,(born August 15, 1972) is a Japanese retired

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 ...

and

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, mostly known for his work in

Pro Wrestling Zero1 (stylized as Pro Wrestling ZERO1), formerly known as Pro Wrestling Zero-One and Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (stylised in all capital letters) and often referred to simply as Zero1, is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 2001. I ...

and Hustle. A professional MMA competitor from 1996 until 2010, he competed for the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

PRIDE Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

Pancrase Pancrase Inc. is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the Ancient Olympic Games. Suzuki and Funaki pr ...

DEEP Deep or The Deep may refer to: Places United States * Deep Creek (Appomattox River tributary), Virginia * Deep Creek (Great Salt Lake), Idaho and Utah * Deep Creek (Mahantango Creek tributary), Pennsylvania * Deep Creek (Mojave River tributary), ...

RINGS Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

, and

M-1 Global M-1 Global (Mixfight-1) or MMA-1 (Mixed martial arts-1) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in St. Petersburg, Russia which organizes between 10 and 20 competitions per year. It hosted its first major show (rather than co-promoting with othe ...

Mixed martial arts career

After a career of

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

and

amateur wrestling Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced in collegiate, school, or other amateur level competitions. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both styles are under the ...

at the

Tokyo University , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

, Fujii learned

mixed martial arts 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, inc ...

on the Super Tiger Gym of

Satoru Sayama (born November 27, 1957) is a Japanese professional wrestling, Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, MMA and wrestling promoter and writer, best known as the original Tiger Mask (professional wrestling), Tige ...

and debuted for

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 ...

in 1997.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Fujii made his debut in

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

during the

UFC 23 ''UFC 23: Ultimate Japan 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 19, 1999 at Tokyo Bay NK Hall in Tokyo, Japan. History UFC 23 was the second UFC event to take place in Tokyo, Japan, where the ne ...

tournament in Japan, where he first faced the newcomer

Masutatsu Yano Masutatsu Yano (born July 11, 1975) is a Japanese former mixed martial artist who competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, RINGS, Pancrase and Deep. Mixed martial arts career Ultimate Fighting Championship Yano made his professional mix ...

. The bout started slow, with Fujii defending with strikes and submissions attempts against his opponent's wrestling acumen, but in the second round, Fujii stunned Yano with punches and scored the knockout victory. He advanced to the next round and found himself against fellow shoot-style practitioner Kenichi Yamamoto, a former apprentice of both

Nobuhiko Takada Nobuhiko Takada ( ja, 高田伸彦, ring name: ) (born April 12, 1962) is a Japanese former mixed martial artist, retired professional wrestler, actor, and writer. He competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Universal Wrestling Federation (UW ...

and

Akira Maeda (born Go Il-myeong (Hangul: 고일명, Hanja: 高日明), January 24, 1959) is a Japanese mixed martial arts promoter, writer and retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist of Korean descent. Maeda was also known by the ring name K ...

. The heavier Fujii controlled the takedowns and applied

ground and pound 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 ...

through the guard, threatening with a

leglock A leglock is a joint lock that is directed at joints of the leg such as the ankle, knee or hip joint. A leglock which is directed at joints in the foot, is sometimes referred to as a foot lock and a lock at the hip as a hip lock. Leglocks ar ...

attempt at the end of the round. At the second, Yamamoto pulled guard and Fujii repeated his strategy, but this time Yamamoto caught Fujii with a

kneebar A leglock is a joint lock that is directed at joints of the leg such as the ankle, knee or hip joint. A leglock which is directed at joints in the foot, is sometimes referred to as a foot lock and a lock at the hip as a hip lock. Leglocks are f ...

from the bottom, making him tap out.

PRIDE Fighting Championships

After joining Naoya Ogawa's team in Universal Fighting-Arts Organization, Fujii got to debut in

in May 2004. His first bout was against Korean newcomer Jin O Kim, whom Fujii dominated with knees and punches before submitting him to a

rear naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keikogi ...

. Fujii then was pitted against the returning

Igor Vovchanchyn Igor Yaroslavovych Vovchanchyn (, uk, Ігор Ярославович Вовчанчин; born August 6, 1973) is a retired Ukrainian mixed martial artist and kickboxer, who competed in early no holds barred MMA contests. After making his profess ...

, former runner-up to the PRIDE Openweight Grand Prix 2000. Immediately overpowered by Vovchanchyn, the Japanese tried to avoid his striking, which gained him a red card. Minutes later, Vovchanchyn dropped Fujii and finished him with

soccer kick A soccer kick, also known as a soccer ball kick or PK (penalty kick) in puroresu and shoot fighting, and as tiro de meta in vale tudo, is a reference to a kick that is similar to kicks used in association football. It is the colloquial term f ...

