Japanese MMA Fighters To Watch Out For In 2024

 This annual Japanese prospects list for 2024 includes four fighters from DEEP, DEEP JEWELS, Pancrase and Shooto.

Arisa Matsuda  (4-0-0)

Arisa is a former professional baseball player who is now known for her undefeated MMA record. She first brought attention to herself when she defeated Mika Nagano in 2022. Arisa’s sprawl allowed her to stop Mika’s takedowns and she was effective with her own ground and pound when she got Mika down.

 
In 2023, Arisa fought Machi Fukuda for the DEEP JEWELS interim strawweight title. Arisa sprawled well in the first two rounds and bloodied Machi’s nose with punches. Machi won the third round with her grappling, but Arisa took a split decision for the belt. She will gain more attention with her title this year.


Tokitaka Nakanishi  (10-2-0)

Tokitaka is known for being a former featherweight King of Pancrase champion. He dropped down a division in 2023 and faced Yasuhiro Kawamura at Pancrase 340. Tokitaka escaped from a leg scissors choke from Yasuhiro and finished him with an arm-triangle choke to become bantamweight King of Pancrase.


Yannick Yuji Ephoeviga  (6-0-0)

We first featured Yuji in last year’s prospects list. He received an opportunity to fight for Combate Global with Abema TV support, which is a rare opportunity abroad for a Japanese fighter early in their career. Yuji TKOed Geralbert Castillo in that fight and finished 4-0 overall in 2023.


Kyoma Akimoto  (4-0-0)

Kyoma is only 17, but he has already scored two knockouts as a pro fighter. The DEEP flyweight division has many talented fighters, and Kyoma is still young in his career and life, but he plans to win the DEEP title before he turns 20. He is from the same gym as Hiromasa Ougikubo and Rei Tsuruya.