Japanese MMA Fighters to Watch Out 2020

After one year's rest, the list is baaaaaack!! Due to Rizin and One signing up a lot of local talent, however, there is a smaller group of fighters to list this year. The purpose of this list is to identify and highlight Japanese talent that is not yet well-known, and so those who are fighting for the UFC, Bellator, Rizin, One or Invicta FC are excluded. Of course, people love fighters with flawless records, but I do regret that I did not previously include the Asakura brothers in my list after they had lost in Road FC. So don't give up on those who may not have the cleanest records here. 

Kazuma Kuramoto

If I was asked to name one fighter who had the biggest impact on the local MMA scene in Japan, Kazuma would be the strongest candidate. His most amazing performances are his endless suplexes against opponents. He can suplex and he can KO opponents with his fists. Kazuma is not the youngest at age 33, but if he can immobilise opponents and save power when needed, we will soon see him on the roster for a major promotion with one or two more wins.

Kazuma Kuramoto vs Kei Iwaki

Kazumasa Majima

Kazumasa is not a well-known MMA fighter due to coming from the rural Yamaguchi Prefecture. He is regarded for capturing the Rebel FC title by defeating Rodolfo Marques, but Rebel FC's notoriety in Japan is low. Most recently, he defeated Issei Tamura by submission. This grappler is worth checking out.

Kazumasa Majima vs Rodolfo Marques

Tatsuya Saika

Tatsuya, nicknamed as "Yanbo," is known for his street-style wild punching. While absent from this list until now, Tatsuya can follow the lead of the Asakura brothers by rising up from a small promotion to the top of JMMA. Tatsuya graduated from the regional promotion Fighting Nexus and people finally took note of him as a talented rookie when he defeated Tom Santos in Pancrase. I don't know how far this wild-swinging Filipino-Japanese fighter can go, but he will next fight Salimkhan Sadulloev - who is really tough - and the winner will likely move up to a major promotion.

Tatsuya Saika vs Young Uk Woo

Takumi Tamaru

Tamaru continued his winning streak in 2019 after losing to Riley Dutro the previous year. He next competes against Nobuki Fujii, who is always in search of takedowns while constantly moving forward. Tamaru is known for his grappling and it is not easy to keep him in bottom position. If he wins his fight against Nobuki Fujii, I want to see him competing on a larger stage.

Yoshinori Horie

Horie's brief UFC run came to an end when he was knocked out at UFC 240, but I see that there is still hope for him. He led the first round of his UFC 240 fight with quick footwork and punches. If he can continue to master his footwork through karate, with the same in-and-out movement that we have loved from Lyoto Machida and Kyoji Horiguchi, we will see him back in a major promotion within two years as he is still only 24 years old.

Big thanks to Robert Sargent  (MMA Rising) for English editing.

Japanese MMA Fighters to Watch Out For in 2018

Since Hisaki Kato knocked out Joe Schilling, my list of Japanese rookies seemed to get quite a bit more attention. I unfortunately could not include Syuri Kondo and Daichi Abe in last year’s list due to their shorter careers. I could change the list structure to include such fighters, but it would mean that it is more of a gamble that they’ll be picked up by larger orgs. At the same time, you can still follow fighters’ improvement on UFC Fight Pass or DEEP Fight Global.

Naoki Inoue was picked up by the UFC and he was included in last year’s list. Likewise, Shintaro Ishiwatari chose to sign with Rizin and he also came from this list in 2017. Many fighters that I have spotlighted in the past now belong to larger orgs. Still, I can bring attention to more names because this year Japanese MMA succeeded in building a new generation.

Takumi Tamaru

Tamaru became known as a promising rookie after finishing Yasuhiro Urushitani in the first round. He then drew with Hayato Ishii, who is Megumi Fujii’s prodigy. Tamaru was sidelined with an injury for the remainder of 2017 and he will face PXC champ Riley Dutro on January 28. If he passes that tough test, his improvement curve will be very high.

Hayato Ishii

Ishii represents BURST gym and his coaches are Megumi Fujii and Shinji Sasaki. He won a close decision against Yoshiro Maeda and fought a tough scramble fest against Takumi Tamaru that ended in a draw. Ishii did lose to Tadaaki “Onibozu” Yamamoto in a title eliminator bout, but this did not worry me very much since his coach is a legendary MMA fighter.

Yuya Wakamatsu

Wakamatsu is from Ryo Chonan’s Tribe Tokyo MMA and he has scored KO wins against some opponents whom I have previously rated highly. He will next meet Senzo Ikeda, a former pro boxer. Ikeda defeated Japanese pioneer Mamoru Yamaguchi, who is known for his masterful Muay Thai, in the striking battles. If Wakamatsu knocks out Ikeda, it would be a sensational statement for the prospect to make.

Kana Watanabe

Watanabe has already had one Rizin fight, but I want to highlight that she defeated Shizuka Sugiyama, who had 19 fights’ worth of experience and who previously fought for a Deep Jewels title. Prior to that, Watanabe had only had her debut fight. While I normally don’t get too excited about a fighter’s future during their debut, hers against Hikari Sato was different. She knocked Sato down in that fight, which is rare since judo convert fighters have a bad habit of moving their arm. Some judo fighters can never get past that, but Watanabe passed the test.