Professional wrestling career

Pro Wrestling Zero-One (2003-2004)

He was introduced in Zero-One in January 2003 as a new ally to his mentor Ogawa. Immediately after, Fujii and him challenged the reigning NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Champions,

Matt Ghaffari Siamak "Matt" Ghaffari ( ; fa, سیامک غفاری, ; born November 11, 1961, in Tehran, Imperial State of Iran) is an Iran-born American amateur wrestler, MMA Fighter and professional wrestler. Matt Ghaffari was a two-time USA Olympic team mem ...

and Tom Howard, but were defeated. Fujii remained as a Japanese loyalist, teaming up with native wrestlers against Ghaffari and his American faction from UPW, while also doing small appearances for

shoot-style Shoot wrestling is a combat sport that originated in Japan's professional wrestling circuit of the 1970s. Professional wrestlers of that era attempted to use more realistic or even "full contact" moves in their matches to increase their exciteme ...

wrestling promotion U-style, founded by

Kiyoshi Tamura is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Once a student of legendary professional wrestlers Billy Robinson, Lou Thesz and Akira Maeda, Tamura was known for his skills in catch wrestling and is considered to be one of ...

. Ogawa and him teamed up again in July, when they competed at the ''OH Tag Festival''. They were successful, reaching the finals after eliminating Howard' and Ghaffari's own teams, as well as Mexican legends

Dos Caras Jr. José Alberto Rodríguez Chucuan (born 25 May 1977) is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter, sports commentator, and mixed martial artist, currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as a c ...

and

Lizmark Jr. Juan Carlos Baños (born October 16, 1972) is a Mexican professional wrestler or "Luchador" known as Lizmark Jr. or El Hijo de Lizmark (The Son of Lizmark). Baños previously worked for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and AAA. Lizmark Jr. works as ...

, and then defeated

Kevin Randleman Kevin Christopher Randleman (August 10, 1971 – February 11, 2016) was an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. Randleman's background was in collegiate wrestling, in which he became ...

and The Predator at the finals to win the tournament. Fujii also followed this victory by winning also the U-style tournament ''Kiyoshi Tamura Challenger'', earning him a match against Tamura which Katsuhisa lost. Ogawa and him kept teaming until the end of the year, when they both left Zero-One for Hustle.

Hustle (2004-2006)

Fujii wrestled in Hustle as a member of Ogawa's Hustle Army. Being given the nickname of "Shamoji" ("

Gamecock A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

") by Ogawa, Fujii was portrayed here as an optimistic

underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...

who always tried his best despite constantly failing. It was better exemplified by his finishing move, a

diving elbow drop Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are maneuvers in professional wrestling using the ring's posts and ropes as aids, in many cases to demonstrate the speed and agility of smaller, nimble and acrobatically inclined wrestlers prefer ...

ironically baptized as ''AHE'' or ''Atareba Hyappatsuhyakuchu Elbow'' (translated as "100% Hitting Chance Elbow"), which he constantly boasted of, yet never managed to land on his opponent due to the long range he chose to execute it. He battled repeatedly the forces of Generalissimo Takada's Monster Army over the years, getting occasional wins in tag team matches, until leaving Hustle in March 2006.

Championships and accomplishments

* Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling **2000 Pancrase Heavyweight Championship Tournament Runner-up *

** UFC 23 Heavyweight Tournament Runner-up *U-STYLE **

Challenger Tournament (2003)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 9–18–1 , Ryuta Noji , TKO (punches) , DEEP: 46 Impact , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:18 ,

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 ,

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

bout. , - , Loss , align=center, 9–17–1 , Choi Mu-Bae , Decision (unanimous) , Pancrase: Changing Tour 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–16–1 , Lee Sang-Soo , TKO (punches) , DEEP: Gladiator , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:36 ,

Okayama is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is . The city is ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–15–1 , Jessie Gibbs , TKO (knees and punches) , M-1 Challenge 5: Japan , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:34 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–14–1 , Akhmet Sultanov , Submission (armbar) , M-1 Challenge 2: Russia , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:54 ,

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–13–1 ,

Yasuhito Namekawa (born October 27, 1974) is a Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division. Namekawa made his Mixed martial arts debut for Fighting Network Rings in 1998. He fought in mainly Shoot fighting bouts until 1999 when ...

, Decision (majority) , DEEP: 32 Impact , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan ,

bout. , - , Win , align=center, 9–12–1 ,

Yuji Sakuragi is a Japanese mixed martial artist, kickboxer, and professional wrestler, currently associated with Real Japan Pro Wrestling (RJPW)'s team Seikendo. He is known for his Kyokushin Karate background and his ability to score KO wins. In MMA, he com ...

