him. |
| 2023 | |
| 2024 | !!!Ryota Ibaraki |
| 2025 | * TheApprentice: To Yuki Nakai. |
| 2026 | * CoolTeacher: A trainer at Paraestra Kakogawa. |
| 2027 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: As well as boxing and shoot wrestling. |
| 2028 | * {{Jobber}}: Only had two fights in Shooto and lost in both. |
| 2029 | |
| 2030 | !!!Tetsuharu Ikei |
| 2031 | * TheApprentice: To Enson Inoue. |
| 2032 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: As well as shoot wrestling. |
| 2033 | * RedBaron: "Matoba". |
| 2034 | |
| 2035 | !!!Seichi Ikemoto |
| 2036 | * TheApprentice: To Yasuki Mori. |
| 2037 | * CoolTeacher: Owns STYLE MMA Studio. |
| 2038 | * TheIdiotFromOsaka: From Matsubara. |
| 2039 | * IKnowKarate: In high school as well as amateur wrestling, UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}, he also trained in boxing and UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} at Team Boon! and shoot wrestling at [=RiRoots=] Conan and is an All-Japan amateur Shooto champion. |
| 2040 | * RedBaron: "Naniwa no Supīdo Masutā" ("Naniwa's Speed Master"). |
| 2041 | * SignatureMove: His specialty is a "double punch", in which he puts his hands together and throws them at his opponent. |
| 2042 | * WrestlerInAllOfUs: Has wrestled for Kaientai Dojo. |
| 2043 | |
| 2044 | !!!Kazuhiro Inoue |
| 2045 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Combat Wrestling]]: Trained at Team IMPRESS and also in shoot wrestling. |
| 2046 | * {{Jobber}}: A career of 4 wins, 6 losses, and 3 draws. |
| 2047 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Egan, Enson, or Masaya. |
| 2048 | |
| 2049 | !!!Masaya Inoue |
| 2050 | * TheApprentice: To Yuki Nakai. |
| 2051 | * CoolTeacher: The head instructor of Paraestra Kakogawa. |
| 2052 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: A black belt and also trained in shoot wrestling. |
| 2053 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Egan, Enson, or Kazuhiro. |
| 2054 | |
| 2055 | !!!Makoto Ishikawa |
| 2056 | * TheApprentice: To Enson Inoue. |
| 2057 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: As well as shoot wrestling. |
| 2058 | |
| 2059 | !!!Martijn de Jong |
| 2060 | -->''"Coming from a 'striker' country, Martijn was in that first small group of fighters from Holland, who also knew how to submit people. He actually won way more fights by submission then he did by KO, and just that, shows that he was already thinking 'outside the box' in the early stages of the MMA scene."'' |
| 2061 | -->-- Creator/BasRutten, a foreword for Martijn's book; MMA, The Essentials of Mixed Martial Arts. |
| 2062 | |
| 2063 | -->''"Martijn de Jong is the master of Mixed Martial Arts having many great techniques. I heard that my friend Martijn would issue a technique book. He is famous in Japan as a great fighter and also an excellent corner man. If I describe him in Japanese he is really 'Bugei Hyappan' which means 'all sorts of military arts'. He generously shows his techniques so this book will be many fighters' Bible."'' |
| 2064 | --> Kazuhiro Sakamoto, another foreword for MMA, The Essentials of Mixed Martial Arts. |
| 2065 | |
| 2066 | * AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: President of Shooto Europe, ADCC Holland and former CEO of the fight promotion, GLORY. |
| 2067 | * CoolTeacher: Was the head UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu and Submission Wrestling Trainer of Golden Glory. He also owns his own gym, Tatsujin Dojo. He has instructed fighters like Alistair and Valentijn Overeem, Marloes Coenen, Gökhan Saki, etc. |
| 2068 | * FormerlyFat: Struggled with his weight growing up, he once went up to over 120kg (265 lbs). |
| 2069 | * IKnowKarate: A kyokushin 1st dan black belt and a Dutch champion. He is also a UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu 1st degree black belt under Remco Pardoel, a Japanese jujitsu 2nd dan black belt, trained in UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} and UsefulNotes/MuayThai under Jan Lomulder, Greco-Roman wrestling under Andy Jekel, shoot wrestling under Kazuhiro Sakamoto and also UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}. |
| 2070 | * RedBaron: "Tatsujin", "The Specialist", "Creator of Champions". |
| 2071 | * StartMyOwn: A co-founder of the fight promotion, GLORY (Originally called Ultimate Glory). |
| 2072 | * UrExample: While his trainer Remco Pardoel introduced Shooto to the Netherlands, Martijin was the one to start up the competitions. |
| 2073 | |
| 2074 | !!!Masashi Kameda |
| 2075 | * TheApprentice: To Dokonjonosuke Mishima. |