Takashi Sato

Sato is back from an injury absence. He avenged his lone loss to Kenta Takagi with takedowns and ground and pound, but his most significant win came against Akihiro Murayama. He won with his striking on the feet. When he first lost to Takagi, I worried about his striking, but he has improved. Perhaps his next fight (maybe against Hiromitsu Miura?) will define his career path.

Yoshiki Nakahara

Nakahara’s dominant win against Akitoshi Tamura was shocking since Tamura is known for being very tough to finish. His punches dealt a huge amount of damage. He also won against Hiroshige Tanaka in striking, which is Tanaka’s specialty. After that fight, Nakahara petitioned Sean Shelby for an opportunity to compete for the UFC.

Koyomi Matsushima

Matsushima struggled early in career with his striking. His move to PancraseISM Yokohama changed his career path. He can mix takedowns effectively with striking now due to coaching from Satoru Kitaoka, and Matsushima recently defeated former PXC champ Kyle Aguon.

Ryuichiro Sumimura

Last year, DEEP held a welterweight grand prix. Sumimura shocked fans by upsetting Ken Hasegawa. In the process, he spoiled Hasegawa’s planned UFC signing and was crowned as DEEP’s welterweight champ. Sumimura has since declared that he wants to fight for Rizin.

Makoto Takahashi

Takahashi is only 17 years old, but he won a competitive fight against Hiroki Yamashita. I can’t say too much yet since he is so young, but when thinking about how Paraestra Matsudo has recently produced champions (Kanna Asakura, Yoshitaka Naito), we better keep an eye on him.

Jin Aoi

Takashi Nakakura’s student, Jin Aoi, faced Shooto Pac-Rim champ Ryogo Takahashi. Aoi lost, but he made the fight competitive when many predicted that Takahashi would dominate. He tried unsuccessfully to counter Takahashi’s trademark low kicks and leglocks in the fight. Aoi is still young and he has plenty of time to develop his career.

ネオブラトーナメントの1回戦、準決勝、決勝のKOシーンが順番にのってます！😆

観てください！ pic.twitter.com/9Qtg8FOoIL

— 堀江圭功 Yoshinori Horie (@yossy05101) October 31, 2017

Yoshinori Horie

Many Japanese fans took note of Horie’s striking and finishing ability, and Horie is this year’s best rookie in Pancrase. His karate swings are very wild and that makes it hard to predict their course. He is a part of the Pancrase featherweight division, which is the deepest in Japan. Therefore, he needs time before stepping up to major orgs, but he is young enough to wait.

Big thanks to Robert Sargent  (MMA Rising) for English editing.

Japanese MMA Fighters to Watch Out 2017

It's baaack! This is the 2017 edition of the annual Fighters to Watch For series.

Yoshitaka Naito is excluded from this year’s list because he fought for One FC and won their world title, but will we see his long-awaited match against Mitsuhisa Sunabe? I hope so. Tatsumitsu Wada competed for Rizin and defeated Kai Kara-France, so I left him off of this prospects list as well.

Since UFC Fight Pass has added Shooto and Pancrase, I think that you'll enjoy this list even more than before.

Shintaro Ishiwatari

Ishiwatari's 2016 campaign was defined by avenging his loss to Jonathan Brookins. He defeated Brookins in spite of Brookins missing weight, which is worth more than an average win. Ishiwatari was continuously taken down and lost a decision to Brookins in their first fight, but he defeated his overweight opponent with sprawls in the rematch that showcased his improved takedown defense.

Takumi Tamaru vs Kohei Haruka

Takumi Tamaru

Tamaru earned his biggest career win in 2016 against Yasuhiro Urushitani. He did not allow Urushitani to use his striking pressure and submitted Urushitani with an armbar. Even though Urushitani is in the twilight of his career and declared that he will retire after his next fight, Tamaru needed just one round to become the fastest man to ever finish him.

Kento Kanbe

Kanbe battled injuries throughout 2016, but he did engage in a semi-brawl situation with Jarred Brooks. I look forward to major promotions building strawweight classes so that they can face each other.

Mizuki Inoue

Mizuki continued her winning streak with three finishes in 2016 before suffering a knee injury. She is not yet in the UFC rankings due to being outside of the organization, but we all know she should be in there.

Naoki Inoue vs Naoyuki Kato

Naoki Inoue

Mizuki's little brother scored his biggest win to date in 2016 when he defeated Yuya Shibata, who is a former DEEP title challenger. Of course, the Inoue siblings are best known as strikers, but Naoki has used his excellent submission skills to finish seven of his nine professional opponents, and remains unbeaten.

Hayato Suzuki

Suzuki’s lone fight in 2016 ended in a first-round submission victory over Seok-Yong Kim. We need to see him compete for higher stakes this year. Hopefully the rumored Rizin Flyweight Grand Prix picks him up.

Ryohei "Ken Asuka" Kurosawa

Kurosawa captured Shooto gold in 2016 when he defeated Ryuto Sawada again. He is a teammate of Yoshitaka Naito, who is One FC champion. I expect Kurosawa to face international opposition this year, which will hopefully help to develop and showcase atomweight competition around the world.

Kanako Murata

Even though she lost to Rin Nakai, Murata is still very early in her MMA career. I do not think that she was in the best physical condition against Nakai, and I expect that she will face appropriate opponents in fights that allow her to develop her skills this year.

Big thanks to Robert Sargent  (MMA Rising) for English editing.