Japanese MMA Fighters To Watch Out For In 2022

Like every year, I am dropping my Japanese prospects series to highlight fighters who are not yet signed by major promotions.
 

I wrote this last year, but Covid-19 is still a danger for the public health and Rizin mostly cannot use foreign fighters due to the closed border. So, many prospects have recently been picked up by Rizin, but fortunately this year I have found six interesting prospects who've not yet fought for a major organization. That is a pleasant surprise. Please check out these fighters below and enjoy their careers.
 

Rinya Nakamura (3-0-0)
 

Nakamura won the U23 World Wrestling Championships in freestyle, but he lost to future Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Takuto Otoguro and could not make it to the Olympics himself. Nakamura retired from wrestling in 2020 and began MMA training. Last year, the Internet TV streaming website AbemaTV debuted an MMA audition program called "Kakuto Dreamers", and the program's purpose was to identify fighters who deserved a management contract with popular music production company LDH's martial arts department. Nakamura participated in the program even though he had a contract already, and he won that audition and retained his contract. After that, he fought twice for Shooto and showed an impressive ability to finish fights with strikes despite having such a short career. We will soon see him in a major organization.

 

Rinya Nakamura and Sho Usami's most recent fight

 

Sho "Patrick" Usami (4-0-0) 

Usami won the Seidokaikan junior title twice and had six boxing titles while still in high school. He also participated in "Kakuto Dreamers" and won his audition match. After that, he fought for Shooto and VTJ and scored two finishes with strikes like his teammate Nakamura. I am curious about his skills on the ground, but I have a feeling that he will perform well in a major organization.
 

Yuto Uda (5-0-1)
 

Uda trains under Naohiro "Chokugeki Gamon" Mizuno in Uwajima city, and he is a rare example of a prospect who has developed from the Shikoku island region where there is a smaller population. He beat Kiyotaka Shimizu by decision after scoring a knockdown. Tatsuro Taira, who also beat Shimizu, was just signed by the UFC. So I wonder what will happen in Uda's future.
 

Rei Tsuruya (3-0-0) 

 

Tsuruya is the son of Hiroshi Tsuruya, who developed the Paraestra Chiba network that produced talents like Hiromasa Ougikubo. He won the Abu Dhabi world pro jiu-jitsu championship while still in primary school, and he placed second in Junior Olympic wrestling during high school. Tsuruya fights for DEEP, and he has yet to meet a challenging opponent, but his talent is obvious in my eyes. He will go on to a major organization at some point in the future.

Hiroshi Tsuruya vs Kenta Kubo

 

Tatsuya "Yanbo" Saika (7-2-0) 

 Saika challenged Takasuke Kume for the King of Pancrase lightweight title in December. He knocked Kume down with a right uppercut and almost finished him with hammerfists, but Kume survived and he submitted Saika with an armbar in the second round. Despite the loss, I think that Saika showed in that match that he is capable of fighting his way to Rizin.

 

Takasuke Kume vs Tatsuya Saika documentary

 

Yamato Nishikawa (18-3-6)   

 Nishikawa's recent choices in a fight posed a challenge for me and how I view MMA because he attacked from bottom position and still managed to win an important match. Nishikawa fought Shooto champ Yuki Kawana, and he scored a TKO by continuously punching from the bottom. That goes completely against the current MMA trends and strategies. After that fight, Shinya Aoki critiqued Nishikawa's choice to fight from the bottom. Nishikawa's next fight was against Kazumasa Sugawara. Nishikawa took Sugawara's back and won with a rear-naked choke, but his right eyelid was swelling up and it closed. After that fight, Nishikawa apologized for his performance but also challenged Shinya Aoki. That made Aoki angry, who threw an elbow to Nishikawa like a pro wrestling stunt.

Yamato Nishikawa vs Kazumasa Sugawara

I think that, if Nishikawa fights against Aoki, his attacks from the bottom will be tested. While I don't think that he would be favored against Aoki, I admit that he broke the stereotype that I had in my mind for how a style could be used to win a fight in MMA. So, there is a possibility that he would still fight with that kind of imagination. Also, his win against Kawana was for the Shooto lightweight title, making Nishikawa the youngest Shooto champ ever at age 18 (now 19).

 

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

Japanese MMA Fighters to Watch Out 2021

 This annual series looking at Japanese MMA prospects is back. With the Covid-19 situation, Rizin could not use foreign fighters and so Japanese prospects were easily picked up by the promotion. However, some others still remain, and they are waiting on fans like you to confirm their talents and to enjoy watching their careers develop. As always, I have excluded fighters who moved on to the UFC, Bellator, Rizin and One.


Tatsuro Taira (7-0)

Ryota Matsune’s student at Paraestra Okinawa, Tatsuro Taira, has recently shown significant improvement in his career. In November, he defeated Kiyotaka Shimizu, who is known as a good veteran fighter. Taira was not only better at grappling but also won in striking, which is normally Shimizu's strongest area. Okinawa rarely produces well-known MMA fighters, aside from Matsune and Mitsuhisa Sunabe. Now that Matsune and Sunabe are back there and have started a gym, that trend should change. Taira has declared that he wants to go to the world's top promotion, the UFC. However, during this pandemic situation, going to Rizin first could be a wise choice.

Tatsuro Taira vs Yamato Takagi

Tatsuya Saika (7-1)

This past year, Saika won the interim lightweight King of Pancrase title. Not only that, he finished opponent Genpei Hayashi with a scary one-shot uppercut. Saika wants to fight against Takasuke Kume, who is the King of Pancrase champion, but also declared that he would like to compete for Rizin.

Tatsuya "Yanbo" Saika vs Takaya Tsukuda

 

Seika Izawa (2-0)

Izawa has a strong background in wrestling and judo, but the fact that she beat DEEP Jewels champ Miki Motono in only her second MMA fight still shocked me. She landed right body kicks over and over against Motono and was able to control the distance well. By avoiding most of Motono's jabs and straight punches, Izawa showed how capable she is when it comes to MMA striking. Izawa stated that she wants a title rematch against Motono and plans to take the championship. Later on, she wants to be in the world's top organization, the UFC.

Seika Izawa vs Miki Motono

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

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.