Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Japanese Fighters

1. Kazushi Sakuraba

Sakuraba finished one spot lower than Gomi on Sherdog's list of the greatest Pride fighters ever but leapfrogs him here. Why is that, especially given that the voters were the same? Simply put, many respondents used different criteria, considering Sakuraba's incredible impact on the history of MMA and especially in Japan, which easily trumps Gomi's influence, even if the younger lightweight was a more skilled and accomplished fighter. Certainly, Sakuraba is a legend among legends. In the year 2000, he was likely the best pound-for-pound fighter in the entire sport, and his constant willingness to face greats who were much larger than him is utterly awe-inspiring. By modern standards, Sakuraba didn't have the most complete game, but then again, that was MMA circa 2000 for you. He was a very good wrestler who also had a fantastic, active submission game. Back then it was a rare combination that few could resist. In terms of striking, he had good kicks and some defense, but was very limited with his boxing. Of course, no description of Sakuraba is complete without noting his excellent cardio, limitless toughness and fantastic creativity, whether he was doing backflips onto a downed opponent, cartwheels to pass their guard, or double Mongolian-chopping their head as part of his ground-and-pound. Debuting in MMA at the age of almost 27 after a middling career as a pro wrestler, Sakuraba lost his debut to the much larger Kimo Leopoldo. He then entered the UFC's first foray into his home country, “UFC Ultimate Japan” or UFC 15.5, against yet another heavyweight, future American Top Team head honcho Marcus “Conan” Silveira, who weighed about 240 pounds to Sakuraba's 190. After referee “Big” John McCarthy incorrectly called the fight a victory for the Brazilian by armbar, heavy backstage pressure, which by some accounts included the Yakuza, caused them to have an immediate rematch that very night. In that rematch, Sakuraba would earn the first of his many victories over much larger opponents, submitting “Conan” with an armbar of his own in a little under four minutes.

Sakuraba then joined the fledgling Pride organization, where he truly established his greatness. His career there started with an amazing stretch of going 11-1-1, cementing himself as the promotion's biggest star. During that time, he submitted future UFC welterweight champion Carlos Newton, had a time-limit draw against skilled, larger Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Allan Goes—this was so early in Pride history that they didn't even render decisions yet—shockingly dominated Vitor Belfort, submitted good opponents for the time in Ebenezer Fontes Braga and Anthony Macias, finished Royler and Renzo Gracie with kimuras, easily defeated the talented Ryan Gracie, and of course, had his legendary 90-minute victory over Royce Gracie, with his four wins against the family earning him the nickname “The Gracie Hunter.” His lone loss during that time was at heavyweight against Igor Vovchanchyn, on the same night that he had gone through the grueling 90-minute battle with Gracie. Obviously, that was an impossible situation, and the loss should in no way count against his greatness. However, I should mention that Sakuraba absolutely should have lost a decision he was gifted against yet another larger fighter, Guy Mezger. The judges declared the fight tied after the regulation 15 minutes, which would require an extra period. Mezger's team, the Lion's Den, including Ken Shamrock, were rightly incensed and decided not to have Mezger come out for the impromptu overtime round, giving Sakuraba the win by default.

Alas, beginning in 2001, Sakuraba's tendency to face much larger foes caught up with him. He suffered the first of what would be three knockout losses against Wanderlei Silva, who walked around at 225 pounds at the time, a good 30-35 pounds heavier than Sakuraba. He even fought top heavyweight Mirko Filipovic, “Cro Cop” who also knocked him out. His career still had the occasional success; despite being slammed around like crazy, Sakuraba choked out a young Quinton Jackson and scored an armbar victory over former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman. The only bad loss to a fighter his size Sakuraba suffered during this time was to Brazilian Antonio Schembri, one he later avenged. Interestingly, Sakuraba left Pride on a winning streak, having knocked out Ken Shamrock with his hands in less than two and a half minutes, a consequence of having worked on his boxing with long-time rival Chute Boxe, and then submitting Ikuhisa Minowa at the end of the promotion’s trademark 10-minute first round. Sakuraba moved on, but at 36 years old and bearing the damage from many battles against larger men, he wasn't the same. He still scored the occasional nice victory, like a kimura submission of Pancrase great Masakatsu Funaki and a kneebar of Zelg Galesic, but this period was very painful for his fans, myself included, for the many bad beatings the washed-up legend suffered, none worse than in his last fight in 2015 at the age of 45 against previous inductee on this list, Shinya Aoki. Luckily, Sakuraba retired from MMA after that, with a mythical career that will be talked about for decades to come.