Kazushi Sakuraba (26-17-1, 20) was born in Shōwa, Akita, Japan[1] on July 14, 1969. At the age of 27 years on July 14, 1996, he made his professional MMA debut against Kimo Leopoldo, losing the fight via 1st-round submission.
On December 21, 1997, 28-year old Kazushi Sakuraba made his UFC debut on his 2nd professional MMA fight at UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan against Marcus Silveira but lost the fight via no contest.
He became the UFC heavyweight champion on December 21, 1997 at age 28 on his 3rd professional MMA fight at UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan after defeating Marcus Silveira via 1st-round submission.
Sakuraba's last fight was a 1st-round TKO loss to Shinya Aoki at Rizin World Grand Prix 2015: Part 1 - Saraba at age 46 on December 29, 2015. He retired on a 5-fight losing streak.
He has fought twice in the UFC, and has a record of 1 win, 0 losses and 1 no-contest in the promotion.
Some of Kazushi Sakuraba's best fights have been against Guy Mezger, Yoon Dong-sik, Ken Shamrock, Masakatsu Funaki, Ebenezer Fontes Braga, Shannon Ritch and Quinton Jackson.
Sakuraba has 17 losses on his MMA record.
| # | Date | Opponent | Promotion | Weight | Round | Method | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
46  | Dec 29, 2015 46 years, 5 months 26-17-1 (20) | 32 years, 7 months 38-6 (23) | Rizin | WL | 1 | TKO | LOSS Corner stoppage |
45  | Sep 24, 2011 42 years, 2 months 26-16-1 (20) | 28 years, 4 months 9-0 (9) | Dream | WL | 2 | SUB | LOSS Arm-triangle choke |
44  | Dec 31, 2010 41 years, 5 months 26-15-1 (20) | 30 years, 5 months 14-5 (13) | Dynamite | WL | 1 | TKO | LOSS Doctor stoppage |
43  | Sep 25, 2010 41 years, 2 months 26-14-1 (20) | 29 years, 9 months 22-7 (17) | Dream | MD | 1 | SUB | LOSS Arm-triangle choke |
42 | May 29, 2010 40 years, 10 months 26-13-1 (20) | Ralek Gracie | Dream | MD | 3 | UD | LOSS |
41 | Oct 25, 2009 40 years, 3 months 26-12-1 (20) | Zelg Galešić | Dream | MD | 1 | SUB | WIN Kneebar |
40 | Oct 6, 2009 40 years, 2 months 25-12-1 (19) | Rubin Williams | Dream | MD | 1 | SUB | WIN Kimura |
39  | Dec 31, 2008 39 years, 5 months 24-12-1 (18) | 39 years 31-13-3 (23) | Dynamite | MD | 2 | UD | LOSS |
38  | Jun 15, 2008 38 years, 11 months 24-11-1 (18) | 32 years, 1 months 21-4-1 (20) | Dream | MD | 1 | TKO | LOSS Punches |
37 | Apr 29, 2008 38 years, 9 months 24-10-1 (18) | Andrews Nakahara | Dream | MD | 1 | SUB | WIN Neck crank |
36  | Dec 31, 2007 38 years, 5 months 23-10-1 (17) | 38 years, 9 months 38-11-1 (35) | K-1 | LHW | 1 | SUB | WIN Kimura |
35  | Sep 17, 2007 38 years, 2 months 22-10-1 (16) | 27 years, 10 months 2-1 (2) | MD | 1 | SUB | WIN Armbar | |
34  | Jun 2, 2007 37 years, 10 months 21-10-1 (15) | 40 years, 5 months 13-2-3 (12) | Dynamite | MD | 3 | UD | LOSS |
33 | Mar 12, 2007 37 years, 7 months 21-9-1 (15) | Yurij Kiselov | MD | 1 | SUB | WIN Triangle armbar | |
32  | Dec 31, 2006 37 years, 5 months 20-9-1 (14) | 31 years, 5 months 9-1 (8) | K-1 | MD | 1 | NC | NC Overturned |
31  | Aug 5, 2006 37 years 20-9-1 (14) | 30 years, 3 months 18-5 (12) | LHW | 1 | SUB | WIN Armbar | |
30  | Dec 31, 2005 36 years, 5 months 19-9-1 (13) | 29 years, 11 months 30-22-8 (23) | Pride | WL | 1 | CKO | WIN Kimura |
29  | Oct 23, 2005 36 years, 3 months 18-9-1 (13) | 41 years, 8 months 26-9-2 (23) | Pride | MD | 1 | TKO | WIN Punches |
