is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

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 o ...

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, incorpo ...

and a former amateur wrestler, currently signed to

Pro Wrestling Noah (stylised as Pro Wrestling NOAH) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) ace Mitsuharu Misawa after he had led a mass exodus in which 24 of AJPW's 26 contracted wrestlers left the ...

, where he is a one-time

GHC Heavyweight Champion The is the professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion CyberFight currently defended in the Pro Wrestling Noah brand division. It is one of CyberFight's two top men's world titles, alon ...

. He has most recently fought in

Road FC Road Fighting Championship (Road FC; ) is a South Korean-based mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion which was officially launched in 2010. Prior to December 2016, Road FC had held 52 events in three countries - South Korea, Japan, and China. Abou ...

, but is also known for his work in the PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1, Rizin Fighting Federation, and

World Victory Road World Victory Road (WVR) is a defunct Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) organization which promoted the Sengoku Raiden Championship (SRC) in Japan. The organization was formed in 2007 following the purchase of PRIDE FC by Zuffa. It operated in ...

. Fujita began his career as a professional wrestler in 1993, joining the

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV ...

(NJPW) dojo, while still competing as an amateur wrestler. Debuting in 1996, Fujita would put his wrestling career on hiatus in early 2000 to train in MMA. Returning the following year with a new shoot based offence, Fujita won the

IWGP Heavyweight Championship The was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on June 12, 1987, in the final of an IW ...

immediately and went on to hold it two more times before leaving the company in 2005. After a six-year hiatus, Fujita returned to pro wrestling in 2011 for Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), and continues to make occasional appearances as a freelancer, most recently for

and Real Japan Pro Wrestling (RJPW).

Early life

Fujita practiced

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestli ...

in high school. He participated in the

FILA Fila Holdings Corp. is a sportswear brand of shoes and apparel. The company was founded by Ettore and Giansevero Fila in 1911 in Coggiola, near Biella, Piedmont, Italy. In 2003, it was sold to United States-based Sports Brand International. Sub ...

World Championships as a junior in 1988, placing sixth, and in the Espoir division in 1989, placing eleventh. In 1993, Fujita placed fifth at the Asian Championships at the senior level, and in 1993 and 1994, he represented Japan as a senior in the World Cup, a dual meet tournament. He was also a national champion in Japan in Greco-Roman wrestling. He missed making the Japanese Olympic team by 1 point in the Olympic qualifiers.

Professional wrestling career

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1996–2005)

Early career (1996–2000)

Fujita was approached to join

(NJPW) in 1993 whilst he was still competing in amateur wrestling. Fujita agreed to join, but because of his amateur career, his professional debut was delayed three years until 1996. Fujita made his in-ring debut on November 1, 1996, losing to

Yuji Nagata is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). A two-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, World Heavyweight Champion and a GHC Heavyweight Champion, making him a four-time world champion in major professio ...

. Fujita was trained in the NJPW dojo by Antonio Inoki and Satoru Sayama, who described him as a "monster". Regarded as a promising rookie for his natural athletic ability and strength, Fujita was pushed as a future star during his young lion days. In 1998, he was one of the wrestlers selected to face

Riki Choshu , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler who is best known for his longtime work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as both a wrestler and a booker. He is considered one of Japan’s most influential wrestle ...

in one of his retirement matches, and was also chosen as a training partner for former

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 ...

ka Naoya Ogawa during his transition into professional wrestling. Despite being praised and touted as a future star, Fujita had doubts about a career in professional wrestling, and didn't feel like he was adapting to it well enough. In addition, he struggled to find a regular position on the card behind more experienced rookies like

, Manabu Nakanishi and

Satoshi Kojima is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but makes appearances for Pro Wrestling Noah. Considered to be one of the greatest Japanese professional wrestlers of the 21st century and of all-time, he was the first wrest ...

. In 1999, he requested to leave New Japan with the intention of joining Fighting Network Rings, a former shoot-style promotion that had recently changed itself to a full on

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 ...

company. New Japan higher ups agreed to the move, as did Rings' owner Akira Maeda, but at the last minute, New Japan owner and Fujita's trainer Antonio Inoki intervened and stopped it. In a bid to keep Fujita in New Japan, Inoki sent him abroad to train for MMA, with the intention of sending him to

Pride Fighting Championship 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 ...

as a representative of Team Inoki. Fujita's run in Pride was successful, and in 2001 he was bought back in to wrestle for New Japan.

