MMA Hall of Fame: Kazushi "The Gracie Hunter" Sakuraba

MMA Record: 26-11-1

Kazushi Sakuraba, also known as “The Gracie Hunter,” is a twelve year mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who has fought in notable promotions like the UFC, PRIDE, K-1 Hero’s, and DREAM. Sakuraba is known mostly as a submission specialist, due in large part to his 19 submission victories to go along with the fact that he has never lost a bout via submission.

His first MMA bout came in December 1997 when the UFC visited Japan. After a premature stoppage ruined his first bout of the tournament, Sakuraba defeated Marcus Silveira to win the UFC Japan tournament in just his second career bout.

He was back in action three months later, this time for PRIDE FC, against American, Vernon “Tiger” White. He stopped White via submission, along with Carlos Newton, Vitor Belfort, Royce Gracie and others on his way to winning his first nine PRIDE FC bouts.

After losing his first bout in the 2000 PRIDE open-weight grand prix semifinals, Sakuraba went on to win three straight over Renzo Gracie, Shannon Ritch, and Ryan Gracie to ignite the “Gracie Hunter” flame.

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Unfortunately, Sakuraba hit hard times losing six of his next nine fights against top-of-the –line mixed martial artists like Wanderlei Silva (3 times), Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

As quick as he hit tough times, he rebounded even quicker by winning four of his next five PRIDE FC fights. He defeated Antonio Schembri at the PRIDE Critical Countdown 2004 event in June 2004 before entering the 2005 PRIDE middleweight grand prix. He won his opening round fight with a TKO over Yoon Dik-Soon before losing to Ricardo Arona in the quarterfinals. He did rebound with victories in his last two PRIDE FC fights, defeating both Ken Shamrock and Ikuhisa Minowa with 1st round stoppages.

In the summer of 2006, Sakuraba began fighting for K-1 Hero’s where he won four of his first five bouts. His four victories were accomplished with submissions, and his lone K-1 loss came against Royce Gracie. The bout didn’t come without controversy, as Gracie failed a post-fight drug test when he tested positive for steroids.

Sakuraba continued on with his career after signing with DREAM in 2008. He submitted Andrews Nakahara in the opening round of the DREAM middleweight grand prix before losing to Melvin Manhoef in the second round of the tournament.

His long running legacy continues to grow even during today’s blossoming fight scene. Sakuraba has posted back-to-back victories in his most recent action. He submitted professional boxer Rubin Williams in early October at DREAM 11, and then submitted Zelg Galesic at DREAM 12 after only 1:40.

With his lengthy fight resume and notable career victories, Kazushi Sakuraba’s legend lives on in Japan, America, and wherever else mixed martial arts are celebrated. And whether Sakuraba retires now or years from now, he will go down as one of the best to ever step foot inside a cage.

By Nick Russell
ProFighting-fans.com Senior MMA Staff Writer
Published February 2010

Photo courtesy of UFC