Apr 5, 2010 - 5:53:47 PM

By: Bob Teal, MMATorch Specialist

On the evening of May 1, 2000, Kazushi Sakuraba took part in the longest fight in the brief history of mixed martial arts. With one single fight he changed the perception of a dominant fight family, broke through as a Japanese MMA super hero, and became a personal hero of this columnist. Saku, as he is known in Japan, was a born performer. He was a skillful cerebral competitor with a huge heart and a ton of charisma to burn. He could make a pure grappling match as interesting and suspenseful as a stand up war between Ali and Frazier.

Sakuraba was born on July 14th 1969 in Katagami, Akita, Japan. Before he would become the great competitor we know today he would start his career as a wrestler in high school. He was one of the very best high school wrestlers in all of Japan and took his grappling skills to Chuo University where he would enjoy a celebrated career there.

After finishing college Sakuraba chose to pursue a career in professional wrestling, where he would perfect the art of catch wrestling. He spent most of his time wrestling at the middle of cards with the UWFI until finally headlining the final event of the now defunct organization.

He then went to Kingdom Pro Wrestling which was founded by the legendary Nobuhiko Takada. He would headline immediately here but Kingdom was faced with financial problems right away. They were unable to sell seats as the popularity of mixed martial arts was growing in Japan and many people questioned the toughness and skill of these athletes. To answer this question Sakuraba would enter into the world of MMA competing in the UFC Japan tournament.

Sakuraba would suffer a no contest at the hands of Marcus Silveira, who would just happen to be the very same opponent he would defeat to win UFC Japan in December of 1997. In the process he would win the UFC Ultimate Japan Heavyweight Tournament. This would be the first and only time Sakuraba would ever compete inside the Octagon. He would spend the next few years ruling Pride Fighting Championships.

Kazushi would make his Pride debut at Pride 2 in March of 1998. He submitted Lions Den disciple Vernon “Tiger” White in the very first round. But perhaps one of the most memorable matches for me personally would be his bout against Carlos Newton at Pride 3 the following June. This fight would become an intense battle between two experts at the top of their game.

Despite few strikes being thrown and the fight being spent almost entirely on the ground this was an epic masterpiece of grappling, and a bout I would highly recommend for anyone to see, including novices. The skill on display was obvious and brilliant. Sakuraba would secure a knee bar on Newton in the second round of the fight.

Kazushi has fought some of the absolute best in the history of this sport including Carlos Newton, Wanderlei Silva, Cro Cop, Vitor Belfort, Igor Vovchanchyn, Quentin Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Kevin Randleman, Royler Gracie, Ricardo Arona, Ken Shamrock, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Masakatsu Funaki, Ryan, Renzo, Royler and Royce Gracie. The final four earning him the nick name “The Gracie Hunter.”

After his famed fight with Gracie in 2000 Saku would continue to compete in Pride until 2005. He then moved on to K-1, then ultimately Dream where he has competed as recently as October of 2009 defeating Zelg Galesic with a leg lock. At his advanced age it is obvious he is more likely to be a middle card fighter with a main event draw in Japan due to his legendary reputation. But at this point it is more likely that he may plan on hanging up the gloves before taking another fight.

No matter what happens Kazushi Sakuraba should be considered one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. His showmanship and ability coupled with the true warrior spirit are very rare in this sport. No matter how many fighters in this sport emerge from Japan they will always be compared to the one and only Saku.

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