Return and championship push (2001–2005)

After over a year away from pro-wrestling, Fujita's return to NJPW was announced in early 2001 for the Strong Style 2001 pay-per-view on April 9, where he was set to face

Scott Norton Scott Norton (born June 15, 1961) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, in which he was a member of the New World Order and nWo Japan. He ...

for the

. Fujita dominated the match with his new shoot-based offence and quickly won the championship in just under 7 minutes. Fujita made two successful defences, beating

and

Don Frye Donald Frye (born November 23, 1965) is an American former mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, and actor. In MMA, he was one of the sport's earliest well-rounded fighters and won the ''UFC 8'' and ''Ultimate Ultimate 96'' tournaments ...

. Fujita reigned as champion until January 2002, when he was forced to vacate the title due to injury. Fujita returned to New Japan on July 20, 2002, at Toukon Memorial Day, beating junior heavyweight

Masahito Kakihara is a former Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, who is known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and UWF International (UWFI). Professional wrestling career Union of Wrestling Forces International (1991–1996) Ka ...

in 1:09. At ''Cross Road'' on August 29, Fujita entered a tournament for the vacated NWF Heavyweight Championship but was defeated by eventual winner

Yoshihiro Takayama is a former Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Debuting for UWF International (UWFI) in the 1990s, Takayama joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 1997 after UWF-i folded. In 2000, he joined Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), and ...

, giving Fujita his first loss in New Japan since January 2000. On October 14, Fujita challenged

for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship but came up short. After spending most of 2003 in Pride, Fujita returned to New Japan once again in October 2003 at Ultimate Crush II, teaming with

Minoru Suzuki (born June 17, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a freelancer. In NJPW, Suzuki has held the IWGP Intercontinental Championship as well as twice hol ...

, Bob Sapp,

and Shinsuke Nakamura as "Shin Inoki Gun" to defeat

Hiroyoshi Tenzan is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently works for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and is better known by his ring name . With Satoshi Kojima, in 2008, they won the World's Strongest Tag Determination League in All Japan Pro Wrestling and the ...

Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler. He works primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, his accolades in NJPW include a record setting eight reigns as IWGP Heavywei ...

, Manabu Nakanishi and

Seiji Sakaguchi is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and judoka, Sakaguchi holds a 7th dan red and white belt in Judo. Sakaguchi was a mainstay of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and also competed for the World Wide Wrestling Federation and the Nati ...

. In June 2004, he won the vacated

for a second time by defeating

. He lost the championship to

Kensuke Sasaki is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and founder of the now-defunct wrestling promotion Diamond Ring. Sasaki is the first of four men ever to hold all three of '' puroresus major heavyweight titles (the IWGP Heav ...

on October 9, 2004. In 2005 he joined the Team JAPAN faction, and on July 18, 2005, he won the championship for the third time against

. In August 2005, Fujita entered the 2005

G1 Climax The is a professional wrestling tournament held each August by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. Though it has sometimes been held as a single-elimination tournament, it is usually (and currently) held as a round-robin, with winners ...

where he won all his matches in the round robin portion, then defeated

Toshiaki Kawada (born December 8, 1963) is a Japanese semi-retired professional wrestler best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), whom he worked for from his debut in 1982 up until 2008. In All Japan, he was a 5 time Triple Crown Heavyweight ...

but lost to

Masahiro Chono is an American-born Japanese-American retired professional wrestler and actor best known for his 26 year stint with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). As the leader of nWo Japan, Team 2000 and Black New Japan, he was the promotion's top heel for ...

in the finals. He lost the IWGP Championship to Brock Lesnar on October 8, 2005, at '' Toukon Souzou New Chapter'' in a three-way match including Masahiro Chono. Lesnar pinned Chono to win the title. In late 2005 he withdrew from a rematch with Lesnar, scheduled for January 4, 2006. Fujita was represented by Inoki Office, an agency originally started by Antonio Inoki, and had not been under a contract with NJPW.