| 2076 | * CoolTeacher: A UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu instructor at Shooto Gym Blows, and STYLE MMA Studio. |
| 2077 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: A purple belt. He first started with shootboxing and trained in shoot wrestling at the Cobra Kai MMA Dojo. |
| 2078 | |
| 2079 | !!!Shuichiro Katsumura |
| 2080 | -->''"I wanted to find a way to be remembered when I went to fight in Lithuania [in 2006] and thought that the easiest way for people to know me as a Japanese fighter was to enter the ring dressed as a ninja. Before I left Japan, I told everyone that if my choke happened, I’d call it the ninja choke since that would be easy to remember, too."'' |
| 2081 | -->-- Shuichiro Katsumura on the {{Ninja}} Choke. |
| 2082 | |
| 2083 | * TheApprentice: To Kazuhiro Kusayanagi. |
| 2084 | * BadassTeacher: Owns Reversal Gym Yokohama Groundslam and is the head instructor. |
| 2085 | * CoolTeacher: Is an elementary school teacher. |
| 2086 | * FriendToAllChildren: He once worked at a child care facility in Kamakura. |
| 2087 | * GratuitousNinja: Wore a ninja outfit for an entrance and has a move he calls the {{Ninja}} Choke. |
| 2088 | * IAmNotSpock: He will be the first to tell you that the “Real Manga/TigerMask” gimmick was something that was foisted upon him because the character’s background as a champion for orphans coincidentally aligned with his own work helping and teaching children. Consequently, he wanted to distance himself from the comparison, so much so that he had a Reversal brand T-shirt printed with the words “I’m not [the] real Manga/TigerMask” emblazoned on the front. He has accepted it now, not because he enjoys it (if anything, it dredges up dark ghosts of the past for him that he is reticent to talk about) but because it has new utility given the circumstances of Japan’s recent crises. |
| 2089 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: Was a 1998 All Japan Amateur Shooto Featherweight champion and also trained in UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu and combat wrestling at Shooto Gym K'z Factory. |
| 2090 | * JapaneseDelinquent: When he was in high school. |
| 2091 | * NiceGuy: Self-admittedly not when he was in high school, but after college he worked at child care facility, volunteered to make supply runs to Tohoku after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and vowed to donate his next fight purse to charity while trying to not to receive attention. It was these characteristics that earned him the nickname “The Real Manga/TigerMask”. |
| 2092 | * RedBaron: “The Real Manga/TigerMask”. |
| 2093 | * SignatureMove: He invented a modified brabo choke he dubbed the Ninja Choke, and even has an instructional video on it. |
| 2094 | * WrestlerInAllOfUs: Was a pro wrestling fan growing up and has worked for promotions like Dramatic Dream Team and Hard Hit. |
| 2095 | |
| 2096 | !!!Tetsuo Katsuta |
| 2097 | * TheApprentice: To Kazuhiro Kusayanagi. |
| 2098 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: As well as combat wrestling and UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu at Shooto Gym K'z Factory. |
| 2099 | |
| 2100 | !!!Hiroki Kita |
| 2101 | * TheApprentice: To Yuki Nakai. |
| 2102 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: As well as shoot wrestling at Paraestra Tokyo. |
| 2103 | * {{Jobber}}: A career of 2 wins, 6 losses, and a draw. |
| 2104 | |
| 2105 | !!!Ahmed Lazizi |
| 2106 | * TheApprentice: To Fabio Holanda. |
| 2107 | * GuestFighter |
| 2108 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: Trained at Ronin MMA, an affiliate under Brazilian Top Team Canada. |
| 2109 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto, a loss to Izuru Takeuchi. |
| 2110 | |
| 2111 | !!!Chikara Miyake |
| 2112 | * TheApprentice: To Noriaki Kiguchi, Naoki Sakurada and Hiroki Noritsugi. |
| 2113 | * CoolTeacher: Owns Chokushinkai MMA Dojo (originally called Cyokushinkai Kakutogi Dojo). |
| 2114 | * IKnowKarate: A kyokushin black belt and trained in UsefulNotes/MuayThai, as well as combat and shoot wrestling and trained at Kiguchi Gym and Gutsman Shooto Dojo. |
| 2115 | * {{Jobber}}: A career of 1 win, 2 losses, and a draw. |
| 2116 | |
| 2117 | !!!Yohei Nanbu |
| 2118 | * TheApprentice: To Kenji Kawaguchi. |
| 2119 | * CoolTeacher: Is now a instructor at Shooting Gym Yokohama. |
| 2120 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: Trained at Shooting Gym Yokohama. |
| 2121 | * {{Jobber}}: A career of 2 wins, 7 losses, and 2 draws. |
| 2122 | |
| 2123 | !!!Norio Nishiyama |
| 2124 | * AlliterativeName |
