Naoki Inoue (19-4, 11) was born in Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan on June 14, 1997. At the age of 17 years on March 8, 2015, he made his professional MMA debut against Kanta Sato, winning the fight via 1st-round submission.
On June 17, 2017, 20-year old Naoki Inoue made his UFC debut on his 9th professional MMA fight at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Correia against Carls John de Tomas, winning the fight via 3-round unanimous decision.
Inoue's last fight was a bantamweight (Rizin Championship) title defense against Yuki Motoya on March 29, 2025. He won the fight via 3rd-round split decision and successfully defended the title. He is on a 3-fight winning streak.
He has fought twice in the UFC, and has a record of 1 win and 1 loss in the promotion.
Some of Naoki Inoue's best fights have been against Shintaro Ishiwatari, Shooto Watanabe, Carls John de Tomas, Kanta Sato, Kenji Yamanaka, Chikara Shimabukuro and Iyori Akiba.
Inoue has 4 losses on his MMA record.
| # | Date | Opponent | Promotion | Weight | Round | Method | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
23 | Mar 29, 2025 27 years, 9 months 19-4 (11) | Yuki Motoya | Rizin | BT | 3 | SD | WIN Defended Rizin bantamweight title |
22 | Sep 29, 2024 27 years, 3 months 18-4 (11) | Kim Soo-chul | Rizin | BT | 1 | TKO | WIN Punches Won Rizin bantamweight title |
21 | Mar 23, 2024 26 years, 9 months 17-4 (10) | Shoko Sato | Rizin | BT | 3 | UD | WIN |
20  | May 6, 2023 25 years, 10 months 16-4 (10) | 35 years, 7 months 27-4 (12) | Rizin | BT | 3 | UD | LOSS |
19 | Dec 31, 2022 25 years, 6 months 16-3 (10) | Kenta Takizawa | Rizin | BT | 2 | SUB | WIN Kimura |
18  | Dec 31, 2021 24 years, 6 months 15-3 (9) | 34 years, 8 months 23-5-2 (6) | Rizin | BT | 3 | UD | LOSS |
17 | Sep 19, 2021 24 years, 3 months 15-2 (9) | Yuto Hokamura | Rizin | BT | 3 | UD | WIN |
16  | Jun 13, 2021 23 years, 11 months 14-2 (9) | 36 years, 3 months 26-8-4 (11) | Rizin | BT | 1 | KO | WIN Punches and soccer kick |
15 | Dec 31, 2020 23 years, 6 months 13-2 (8) | Yuki Motoya | Rizin | BT | 1 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke |
14  | Aug 9, 2020 23 years, 1 months 12-2 (7) | 31 years, 5 months 20-4-6 (12) | Rizin | BT | 1 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke |
13 | Feb 22, 2020 22 years, 8 months 11-2 (6) | Trent Girdham | Rizin | BT | 3 | UD | WIN |
12 | Dec 15, 2019 22 years, 6 months 10-2 (6) | Toshiaki Kitada | DEEP | BT | 1 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke |
11 | Feb 16, 2019 21 years, 8 months 9-2 (5) | Sean Santella | FL | 3 | UD | LOSS | |
10  | Jun 23, 2018 21 years 9-1 (5) | 28 years, 5 months 11-4 (8) | UFC | FL | 3 | SD | LOSS |
9 | Jun 17, 2017 20 years 9-0 (5) | Carls John de Tomas | UFC | FL | 3 | UD | WIN |
8 | Mar 18, 2017 19 years, 9 months 8-0 (5) | Tomohiro Adaniya | DEEP | FL | 2 | MD | WIN |
7 | Oct 9, 2016 19 years, 3 months 7-0 (5) | Yuya Shibata | DEEP | FL | 2 | SUB | WIN Armbar |
6 | Aug 27, 2016 19 years, 2 months 6-0 (4) | Go Minamide | DEEP | FL | 2 | MD | WIN |
5 | Jun 12, 2016 18 years, 11 months 5-0 (4) | Naoyuki Kato | DEEP | FL | 1 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke |
4 | Apr 23, 2016 18 years, 10 months 4-0 (3) | Iyori Akiba | DEEP | FL | 1 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke |
3 | Dec 20, 2015 18 years, 6 months 3-0 (2) | Chikara Shimabukuro | DEEP | FL | 2 | UD | WIN |
2 | May 16, 2015 17 years, 11 months 2-0 (2) | Kenji Yamanaka | DEEP | FL | 1 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke |
1 | Mar 8, 2015 17 years, 8 months 1-0 (1) | Kanta Sato | DEEP | FL | 1 | SUB | WIN Armbar |