Inoki Genome Federation (2011–2015)

After almost 6 years away from the ring, Fujita returned to professional wrestling in 2011 with his longtime associate and mentor Antonio Inoki's Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) promotion where he competed for the next few years. He won the IGF Championship from

Jerome Le Banner Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is comm ...

in early 2012, and made successful defences against

Bobby Lashley Franklin Roberto Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and bodybuilder. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is an eight-time world champion, having been a two-t ...

Hideki Suzuki is a Japanese professional wrestler who is currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). He previously wrestled in WWE, where he performed on the NXT brand under the ring name Hachiman as a member of Diamond Mine, and also worked as a coach at ...

, Erik Hammer and Atsushi Sawada before dropping it to

Satoshi Ishii is a Japanese-born judoka, mixed martial artist, kickboxer and submission grappler who has held Croatian citizenship since 2019. Ishii won the gold medal in Olympic Judo at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, a silver medal at the ...

in a worked shoot fight in December 2013. Fujita made a rare appearance outside of IGF in November 2015, competing for Genichiro Tenryu's

Tenryu Project is an independent Japanese professional wrestling promotion. The promotion was founded by and is owned by puroresu legend Genichiro Tenryu, who has owned and operated it since its creation in 2010. The Tenryu project is the successor to Tenryu's ...

retirement show, where he teamed with

Daisuke Sekimoto (born February 9, 1981) is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Strong BJ division. He is also known for his appearances in Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max. He is a three-time BJW World Strong Heavyw ...

in a loss to Suwama and

Yuji Okabayashi is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Strong BJ division. He has been working in BJW since his debut in June 2008. He is best known as part of a tag team with Daisuke Sekimoto, with whom ...

. Not long after this, Fujita left IGF and became inactive in pro wrestling once again.

Freelance (2017–2019)

After two more years away from wrestling, Fujita once again returned to the ring in October 2017, now a freelancer. He formed an alliance with fellow IGF and NJPW alumni

Kendo Kashin Tokimitsu Ishizawa (''Ishizawa Tokimitsu'', born August 5, 1968), better known by his ring name Kendo Kashin (ケンドー・カシン, ''Kendō Kashin''), is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his time in New Japan P ...

, with

Nosawa Rongai , better known by his ring names Nosawa and , (born December 17, 1976) is a Japanese freelance professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in All Japan Pro Wrestling and various independent promotions. Career Early career (19952004) Nos ...

also aligning himself with the pair. They began a feud with

Atsushi Onita is a Japanese actor, politician, and semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and is credited with introducing Japan to the deathmatch style of professional wrestling. He founded ...

during the lead up to Onita's retirement match in Korakuen Hall, where the three lost to Onita, Kai and

Shingo Takagi , known by his ring name Shingo Takagi (鷹木信悟, ''Takagi Shingo''), is a Japanese professional wrestler and former bodybuilder, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the provisional KOPW 2022 champion in his first ...

on October 31. In early 2018, the trio invaded

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba ...

for a short lived run, starting a feud with Suwama's

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

stable. In their only official match in the promotion, they defeated Suwama,

Hikaru Sato is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, better known by the ring name . Sato started his MMA career in February 2000, fighting for Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling. During the next eight years, Sato fought, on average, five time ...

and Yusuke Okada by referee's decision on March 25. Fujita would also make a one-off appearance for

Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1995. It is most famous for its deathmatch style contests. History Big Japan Pro Wrestling was founded in March 1995 by former AJPW wrestlers Shinya Kojika and Kendo Nagasaki, ...

in July 2018, teaming with Daisuke Sekimoto to defeat

Daichi Hashimoto is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Strong BJ division, where he is a former two-time BJW World Strong Heavyweight Champion and three-time BJW Tag Team Champion. He is the son of Shiny ...

and Hideyoshi Kamitani. After another extended period of absence, Fujita returned to the ring in June 2019, debuting for Real Japan Pro Wrestling (RJPW). Still aligned with Kendo Kashin, Fujita began a feud with RJPW ace Super Tiger, challenging him to a match for the Legend Championship. In a prelude match, Fujita and Kashin defeated Tiger and

Masakatsu Funaki is a Japanese actor, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler known professionally as , who has previously wrestled in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi (PWFG), Newborn UWF (UWF), ...