, Decision (majority) , DEEP: Glove , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–12–1 , Jyunpei Hamada , Decision (split) , MARS 6: Rapid Fire , , align=center, 2 , 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 , 95 kg (209.4 lbs) bout. , - , Loss , align=center, 8–11–1 ,

Elvis Sinosic Elvis Sinosic (born 13 February 1971) is a retired Australian professional mixed martial artist and unsuccessful Political Candidate for United Australia in Blaxland. Sinosic is perhaps best known for his seven-fight stint in the Ultimate F ...

, Submission (armbar) , X-plosion: X-plosion , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A , Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–10–1 ,

, KO (punches) ,

PRIDE Bushido 5 The year 2004 is the 8th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2004 had 10 events beginning with, ''Pride 27 - Inferno''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters The followi ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:02 ,

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 8–9–1 , Jin O Kim , Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

PRIDE Bushido 3 The year 2004 is the 8th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2004 had 10 events beginning with, ''Pride 27 - Inferno''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters The followi ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:58 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–9–1 , Hiroya Takada , Decision (majority) , Pancrase: 2002 Anniversary Show , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–9–1 ,

Mikhail Ilyukhin Mikhail Ilyukhin (born November 21, 1966) is a retired Russian mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who competed in the light heavyweight division. He competed in both Fighting Network Rings, and Pride Fighting Championships, and was ...

, Submission (guillotine choke) , PC: Premium Challenge , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:45 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–8–1 , Mike Thomas , Submission (kneebar) , TF: Tropical Fights 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 5–8–1 ,

Hirotaka Yokoi (born June 8, 1978) is a Japanese former mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A professional MMA competitor from 2000 until 2007, Yokoi fought for PRIDE, Shooto, RINGS, and DEEP, while in professional wrestling he wrestled mainly fo ...

, Decision (unanimous) , RINGS: World Title Series Grand Final , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–7–1 ,

Kazuo Takahashi , ring name , is a Japanese retired mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1993 until 2013 (and then once again in 2018), he competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, Pancrase, RINGS, K-1 HERO'S, and World Victory Road. ...

, TKO (punches) , Pancrase: Proof 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:12 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–6–1 , Osami Shibuya , Decision (unanimous) , Pancrase: 2001 Anniversary Show , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4–6–1 ,

Jason DeLucia Jason DeLucia (born July 24, 1969) is an American retired mixed martial artist. Biography DeLucia practiced the Five Animals style of Kung Fu, Taekwondo, Aikido, Karate, and Judo. He is remembered by UFC enthusiasts for being in the very first fi ...

, TKO (knee injury) , Pancrase: 2001 Anniversary Show , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–6–1 ,

Antônio Rogério Nogueira Antônio Rogério Nogueira (; born 2 June 1976), also known as Minotouro or Lil Nog, is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the UFC. He is the twin brother of Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, the "Minotauro ...

, Technical Submission (armbar) , DEEP: 2nd Impact , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:59 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–5–1 , Marcelo Tigre , Submission (rear-naked choke) , DEEP: 1st Impact , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:27 ,

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

, Japan , , - , Draw , align=center, 3–4–1 ,

, Draw , Pancrase: Trans 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 15:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–4 , Johnny Huskey , Submission (keylock) , Pancrase: Trans 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:40 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–4 , Kenichi Yamamoto , Submission (kneebar) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:15 ,

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

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:12 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–3 ,

Kohei Sato is a Japanese professional wrestler contracted with Pro Wrestling Zero1. Sato is also a former mixed martial artist. Career A former judoka and amateur wrestler, Sato made his transition to mixed martial arts after meeting Kazunari Murakami and ...

, TKO (punches) , Shooto: Renaxis 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:05 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–2 , Daniel Quonian , TKO (punches) , Shooto: Reconquista 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:44 ,

, Japan ,

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

debut. , - , Loss , align=center, 0–2 , David Paaluhi , TKO (punches) , SB 2: SuperBrawl 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:55 ,

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

, United States , For SuperBrawl Middleweight (80 kg) Tournament Championship. , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 ,

Ryuta Sakurai Ryuta Sakurai (born September 8, 1971) is a Japanese mixed martial artist who currently competes in the middleweight division. A veteran who fought for many companies such as Shooto, Pancrase and PRIDE. Nicknamed Mr. DEEP, he is best known for ...

, Decision , Lumax Cup: Tournament of J '96 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:00 , Japan ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fujii, Katsuhisa 1972 births Living people Japanese male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling People from Fukuyama, Hiroshima Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Japanese male judoka Japanese male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers