Kazushi Sakuraba Biography: Kazushi Sakuraba is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and submission wrestler committed to Rizin Fighting Federation and Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was previously a member of the GHC Tag Team Champions alongside Takashi Sugiura.
Kazushi Sakuraba Biography
Kazushi Sakuraba Biography: Sakuraba became a fan of Japanese professional wrestling as a kid because of the Tiger Mask manga, with his favorite being the namesake New Japan Pro-Wrestling wrestler Tiger Mask. After being persuaded not to drop out of high school to go into professional wrestling, Sakuraba began an amateur wrestling career at 15, hoping to obtain experience to help him accomplish his boyhood desire.
As a high school standout, he got as high as second in the country before joining Chuo University’s freestyle wrestling group, which included Olympic gold medalists Shozo Sasahara and Osamu Watanabe. He won the East Japan Freshman Championship in his first year and became the team captain. He finished fourth in the All-Japan event his senior year.
His significant victories included one over future Olympic bronze medalist Takuya Ota. After graduating, Sakuraba considered working as a coach at Chuo University. However, he changed his mind at the last minute and chose to pursue a professional wrestling career.
Kazushi Sakuraba Wiki
Kazushi Sakuraba Biography: Kazushi Sakuraba was born on July 14, 1969. He has competed as a mixed martial artist, submission grappler, and professional wrestler for Japan.
| Name | Kazushi Sakuraba |
| Date Of Birth | July 14, 1969 |
| Birth Place | Akita, Japan |
| Height | 6ft |
| Weight | 84Kg |
| Zodiac Sign | Cancer |
| Profession | Mixed Martial Artist, Boxing |
| Net Worth | $1 Million |
| Car Collection | Unknown |
Kazushi Sakuraba Personal life
Sakuraba is married and the father of a child.
Also Read: Max Holloway Biography, Wiki, Net Worth, Wife, Height, Career, Record
What is Kazushi Sakuraba Net Worth?
Kazushi Sakuraba’s net worth is estimated to be around 1 million dollars.
Kazushi Sakuraba Career
Though Sakuraba’s encounter with Kimo Leopoldo on July 14, 1996, is frequently cited as his first experience with mixed martial arts, there is controversy about whether it was a shoot or a scripted contest. Sakuraba has maintained that he has no recollection of it. However, his first encounter with MMA can be traced back to a different battle on June 26, 1996, against Dutch kickboxer Rene Rooze, which he won through ankle grip.
UFC: Hiromitsu Kanehara & Yoji Anjoh signed on to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Ultimate Japan tournament to garner attention for the struggling Kingdom Pro Wrestling league. Kanehara was injured during tournament training, and Sakuraba became his last-minute replacement.
The match was designed for heavyweights, but Sakuraba weighed 183 pounds (middleweight by contemporary standards) and was nearly 20 pounds under the UFC’s 200-pound weight class designation. Marcus Silveira, a former Extreme Fighting champion and Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt, weighed 240 pounds. Sakuraba, who claimed he weighed 203 pounds to obtain entrance, was paired against him.
The two combatants exchanged leglocks without taking any decisive action. Following Silveira’s flurry of light strikes, Sakuraba attempted a low single-leg takedown. Still, referee John McCarthy halted the bout, believing the blows had struck out Sakuraba.
The crowd then protested loudly, and an enraged Sakuraba unsuccessfully attempted to seize the microphone and address the Japanese audience. McCarthy altered his verdict to a “no contest” after reviewing the video. As Tank Abbott, who had previously defeated Anjoh, was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to a hand injury, it was decided that Sakuraba and Silveira would meet again that night in the tournament’s championship bout.
On September 10, 2023, Sakuraba was scheduled to compete in Quintet 4, where he will captain his own team, Team Sakuraba. Sakuraba drew his single match, and his team was eliminated in the first round.
Fighting Style
Sakuraba became well-known for his creative and unconventional fighting strategy, described as “turning everything we thought we knew about martial arts on its head.” He utilized professional wrestling techniques, including spinning sole kicks, leaping stomps, Mongolian chops, and baseball slides.
In addition to using cartwheels to evade his opponent’s defense, he employed a variety of bewildering, often clever strategies to gain the upper hand. However, his greatest strength was his well-rounded skills acquired through shoot-style wrestling, which included muay thai-inspired grinding strikes and dazzling capture wrestling submission expertise.
Royler Gracie, Renzo Gracie, and Masakatsu Funaki were all submitted by his signature double-top wrist lock, which he utilized both standing and on the ground to execute. Though he had no qualms about yielding his back to his opponent to secure it, Sakuraba would also use this technique as a positional weapon to exert control over his opponent.
Renzo Gracie lauded his ability to exploit his opponent’s weaknesses, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira hailed his technical skill, and Mark Kerr dubbed him the world’s most excellent technician of his era.