| 2125 | * TheApprentice: To Kazuhiro Kusayanagi. |
| 2126 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: As well as combat wrestling and UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu. |
| 2127 | * {{Jobber}}: A career of 2 wins, 3 losses and a draw. |
| 2128 | |
| 2129 | !!!Ademir Oliveira |
| 2130 | * TheApprentice: To Francisco Carlos Pinto Sá (“Sazinho”). |
| 2131 | * CoolTeacher: Owns and is the head instructor of Team Oliveira UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu. |
| 2132 | * GuestFighter |
| 2133 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: A 4th degree black belt and trained at the Bueno Gym. |
| 2134 | * {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in Shooto against Hayato Sakurai and lost. |
| 2135 | |
| 2136 | !!!Yoshinobu Ota |
| 2137 | * GuestFighter |
| 2138 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: Trained at Shiou-Juku. |
| 2139 | * {{Jobber}}: A career of 4 wins, 6 losses, and 3 draws. |
| 2140 | |
| 2141 | !!!John Paun |
| 2142 | * GuestFighter |
| 2143 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/MuayThai: As well as boxing, wrestling, and UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu at Top Notch Fitness. |
| 2144 | |
| 2145 | !!!Rafles la Rose |
| 2146 | * AlliterativeName |
| 2147 | * TheApprentice: To Martijin de Jong. |
| 2148 | * CoolTeacher: Owns and is the head trainer of Amsterdam Training Center. |
| 2149 | * FrenchJerk |
| 2150 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: Trained at Tatsujin Dojo Deventer along with shoot wrestling. |
| 2151 | * RedBaron: "The Snake Man". |
| 2152 | |
| 2153 | !!!Tatsuya Sakurai |
| 2154 | * TheApprentice: To Kenji Seki. |
| 2155 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: Trained at T-Blood Mixed Martial Arts Academy (originally Team TOPS). |
| 2156 | * {{Jobber}}: A short career of 1 win, 1 loss, and a draw. |
| 2157 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Hayato or Ryuta. |
| 2158 | |
| 2159 | !!!Marcos da Silva |
| 2160 | * GuestFighter |
| 2161 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/MuayThai |
| 2162 | * {{Jobber}}: A career of 3 wins, 5 losses and a draw. |
| 2163 | |
| 2164 | !!!Yohei Suzuki |
| 2165 | * TheApprentice: To Yuki Nakai and Matt Hume. |
| 2166 | * CoolTeacher: A former instructor at Paraestra Tokyo. He is now the head instructor of Crosspoint Gym (formerly Paraestra Kichijoji). |
| 2167 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: As well as shoot wrestling at Paraestra Tokyo, trained in UsefulNotes/MuayThai and also trained at AMC Pankration. |
| 2168 | |
| 2169 | !!!Daiji Takahashi |
| 2170 | * TheApprentice: To Jin Akimoto. |
| 2171 | * CoolTeacher: Owns and is head instructor of Burn MMA. |
| 2172 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: Trained at Akimoto Dojo JUNGLE JUNCTION. |
| 2173 | * {{Jobber}}: A career off 8 wins, 11 losses, and 4 draws. |
| 2174 | |
| 2175 | !!!Koji Takeuchi |
| 2176 | * CoolTeacher: Owns HLC Gym. |
| 2177 | * IKnowKarate: Kempo UsefulNotes/{{Karate}}, as well as UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}, UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu and shoot wrestling. |
| 2178 | * {{Jobber}}: A career of 7 wins, 15 losses, and 5 draws. |
| 2179 | |
| 2180 | !!!Din Thomas |
| 2181 | -->''"I had always been a showman in my life. I'm actually a quiet guy at times. but when I get the spotlight I like to shine as much as possible. I don't like to talk over people. I just wait for my time to be heard and I let it all hang out. It's too bad that I come from an environment that's used to talking trash. I used to rap so talking trash is in my blood. I realize it can be annoying but give me a beat and I'll freak it."'' |
| 2182 | |
| 2183 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Beaten twice by Caol Uno. |
| 2184 | * TheApprentice: To Ricardo Liborio. |
| 2185 | * CoolTeacher: Runs two UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu and MMA academies. |
| 2186 | * FightClubbing: He was arrested in 2007 for allegedly running illegal matches at his gym, though the Assistant State Attorney's office decided not to file formal charges against Thomas and filed paperwork dismissing the charge on which he was arrested. The Assistant D.A. stated if the fighter or participants were students of Thomas' school, and the purpose of the school is to teach martial arts, then they meet the exception to the law. |
| 2187 | * GuestFighter |
| 2188 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: A black belt. He also trained at American Top Team. |
| 2189 | * RedBaron: "Dinyero", "The Dominator". |