. In their official title match on September 19, Fujita defeated Tiger to win the title, ending his reign at 735 days. Fujita also made a special appearance for

in September, beating Yoshiki Inamura.

Pro Wrestling Noah (2021-present)

Mixed martial arts career

In January 2000 Fujita put his professional wrestling career on hiatus and began training for mixed martial arts competition. His trainer was his professional wrestling mentor and mixed martial arts legend, Antonio Inoki, as well as luta livre veteran

Marco Ruas Marco Antônio de Lima Ruas (; born 23 January 1961) is a Brazilian former mixed martial arts fighter, Submission Wrestler, Kickboxer and instructor. Ruas was the UFC 7 Tournament Champion, and also competed for the World Vale Tudo Championsh ...

Pride and K-1

First wins

Kazuyuki entered the

PRIDE Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) w ...

organization as part of the 2000 Openweight Grand Prix. His first opponent was Fighting Network RINGS alumnus

Hans Nijman Johannes Petrus "Hans" Nijman (September 23, 1959 – November 5, 2014) was a Dutch former professional mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He competed in the heavyweight division. He was a RINGS Holland veteran and fought for m ...

, who Fujita beat fast by taking him down and submitting him with a wrestling neck crank. After this success, Inoki sent him abroad to compete in American promotion Extreme Shootout, where he KOed Dan Chase and then submitted Will Childs, before returning to PRIDE. On May 1, Fujita competed at

Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals The year 2000 is the 4th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2000 had 6 events beginning with, ''Pride FC - Grand Prix 2000: Opening Round''. Debut Pride FC fighters The fol ...

, where he would score the first big win of his career by defeating Mark Kerr, who at the time was considered to be one of the best heavyweights in MMA. Kerr dominated early in the match, taking the Japanese down and hitting

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, incorpo ...

through his guard, followed by a series of

knee strike A knee strike (commonly referred to simply as a knee) is a strike with the knee, either with the kneecap or the surrounding area. Kneeing is a disallowed practice in many combat sports, especially to the head of a downed opponent. Styles such a ...

s to the head, but Fujita endured shockingly all the punishment and waited for his opportunity. It finally came when Kerr became visibly tired from attacking, moment in which Kazuyuki took him down, taking his back and launching his own series of knee strikes and

hammerfist ''Hammerfist'' is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game developed by Vivid Image and released in 1990 for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum. Plot In the year 2215 AD, the world is ruled by a corporation called ...

s. Kerr turtled up while Fujita scored points over him with unceasing striking, and at the end the referee stopped the match in Fujita's favour. His win over Kerr was considered to be a gigantic upset, and was the first loss in Kerr's career, snapping a 13-fight unbeaten streak. Fujita's next fight was against former UFC Heavyweight Champion

Mark Coleman Mark Daniel Coleman (born December 20, 1964) is an American retired mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and amateur wrestler. Coleman was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first UFC Heavyweight Champion, and the Pride ...

in the semifinals of the Grand Prix, but the NJPW corner threw the towel started the match to avoid risks for Fujita's health. Despite Fujita was eliminated the tournament, he became a star with the Japanese crowds for his victory over Kerr and the toughness demonstrated in the fight, which gained him the nickname of "Ironhead". As Fujita himself noted, "I am not so great a puncher, not so great a kicker. I don't really have anything all that great, but in today's vale tudo, the strongest is the one that can take a beating." At Pride 10, Fujita next fought MMA superstar

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (''né'' Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promoter and semi-retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and kickboxer. He is best known for his time in Ultimate Fighting Champ ...

. Like in the Kerr fight, Fujita took another incredible beating yet was not knocked out, and Shamrock then began to experience heart attack symptoms and had his corner throw in the towel, resulting in another massive win for Fujita and his career. Color commentator

Eddie Bravo Edgar A. Bravo (''né'' Cano; born May 15, 1970) is an American martial arts instructor, podcaster, stand-up comedian, and musician. After earning a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2003, Bravo began teaching his own self-developed style ...

proclaimed during Fujita's fight with Shamrock, "that guy can take a baseball bat to the side of the head!". He followed up his titanic wins over Kerr and Shamrock with a win over dangerous striker

Gilbert Yvel Gilbert Ramon Yvel (born 30 June 1976) is a Dutch professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 1997, Yvel competed in the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Affliction, the UFC, Road FC, the RFA, RINGS, M-1 Challenge, Cage ...

at Pride 12. Fujita scored takedowns and dominated positionally Yvel for most of the match, only occasionally trying armlocks, in order to secure a decision win. It was after this match that commentator Stephen Quadros coined the term "lay and pray" to describe the strategy. In May 2001 at Pride 14, Fujita defeated fellow pro wrestler

by submission in his first PRIDE main event. Notably, Takayama was similarly able to take a great punishment, enduring knees to the head and punches, but Kazuyuki submitted him via

arm triangle choke Arm triangle choke, side choke, or head and arm choke are generic terms describing blood chokeholds in which the opponent is strangled in between their own shoulder and the practitioner's arm. This is as opposed to the regular triangle choke, whi ...

Main competition

On August 19 at the K-1 Andy Hug 2001 GP Final, Fujita fought K-1 legend and future MMA legend

Mirko Cro Cop Mirko Filipović (; born 10 September 1974), better known by his ring name Mirko Cro Cop, is a retired Croatian professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer and amateur boxer. He is mostly known for his time in Pride Fighting Championships. Cro ...

in Cro Cop's MMA debut. The fight was short and brutal, with Fujita shooting a takedown which Cro Cop tried to avoid with a knee strike to the face. Though Fujita was unfazed and completed the takedown, it opened a cut in his eye, which moved the referee to stop the match for a TKO loss for the Japanese. Fujita was baffled for the fortuitousness of the bout and requested a rematch, which was conceded for the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye event. This fight would be longer and more intense, with Fujita repeatedly taking the kickboxer down only for the latter to successfully defend from his

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

. At the second half of the match, however, Cro Cop started dominating through

low kick A low kick (also known as a leg kick) is a kick in which the attacker uses their leg to strike the opponent's lower body (thigh or calf) with the shinbone or foot. This type of kick, under different names, is utilized in numerous full-contact ma ...

s and a powerful sprawl, which he used to hold Fujita down while scoring series of unanswered knees to the head. The bout went to the judges, where Mirko seized the unanimous win. In 2003, after Fujita defeated fellow NJPW pro wrestler Manabu Nakanishi, he launched a challenge to PRIDE champion

Fedor Emelianenko Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko ( rus, Фёдор Влади́мирович Емелья́ненко, r=Fyodor Vladimirovich Yemelyanenko, p=ˈfʲɵdər vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ jɪmʲɪˈlʲjænʲɪnkə, IPA; born ...

for a match in Pride 26. When it came, Kazuyuki shocked the world by stunning Emelianenko with a heavy counter right hand, but despite his best attempts to remain on the offensive Emelianenko recovered and defeated Fujita with 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 keiko ...

submission. At the end of the year, Fujita defeated American boxer:

Imamu Mayfield Imamu Amiri Mayfield (born April 19, 1972) is an American professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2008, and 2016 to 2017. Career Mayfield turned pro in 1994 and was a popular local fighter known for being on boxing cards in various New Jers ...

by submission at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003. In May 2004, Fujita made his debut for the K-1 MMA event ROMANEX, taking on then

IWGP Heavyweight Champion The was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on June 12, 1987, in the final of an IWG ...

Bob Sapp. Not fearing Sapp's size and fame, Fujita executed a takedown and went aggressively for Sapp on the ground, repeatedly landing punches and soccer kicks on his head. At this moment, Sapp ceased fighting and only covered himself to defend Fujita's assault. Finally, the referee stopped the match for a TKO victory. Sapp had to vacate his championship after this performance, while Kazuyuki adopted the nickname of "The Real Beast" to capitalize on Sapp's own "The Beast" moniker. Egyptian Greco-Roman wrestler and Olympic gold medalist

Karam Gaber Karam Ibrahim Gaber ( ar, كرم إبراهيم جابر, born 1 September 1979 in Alexandria) is an Egyptian Greco-Roman wrestler. He won the gold medal in the Men's Greco-Roman 96 kg at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and won the ...

was his next opponent, at the

K-1 Premium 2004 Dynamite!! ''K-1 PREMIUM 2004 Dynamite!!'' was an annual kickboxing and mixed martial arts event held by K-1 on New Year's Eve, Friday, December 31, 2004 at the Osaka Dome in Osaka, Japan. It featured 7 K-1 MMA rules fights, 3 K-1 rules fights, and a speci ...

event. The younger and bigger Karam managed to push down and fend off Kazuyuki, but he landed a punch after one minute which knocked out Gaber. On May 5, 2006, at

PRIDE Total Elimination Absolute The year 2006 was the 10th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2006 had 10 events beginning with, ''Pride 31 - Unbreakable''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters The f ...

, Fujita returned to MMA by competing in PRIDE's 2006 Openweight Grand Prix making him the only fighter in PRIDE's history to have competed in both openweight grand prix. In the first round, Fujita defeated James Thompson by knockout. Typically, Thompson dominated Fujita for most of the fight, until Fujita rallied with a flurry of punches that knocked out him at his weakest point. At the quarterfinals, Fujita fought PRIDE Middleweight champion and feared

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

striker

Wanderlei Silva Wanderlei César da Silva ( , , ; born 3 July 1976) is a Brazilian-American former mixed martial artist who competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American-based Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He holds the record for the ...

. The match was wild, with Silva landing soccer kicks and knees while Fujita relentlessly tried to take him down and handle him on the ground. After avoiding

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pr ...

s and triangle chokes by powering out, Fujita controlled the Brazilian through his guard for a few minutes, but the situation returned to the beginning when the referee stood them up. With three minutes left in the clock, Silva unloaded on Fujita and surprisingly managed to knock him down with hook combos, after which he delivered multiple soccer kicks to the face. Although Fujita was not knocked out, he was unable to stop Silva's offence, so the referee stepped in to give the Brazilian the win. After defeating freestyle champion

Eldar Kurtanidze Eldar "Luka" Kurtanidze ( ka, ელდარ ��უკაკურტანიძე) (born April 16, 1972, in Gulripshi, Georgian SSR) is a Georgian wrestler and the Georgian Dream political activist. He has served as ...

by submission due to strikes, Fujita was pitted against

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 ...

fighter

Jeff Monson Oregon State Beavers Jeffrey William Monson (born January 18, 1971) is an American-Russian mixed martial artist, boxer, and submission grappler who competes primarily in the Heavyweight division. A professional competito ...

. The Japanese wrestler fended off takedowns and choke attempts, but Monson was able to lock one of them to make Kazuyuki tap out. The fight was historic as it would be the final fight in PRIDE's history. Fujita would lose by submission.

World Victory Road

After PRIDE was sold to

Zuffa Zuffa, LLC () is an American sports promotion company specializing in mixed martial arts. It was founded in January 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta to be the parent entity of the ...

, Fujita joined the new promotion:

. He debuted on March 5, 2008, at Sengoku 1 where he defeated Peter Graham by submission. Fujita next fight was against

Travis Wiuff Travis James Wiuff (born March 15, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2001 and a longtime veteran of the sport, Wiuff has competed for the UFC, PRIDE, Bellat ...

at Sengoku 3 where he lost by TKO. On August 2, 2009, Fujita was defeated by

Blagoi Ivanov Blagoy Ivanov ( bg, Благой Александров Иванов; born October 9, 1986) is a Bulgarian mixed martial artist and Sambo practitioner. He is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he competes ...

's ninth event, Sengoku 9. On December 31, 2009, at Dynamite!! 2009, Fujita took on

Alistair Overeem Alistair Cees Overeem (born 17 May 1980) is a Dutch professional heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer, currently competing in the heavyweight division of Glory. He is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight Cha ...

and was knocked out via knee to the head in the first round. This was the first time Fujita has been knocked unconscious. After a 4-year hiatus from the sport, Fujita returned to face

on December 31, 2013, at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2013 for the

IGF Championship (IGF) was a Japanese professional wrestling and mixed martial arts promotion founded by Antonio Inoki in 2007. History Antonio Inoki left New Japan Pro-Wrestling, a promotion he founded in 1972, to start the IGF. The first IGF show was held on J ...

. Fujita lost the bout via unanimous decision, marking his fourth loss in a row.

Road Fighting Championship

After an eight fight losing streak, Fujita has since competed for

where he is currently on a three fight winning streak. However, he has not competed since 2018 due to returning to professional wrestling full-time.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed Martial Arts *Extreme Shootout **2000 Extreme Shootout - The Underground Tournament Winner *Fight Matrix **2000 Rookie of the Year * PRIDE Fighting Championships ** 2000 PRIDE Openweight Grand Prix Semi-Finalist Professional Wrestling * Inoki Genome Federation **

( 1 time) *

( 3 times) **Singles Best Bout (2005) vs.

on August 14 *''

Nikkan Sports is the first-launched Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1946. It has a circulation of 1,661,000, and is an affiliate newspaper of the ''Asahi Shimbun''. Companies and regions ;Nikkan Sports News (Tokyo) :Tokyo HQ: 5-10, Tsukiji Sanc ...

'' **Fighting Spirit Award (2000) *

GHC National Championship The is a professional wrestling championship in Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created on October 3, 2019 and inaugurated on November 2 when Takashi Sugiura defeated Michael Elgin. The title is scheduled to be defended exclusivel ...

( 1 time) **

GHC Heavyweight Championship The is the professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion CyberFight currently defended in the Pro Wrestling Noah brand division. It is one of CyberFight's two top men's world titles, alo ...

( 1 time) *

Strong Style Pro-Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling and martial arts promotion founded in 2005 by Satoru Sayama as , before being renamed in 2019. It runs shows every two or three months, and feature both pro wrestling activities and a variety of martial arts b ...

Legend Championship The is the top singles title in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Strong Style Pro-Wrestling. The title was established in 2005 and, as the name suggests, is mainly competed for by seasoned veterans of the sport. As it is a professio ...

( 1 time) *

Tokyo Sports is a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1960. See also * Tokyo Sports Film Award * Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards The are Japanese professional wrestling, or ''puroresu'', awards that have been handed out by the ''Tokyo Sports'' mag ...

** Match of the Year (2001) vs. Yuji Nagata on June 6, 2001 ** Rookie of the Year (1997)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 18–14 , Choi Mu-Bae , TKO (punches) , Road FC 050 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:55 ,

Daejeon Daejeon () is South Korea's fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of 1.5 million as of 2019. Located in the central-west region of South Korea alongside forested hills and the Geum River, the city is known both for its technology and ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 17–14 , Justin Morton , Submission (north/south choke) ,

Road FC 049 The year 2018 is the 9th year in the history of the Road Fighting Championship, a mma promotion based in South Korea. 2018 started with Road FC 046 and ended with Road FC 051 XX. List of events Road FC 051 XX Xiaomi ''Road FC 051 XX'' ...

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:19 ,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 16–14 , Handong Kong , TKO (retirement) , Road FC 047 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:46 ,

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, Road FC 2018 Openweight Grand Prix Alternate , - , Loss , align=center, 15–14 , Sang Soo Lee , TKO (punches) , HEAT 41 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:59 ,

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 , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–13 , Aorigele , TKO (punches) , Road FC 044 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:59 ,

Shijiazhuang Shijiazhuang (; ; Mandarin: ), formerly known as Shimen and romanized as Shihkiachwang, is the capital and most populous city of China’s North China's Hebei Province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about southwest of Beijin ...

