Akitoshi Tamura (born May 31, 1980) is a Japanese

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. He competed almost exclusively in the

Shooto Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the ''Shooto Association'' and the ''International Shooto Commission''. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 198 ...

organization, before making his debut in 2008 at the

WEC 37 ''WEC 37: Torres vs. Tapia'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on December 3, 2008 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event aired live on the Versus Network. Background Former IFL stando ...

. In 2007, he was the lightweight champion of Shooto. He was once ranked as the #5 Bantamweight in the world by the MMAWeekly Worldwide Ranking System. Tamura is a freestyle fighter. In 2004, Tamura became the first foreigner to beat a Burmese

Lethwei Lethwei ( my, လက်ဝှေ့; IPA: ) or Burmese boxing, is a full contact combat sport from Myanmar that uses stand-up striking including headbutts. Lethwei is considered to be one of the most brutal martial arts in the world, * * * a ...

fighter in an official match.

Mixed martial arts career

Tamura made his professional debut in the

organization in a fight against Eiji Murayama, in August 2001, and lost on a technical decision (he later returned to face Murayama in 2004, only for the match to end in a draw). He has made MMA headlines when he defeated Takeshi Inoue in 2007, which won him the title of Shooto lightweight champion. He has also participated in GCM and MARS events, achieving a TKO over Masaomi Saito in the former, and a first round submission over

Ian Loveland Ian Loveland (born September 7, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. Loveland has fought for promotions such as King of the Cage, International Fight League, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed Martial Arts Car ...

in the latter. Akitoshi Tamura made his WEC debut at

. Although Akitoshi had a reputation of being one of the world's best in his weight class, he lost to former IFL featherweight champion

Wagnney Fabiano Wagnney Silva Fabiano-Santos (born July 14, 1975) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He is best known for fighting in the WEC, as well as for the Toronto Dragons of the International Fight League and is the former IFL Featherweight Champion. ...

, for whom it was also his WEC debut. For his next fight, Tamura made his 135 lb. debut in the bantamweight division at

WEC 40 ''WEC 40: Torres vs. Mizugaki'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on April 5, 2009 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois. The event aired live on the Versus Network. Background This was the first WEC event to ...

against former world title challenger

Manny Tapia Manuel Alcaraz Tapia (born March 14, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter currently competing in the Bantamweight division. He has formerly competed for the WEC, King of the Cage, and Tachi Palace Fights. He is the forme ...

. Tamura defeated Tapia by unanimous decision. On October 10, 2009, he was scheduled to fight

Damacio Page Damacio James Page (born September 30, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing for Legacy Fighting Championship in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2005, Page has also formerly competed ...

WEC 43 ''WEC 43: Cerrone vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on October 10, 2009 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Background The event was scheduled to take place on September 2, 2009 at the Covel ...

, but pulled out with an undisclosed injury. He was replaced in the bout by WEC newcomer

Will Campuzano William Campuzano (born May 27, 1986) is a Mexican-American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2008, Campuzano has also formerly competed for the UFC, WEC, Vale Tud ...

. On January 10, 2010, Tamura was defeated by WEC veteran

Charlie Valencia Carlos Enrique "Charlie" Valencia (born October 31, 1974) is an American mixed martial artist. He has fought for the WEC and UFC in their Bantamweight divisions, and is the former King of the Cage Bantamweight Champion. He is one of only two m ...

via split decision at WEC 46.

Lethwei

Tamura competed in a

tournament on July 10 & 11, 2004 at the

Thuwunna National Indoor Stadium , logo_image = , image = File:National Indoor Stadium 1 Thuwuna.jpg , fullname = , location = Thingangyun, Yangon, Myanmar , coordinates = , broke_ground = 1983 , built ...

Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

against Aye Bo Sein. The event also showcased three other Japanese fighters, Tamura, Yoshitaro Niimi, Takaharu Yamamoto and Seiji Wakasugi against Burmese fighters. The other Burmese fighters competing in the tournament were Naing Wan Lay, Win Tun and

Shwe Sai Shwe Sai ( my, ရွှေဆိုင်း), is a retired Burmese Lethwei fighter and former Openweight Lethwei World Champion. Personal life Shwe Sai is born in the Karen state and has a son named Sai Maung Maung, who also competes in L ...

. Tamura knocked out local fighter Aya Bo Sein in the fourth round becoming the first foreigner to beat a Lethwei practitioner in an official match and received a challenge fight belt that was created specifically for the event.

Lethwei record

, - style="background:#cfc;" , Jul 10, 2004 , , Win , , align="left" , Aye Bo Sein , , Myanmar vs. Japan Lethwei Challenge Fights , ,

, , KO , , 4 , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 19–16–2 , Satoshi Inaba , Decision (split) , Pancrase: 267 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–16–2 ,

Guy Delumeau Guy Delumeau (born August 18, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division. Personal life Delumeau attended Pacific University. Mixed martial arts record , - , Win , align=center, 22-13-3 , Ju ...

, Decision (split) , Pancrase: 264 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–15–2 , Andy Main , TKO (punches) , Pancrase: 262 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:34 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 18–14–2 , Motoshi Miyaji , Decision (unanimous) , Pancrase: 258 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 17–14–2 , Brian Choi , Decision (majority) , Shooto: 4th Round 2013 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–14–2 , Yoshifumi Nakamura , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: Gig Tokyo 14 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–13–2 , Yusuke Yachi , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: 8th Round , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–12–2 , Yuji Hoshino , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: 3rd Round , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 16–11–2 ,

Shigeki Osawa Shigeki Osawa (born May 2, 1986) is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist who competes in the featherweight division. Mixed martial arts career Background Osawa is a training partner of Japanese MMA veteran Michihiro Omigawa. Osawa is ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: Shooto the Shoot 2011 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–11–2 , Tetsu Suzuki , Submission (triangle kimura) , Shooto: Shootor's Legacy 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:45 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–10–2 , Taiyo Nakahara , DQ (low blows) , World Victory Road Presents: Soul of Fight , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:07 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 15–9–2 , Shoko Sato , Decision (split) , World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Raiden Championships 15 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–9–2 ,

Masakatsu Ueda Masakatsu Ueda (born December 21, 1977) is a professional Japanese mixed martial artist who currently competes in the bantamweight division of Pancrase. Ueda was also a college level wrestler in Japan, where holds a win over fellow mixed marti ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: The Way of Shooto 3: Like a Tiger, Like a Dragon , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–8–2 ,

, Decision (split) , WEC 46 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, California, USA , , - , Win , align=center, 14–7–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Illinois, USA , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–7–2 ,

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) , WEC 37: Torres vs. Tapia , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:48 ,

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, Nevada, USA , , - , Win , align=center, 13–6–2 ,

Rumina Sato (, kanji for given name: 留美奈) is a Japanese retired mixed martial artist, famous for his career in the Shooto organization. In the past he fought mostly in the 155 lb division, but he moved down to the 145 lb division. Mixed mar ...

, Submission (north-south choke) , Shooto: Shooto Tradition 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:37 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–6–2 ,

Hideki Kadowaki (born 28 May 1976) is a Japanese mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2000, he has competed for Shooto, DEEP, and World Victory Road. He is the former Shooto Lightweight (143 lbs) Champion. Biography Hideki Kadowaki was bo ...

, Decision (majority) , Shooto: Back To Our Roots 8 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 12–5–2 , Takeshi Inoue , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: Back To Our Roots 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 11–5–2 , Tenkei Oda , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: Back To Our Roots 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 10–5–2 ,

Akiyo Nishiura (born August 8, 1983) is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. Nishiura currently competes in MMA for the DREAM organization as a Featherweight and has also fought for Shooto, Cage Force, and DEEP. Mixed martial arts c ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: Rookie Tournament Final , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–5–2 , Sakae Kasuya , Submission (armbar) , Shooto 2006: 9/8 in Korakuen Hall , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:16 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–5–2 , Tenkei Oda , KO (punch) , Shooto: The Devilock , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:10 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 8–4–2 , Masaomi Saito , TKO (knees) , GCM: D.O.G. 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:02 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–4–2 ,

, Submission (triangle choke) , Martial Arts Reality Superfighting , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:40 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–4–2 , Takeshi Inoue , Decision (majority) , Shooto 2005: 11/6 in Korakuen Hall , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–3–2 ,

Hayate Usui is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist and pro Shooto fighter. From Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, he now lives and trains in Tokyo at Wajitsu Keishukai's RJW (Real Japanese Wrestling) and Tokyo HQ. Usui debuted in kickboxing six years ...

, Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) , Shooto: 9/23 in Korakuen Hall , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:51 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–3–2 , Fanjin Son , Decision (majority) , Shooto 2005: 7/30 in Korakuen Hall , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–3–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: 3/11 in Korakuen Hall , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4–2–2 , Guseyn Aliev , Submission (armbar) , WAFC: Pankration Open Cup 2004 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:53 ,

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China ...

, Russia , , - , Draw , align=center, 3–2–2 , Eiji Murayama , Draw , Shooto: 3/22 in Korakuen Hall , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–2–1 ,

Yohei Nanbu Yohei Nanbu (born December 22, 1976) is a Japanese people, Japanese mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He competed in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division. Mixed martial arts record , - , Loss , align=center, 2-7-2 , Ha ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: Wanna Shooto 2003 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2–2–1 , Masatoshi Kobayashi , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: 3/18 in Korakuen Hall , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–2–1 , Hiroshi Komatsu , Technical Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: Gig East 10 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:33 ,

, Japan , , - , Draw , align=center, 1–1–1 , Jin Kazeta , Draw , Shooto: Treasure Hunt 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–1–0 ,

Koichi Tanaka is a Japanese electrical engineer who shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2002 for developing a novel method for mass spectrometric analyses of biological macromolecules with John Bennett Fenn and Kurt Wüthrich (the latter for work in N ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: GIG East 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1–0 , Eiji Murayama , Technical Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: Wanna Shooto 2001 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

, Japan ,

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tamura, Akitoshi Living people Japanese male mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing Lethwei Japanese Lethwei practitioners Japanese male judoka 1980 births Sportspeople from Hyōgo Prefecture 20th-century Japanese people 21st-century Japanese people