| 2190 | * ScaryBlackMan |
| 2191 | * TrashTalk: Knows how to talk trash for sure. |
| 2192 | |
| 2193 | !!!Shinsuke Ueno |
| 2194 | * TheApprentice: To Yasuki Mori. |
| 2195 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Shoot Wrestling]]: Trained at [=RiRoots=] Conan. |
| 2196 | * {{Jobber}}: A career of 1 win, 1 loss, and a draw. |
| 2197 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Kyuhei or Takeru. |
| 2198 | |
| 2199 | !!!Takeru Ueno |
| 2200 | * TheApprentice: To Jorge "Macaco" Patino. |
| 2201 | * CoolTeacher: Head instructor of Gracie Barra Tokyo aka Macaco Jiu Jitsu Academy. |
| 2202 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: A black belt. He also knows shoot wrestling and is a 1999 All Japan Amateur Shooto Lightweight Champion. |
| 2203 | * {{Jobber}}: Only had 3 fights in Shooto, he lost all three. |
| 2204 | * UnrelatedBrothers: No relation to Kyuhei or Shinsuke. |
| 2205 | |
| 2206 | !!!Hiroshi Umemura |
| 2207 | * CoolTeacher: Owns and is the head instructor of Nex-Sports. |
| 2208 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: A black belt, he also knows UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} and shoot wrestling. |
| 2209 | |
| 2210 | !!!Fumio Usami |
| 2211 | -->''"I came to his gym when I was 19-years-old. I trust him with every aspect of my training."'' |
| 2212 | -->-- Rin Nakai |
| 2213 | |
| 2214 | * CoolTeacher: Owns Wild Sports Gym aka Shooto Gym Shikoku aka Pancrase Venus. His most well known trainee is female Pancrase fighter Rin Nakai. |
| 2215 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know Amateur Wrestling]]: Placed second in the national team selections for the 1988 Olympics. He also trained in shoot wrestling and was a 1998 West Japan Amateur Shooto Open Tournament Lightweight Champion. |
| 2216 | * RedBaron: "Wild" and was introduced in Shooto as WILD Usami. |
| 2217 | |
| 2218 | !!!Takuya Wada |
| 2219 | * TheApprentice: To Tenshin Matsumoto and Kazuhiro Kusayanagi. |
| 2220 | * EarlyBirdCameo: He once competed in an amateur RINGS event in 1997. |
| 2221 | * HiddenDepths: Aimed to be a bicycle racer after he retired from fighting in 2011. |
| 2222 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Sambo}}: Trained at SK Absolute and was an All Japan Champion in the 82kg class in 2008. He also trained in UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu, combat and shoot wrestling at Shooto Gym K'z Factory (He was the 76kg class champion in the 5th All Japan Combat Wrestling Championships In 1999) and also trained in amateur wrestling in high school. |
| 2223 | * RedBaron: "Komando Sambo no Keishō-sha" ("The Inheritor of Commando Sambo"), "Sambo-kai no Kikōshi" ("Prince of Sambo"). |
| 2224 | * WrestlerInAllOfUs: Has wrestled for Hart Hit and Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling in his retirement from fighting. |
| 2225 | |
| 2226 | !!!Mamoru Yamaguchi |
| 2227 | -->''"I wanted the fans to recognize me besides my fighting skills, and this hairstyle is what I ended up with. Now, many fans recognize my afro … and me."'' |
| 2228 | |
| 2229 | * AfroAssKicker: An impressive one at that. |
| 2230 | * CoolTeacher: An instructor at Shooting Gym Yokohama. |
| 2231 | * CounterAttack: Is known for his counter striking. |
| 2232 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}: As well as UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}, UsefulNotes/MuayThai, shootboxing and trained in shoot wrestling at Shooting Gym Yokohama. |
| 2233 | * TheRival: Had a trilogy of fights with Shinichi Kojima. |
| 2234 | * ShoutOut: His afro is a tribute to Japanese boxing legend, Yoko Gushiken. |
| 2235 | |
| 2236 | !!!Shiko Yamashita |
| 2237 | * TheApprentice: To Yuki Nakai. |
| 2238 | * CoolTeacher: A former trainer at Paraestra Sapporo. |
| 2239 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}: As well as UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu and shoot wrestling. |
| 2240 | |
| 2241 | !!!Kohei Yasumi |
| 2242 | * TheApprentice: To Yuki Nakai. |
| 2243 | * CoolTeacher: Founded Lotus Setagaya Paraestra dojo. |
| 2244 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: A black belt and a 2000 & 2009 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Champion and of course shoot wrestling. |
| 2245 | |
| 2246 | !!!Jinzaburo Yonezawa |
| 2247 | * AfroAssKicker |
| 2248 | * GuestFighter |
| 2249 | * [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu: Trained at Gracie Barra Tokyo. |
| 2250 | * {{Jobber}}: A career of 1 win, 5 losses and a draw. |
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