Welcoming MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba into the UFC Hall of Fame

There’s only one Sakuraba.

On Thursday night, the seventh of July, UFC appropriately inducted Kazushi Sakuraba into their Hall of Fame. A quick glance at his career and accomplishments shows that he’s a legend. Look any closer, and it becomes obvious there will never be another like him.

Sakuraba began his unique journey at the age of fifteen, joining his high schools reputable amateur wrestling team. His first year showed his talents and potential as a grappler; he won East Japan Freshman championship and was soon made team captain. He almost never left, a career as the teams coach was offered to him and he nearly accepted. But his childhood admiration of Tiger Mask, the revolutionary Japanese high flyer, drove him to pro wrestling.

It might seem odd to an American, where MMA and Pro Wrestling fans are often at odds, but in Japan the sports are inexorably linked. Many of the original Japanese MMA stars all came from Pro Wrestling, and so would Sakuraba.

He joined and was trained by the UWFi federation, which portrayed a hyper realistic product based on high level submission work and stiff strikes. It looked nearly identical to an MMA fight, so much that the federation would occasionally hold actual fights and not inform the audience which was which. In a similar situation there’s some debate over whether Sakuraba’s first fight, with Kimo Leopoldo, was a real fight or predetermined.

In hindsight, UWFi’s real style would be restrictive to Sakuraba’s showman instincts. His love of pro wrestling made him develop a flashier moveset for his real MMA matches than any not crazy person would ever try. Mongolian Chops, Baseball slides, drop kicks, and his daring submission escapes are all pieces of fantasy that he somehow made effective in real fights. Sakuraba also exuded the pagantry of pro wrestling, often entering a fight in outlandish costumes emulating his hero Tiger Mask or other popular Japanese heroes from manga or television. Stark contrast to UFC today, where fighters’ wardrobes are dictated by the Reebok sponsorship deal.

Perhaps it was out of that same love that Sakuraba never felt nervous being the smaller man. In his fight career, he would routinely give up a twenty pound weight advantage. Tiger Mask would fight Stan Hansen if asked, so why would Sakuraba complain. His first entry in UFC captures all this should be fantasy, as he entered a heavyweight tournament to bring much needed attention to the Kingdom Pro Wrestling group where he currently worked. His first round fight against Marcus Silveira was called off by a bad ref call, erroneously called a submission against Sakuraba. The call was overturned to a No Contest, and the two rematches in the finals where Sakuraba won with an armbar. This all sounds like a pro wrestling story, designed to make a new star popular. Turns out it works for MMA too, if you can pull it off.

Similar to his desire to bring attention to Kingdom Pro Wrestling, Sakuraba joined PRIDE Fighting when his pro wrestling stablemate Nobuhiko Takada lost Rickson Gracie of the legendary Gracie fight family. Sakuraba fought six times in about a year, never losing with one draw, until he got a chance to settle the score against the younger Royler Gracie. Sakuraba would win by submission. The name Gracie no longer meant unbeatable, and the whole fight world took notice. But Sakuraba wasn’t done.

The Gracie family felt the fight had been stopped early, and insisted the same thing would not happen again. Royce Gracie would fight Sakuraba under rules he decided. There would be no time limit, the men would fight in never ending series of fifteen minute rounds until there was a knock out or submission. It was a testament to the stroke the Gracies carried. Openweight fights are still held in Japan, but a fight like this will probably never be seen again outside of some underground fight club. The rules are just too dangerous.

The rules didn’t help Royce Gracie. He faced Sakuraba on May 1^st 2000 in the quarter finals of the PRIDE Grand Prix. The fight lasted six fifteen minute rounds, for a total of ninety minutes. Royce could land takedowns, but because of the rules he chose he would never get the point benefit. Instead Sakuraba outwrestled and out struck him, and after a series of vicious kicks Royce’s brother Rorion would throw in the towel. It was called one of the greatest fights of all time, cementing Sakuraba as a legend. His night wasn’t over however. He’d go on to fight Igor Vovchanchyn in the semi finals, giving up more than fifty pounds to the Ukrainian. Sakuraba fought well for about ten minutes, but then his body gave in and he lost in the first round.

Sakuraba was dubbed the Gracie Killer/Hunter after the super fight, and he’d push the name further with victories over Renzo and Ryan Gracie. His record sullied after this, losing six of his next nine and taking a lot of strikes in the losses. Nestled between the losses was a win over rising star Quentin “Rampage” Jackson. He’d then flip his luck, winning nine of his the next twelve, including a loss to Royce Gracie that many dispute as a poor call, made worse when Gracie tested positive for PEDs after the fight. After that streak, the aging Sakuraba would lose his last five fights.

Between his fights, Sakuraba would return to pro wrestling, being featured as a special attraction star for New Japan Pro Wrestling. He wrestled notable great matches against Shinsuke Nakamura and a figure somewhat similar to him in Minoru Suzuki.

In interviews about his career, Sakuraba reveals his passive side. He explains he never complained about his constant weight disadvantage because he felt it was his duty to take the fights that came to me. His humility, humor, and relaxed nature flow out just as they did in his fights.

Kazushi Sakuraba is the greatest star of Japanese MMA, and looking over his career a bunch of the stuff he did just seems impossible. It’s that unbelievable nature that makes him a legend and a standout among other legends. He deserves his place in any MMA hall of fame.