, China , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–12 ,

Baruto Kaito Kaido Höövelson, (known professionally as Baruto Kaito ; born 5 November 1984) is an Estonian politician and former professional sumo wrestler. Making his debut in May 2004, he reached the top division after just two years in sumo in May 2006 ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Rizin World Grand-Prix 2016: 1st Round , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Saitama, Japan is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance. Being in the Greater Tokyo Area and lying ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 15–11 , Jiří Procházka , KO (punch) , Rizin FF 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:33 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–10 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2013 , , 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 , For the

, - , Loss , align=center, 15–9 ,

, KO (knee) , Dynamite!! The Power of Courage 2009 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:15 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–8 ,

, Decision (split) , World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 9 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–7 ,

, TKO (punches) , World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:24 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 15–6 , Peter Graham , Submission (north-south choke) , World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku First Battle , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:23 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–6 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

PRIDE 34 ''Pride 34: Kamikaze'' was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships on April 8, 2007 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Background This was the last Pride show promoted by Dream Stage Entertainment before the ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 6:37 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 14–5 ,

, TKO (submission to punches) , PRIDE FC: Shockwave 2006 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:09 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–5 ,

, TKO (punches and soccer kicks) , Pride FC - Critical Countdown Absolute , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 9:21 , Saitama, Japan , PRIDE 2006 Openweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal , - , Win , align=center, 13–4 , James Thompson , KO (punch) , Pride FC - Total Elimination Absolute , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 8:25 ,

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 , PRIDE 2006 Openweight Grand Prix First Round. , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 ,

, KO (punch) , K-1 - Premium 2004 Dynamite!! , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:07 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Bob Sapp , TKO (submission to soccer kicks) ,

K-1 MMA ROMANEX This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a kickboxing promotion based in Hong Kong. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993 at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. 2023 events 2022 events 2021 events ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:15 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4 ,

, Technical Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:15 ,

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–4 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

PRIDE 26 The year 2003 is the 7th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2003 had 6 events beginning with, ''Pride 25 - Body Blow''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters The follow ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:17 ,

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, 9–3 , Manabu Nakanishi , TKO (punches) , NJPW Ultimate Crush , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:09 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 ,

Tadao Yasuda is a Japanese retired sumo wrestler (''rikishi''), professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He competed in sumo from 1979 to 1992 under the ''shikona'' of Takanofuji Tadao, achieving the rank of ''komusubi'', and afterwards turned to prof ...

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) , UFO - Legend , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:46 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 ,

, TKO (doctor stoppage) , K-1 Andy Memorial 2001 Japan GP Final , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:39 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 ,

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Pride 14 - Clash of the Titans , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:10 ,

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

, Decision (unanimous) , Pride 12 - Cold Fury , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 10:00 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 ,

, TKO (corner stoppage) , Pride 10 - Return of the Warriors , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 6:46 ,

Tokorozawa, Saitama is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 344,194 in 163,675 households and a population density of 4800 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Tokorozawa is located in the ce ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 ,

, TKO (corner stoppage) ,

PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Finals The year 2000 is the 4th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2000 had 6 events beginning with, ''Pride FC - Grand Prix 2000: Opening Round''. Debut Pride FC fighters The fol ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:02 ,

, Japan , PRIDE 2000 Openweight Grand Prix Semifinals , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Mark Kerr , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 15:00 ,

, Japan , PRIDE 2000 Openweight Grand Prix Quarterfinals , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Will Childs , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Extreme Shootout - The Underground , , align=center, N/A , align=center, N/A ,

Killeen, Texas Killeen is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 153,095, making it the 19th-most populous city in Texas and the largest of the three principal cities of Bell County. It is the principal city ...

, United States , Extreme Shootout - The Underground Tournament Finals , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Dan Chase , KO (punch) , Extreme Shootout - The Underground , , align=center, N/A , align=center, N/A ,

, United States , Extreme Shootout - The Underground Tournament Semifinals , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 ,

, Submission (neck crank) ,

PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Opening Round The year 2000 is the 4th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2000 had 6 events beginning with, ''Pride FC - Grand Prix 2000: Opening Round''. Debut Pride FC fighters The foll ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:48 ,

, Japan , PRIDE 2000 Openweight Grand Prix 1st Round

Filmography

References

External links

K-1sport.de - Complete Fighters Profile of Kazuyuki Fujita
*
FILA Wrestling Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fujita, Kazuyuki 1970 births Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Greco-Roman wrestling IWGP Heavyweight champions Japanese male mixed martial artists Japanese male professional wrestlers Japanese male sport wrestlers Living people People from Funabashi GHC Heavyweight Champions GHC National Champions