28  | Jun 26, 2005 35 years, 11 months 17-9-1 (12) | 26 years, 11 months 10-2 (3) | Pride | MD | 2 | TKO | LOSS Corner stoppage |
27  | Apr 23, 2005 35 years, 9 months 17-8-1 (12) | 32 years, 7 months | Pride | MD | 1 | KO | WIN Punches |
26  | Jun 20, 2004 34 years, 11 months 16-8-1 (11) | 30 years 3-1 (2) | Pride | MD | 3 | UD | WIN |
25  | Dec 31, 2003 34 years, 5 months 15-8-1 (11) | 27 years, 6 months 6-1 (3) | Pride | MD | 3 | UD | LOSS |
24  | Nov 9, 2003 34 years, 3 months 15-7-1 (11) | 32 years, 2 months 14-6 (8) | Pride | MD | 3 | SUB | WIN Armbar |
23  | Aug 10, 2003 34 years 14-7-1 (10) | 27 years, 1 months 21-3-1 (18) | Pride | MD | 1 | KO | LOSS Punch |
22 | Mar 16, 2003 33 years, 8 months 14-6-1 (10) | 28 years, 9 months 2-0 (1) | Pride | HW | 1 | KO | LOSS Knees and soccer kicks |
21 | Nov 24, 2002 33 years, 4 months 14-5-1 (10) | Gilles Arsene | Pride | HW | 3 | SUB | WIN Armbar |
20  | Aug 28, 2002 33 years, 1 months 13-5-1 (9) | 27 years, 11 months 2-0-2 (2) | Pride | HW | 2 | TKO | LOSS Doctor stoppage |
19 | Nov 3, 2001 32 years, 3 months 13-4-1 (9) | 25 years, 4 months 16-3 (13) | Pride | MD | 1 | TKO | LOSS Doctor stoppage For Pride middleweight title |
18  | Jul 29, 2001 32 years 13-3-1 (9) | 23 years, 1 months 10-1 (7) | Pride | HW | 1 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke |
17 | Mar 25, 2001 31 years, 8 months 12-3-1 (8) | 24 years, 8 months 14-3 (11) | Pride | HW | 1 | TKO | LOSS Knees and soccer kicks |
16  | Dec 23, 2000 31 years, 5 months 12-2-1 (8) | 26 years, 4 months 1-0 (1) | Pride | HW | 1 | UD | WIN |
15  | Oct 31, 2000 31 years, 3 months 11-2-1 (8) | 30 years, 1 months 13-16 (12) | Pride | HW | 1 | SUB | WIN Achilles lock |
14  | Aug 27, 2000 31 years, 1 months 10-2-1 (7) | 33 years, 5 months 9-1-1 (8) | Pride | HW | 2 | CKO | WIN Kimura |
13  | May 1, 2000 30 years, 9 months 9-2-1 (7) | 26 years, 8 months 41-2 (36) | Pride | HW | 1 | TKO | LOSS Corner stoppage |
12 | May 1, 2000 30 years, 9 months 9-1-1 (7) | 33 years, 4 months 12-0-1 (11) | Pride | HW | 6 | TKO | WIN Corner stoppage |
11  | Jan 30, 2000 30 years, 6 months 8-1-1 (6) | 32 years 22-8-2 (10) | Pride | HW | 1 | TKO | WIN Retirement |
10  | Nov 21, 1999 30 years, 4 months 7-1-1 (5) | 33 years, 11 months 3-0 (3) | Pride | HW | 2 | CKO | WIN Kimura |
9  | Sep 12, 1999 30 years, 1 months 6-1-1 (5) | 30 years, 7 months 15-5 (11) | Pride | HW | 2 | SUB | WIN Armbar |
8  | Jul 4, 1999 29 years, 11 months 5-1-1 (4) | 30 years, 2 months 10-3-1 (7) | Pride | HW | 1 | SUB | WIN Armbar |
7  | Apr 29, 1999 29 years, 9 months 4-1-1 (3) | 22 years 6-1 (6) | Pride | HW | 2 | UD | WIN |
6  | Oct 11, 1998 29 years, 2 months 3-1-1 (3) | 27 years, 5 months 3-1-1 (3) | Pride | HW | 3 | UD | DRAW Time limit |
5  | Jun 24, 1998 28 years, 11 months 3-1 (3) | 21 years, 10 months 4-2 (4) | Pride | HW | 2 | SUB | WIN Kneebar |
4  | Mar 15, 1998 28 years, 8 months 2-1 (2) | 27 years, 3 months 11-20-1 (9) | Pride | HW | 3 | SUB | WIN Armbar |
3 | Dec 21, 1997 28 years, 5 months 1-1 (1) | Marcus Silveira | UFC | HW | 1 | SUB | WIN Armbar Won UFC Japan Tournament |
2 | Dec 21, 1997 28 years, 5 months 0-1 (0) | Marcus Silveira | UFC | HW | 1 | NC | NC Premature stoppage |
1  | Jul 14, 1996 27 years 0-1 (0) | 28 years, 6 months 3-2 (3) | 1 | SUB | LOSS Arm-triangle choke |
