Namiki Kawahara (, born 17 July 1989) 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 ...

mixed martial artist competing in the Strawweight division of

ONE Championship ONE Championship (formerly ONE Fighting Championship) is a Singaporean combat sports promotion. Founded on 14 July 2011 by entrepreneur Chatri Sityodtong and former ESPN Star Sports senior executive Victor Cui, its events have featured mixed ...

. He is the current DEEP Strawweight champion.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Kawahara made his professional debut at Pancrase Osaka on July 26, 2015, against Tsukasa Zenji. The fight ended in a draw, as neither fighter achieved a stoppage inside the time limit. He won his next fight against Tatsuki Ozaki, which was likewise contested under the

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 ...

banner, by unanimous decision. He moved briefly to

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), C ...

, where he made his promotional debut against Icho Tomonaga at DEEP Osaka Impact 2016. He won the fight by TKO, after just 16 seconds. He next fought Magisa at DEEP Cage Impact 2016 in Osaka, and won the fight by an armbar in the second round. Returning to Pancrase, Kawahara suffered his first professional loss to Takuya Goto, by split decision. He rebounded from this loss with a first-round TKO of Noriyuki Takei at DEEP Osaka Impact. He was then scheduled to fight Yutaro Muramoto at DEEP Cage Impact 2017, whom he beat by a second-round TKO. His next fight was against Yuya Kodama at DEEP 80. The fight ended in a no-contest, as Kawahara landed an accidental low blow which rendered Kodama unable to continue. His next fight against Yutaro Muramoto, at DEEP 85, ended in a majority draw. Following this four-fight unbeaten streak, Kawahara was scheduled to fight

Haruo Ochi Haruo Ochi (born 7 February 1984) is a Japanese mixed martial artist, who has been professionally competing since 2008. He is the former List of Deep champions#Strawweight Championship, DEEP Strawweight Champion. According to Fight Matrix he is ...

at DEEP 88 for the DEEP Strawweight title. Ochi won the fight by unanimous decision. After his failed title bid, Kawahara was scheduled to make his

RIZIN Rizin Fighting Federation (Rizin FF or Rizin) is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara. Rizin was founded to be the spir ...

debut at Rizin 16 - Kobe, when he was scheduled to fight Takaki Soya. Soya won the fight by a first-round TKO.

DEEP title reign

Kawahara was scheduled to fight Jun Nakamura in a Pancrase and DEEP cross-promotional event, in a DEEP Strawweight title eliminator. Kawahara won the fight by a first-round TKO. After beating Nakamura, Kawahara was scheduled to once again challenge for the DEEP Strawweight title, in a rematch with

. He beat Ochi by a second-round submission, locking in a rear-naked choke in the dying seconds of the second round. It was the highest profile victory of Kawahara's career up to that point. Following his win against

, and prior to signing with

Fight Matrix Fight Matrix , MMA Rankings, Records, Statistics is an independent, comprehensive, mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter ranking system portal. It is one of the sport's most recognized ranking websites. According to FightMatrix: "The rankings on thi ...

ranked him as the second best strawweight in the world.

ONE Championship

Kawahara then made his

debut at ONE Championship: Unbreakable, being scheduled to fight Lito Adiwang as a late notice replacement for Hexigetu. Adiwang won the fight by a second-round TKO. Kawahara was booked to face Danial Williams at

ONE 156 ''ONE 156: Eersel vs. Sadiković'' was a Combat sport event produced by ONE Championship that took place on April 22, 2022, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Background The event will be headlined by a ONE Lightweight Kickb ...

on April 22, 2022. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

** DEEP Strawweight championship (One time, current) *eFight.jp **August 2020 Fighter of the Month

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 7–5–1 (1) ,

Danial Williams Danial Williams ( th, แดเนียล วิลเลียมส์, born June 13, 1993), is a Thai-born Australian Muay Thai kickboxer and mixed martial artist currently signed to ONE Championship, where he competes in the Strawweight ...

, Decision (unanimous) ,

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

Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the no ...

, Singapore , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–4–1 (1) , Lito Adiwang , KO (punch) , ONE: Unbreakable , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:02 ,

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3–1 (1) ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , Deep - 96 Impact , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:43 ,

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 , , - , Win , align=center, 6–3–1 (1) , Jun Nakamura , KO (punch) , Deep & Pancrase - Osaka Tournament , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:54 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–3–1 (1) , Takaki Soya , KO (punch) , Rizin 16 - Kobe , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:02 ,

Kobe, Japan 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, which ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 5–2–1 (1) ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Deep - 88 Impact , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , For the DEEP Strawweight championship. , - , Draw , align=center, 5–1–1 (1) , Yutaro Muramoto , Draw (majority) , Deep - 85 Impact , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , NC , align=center, 5–1 (1) , Yuya Kodama , NC (accidental kick to the groin) , Deep - 80 Impact , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:06 ,

, Japan , Kodama was unable to continue after a low blow. , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Yutaro Muramoto , KO (head kick) , Deep - Cage Impact 2017 in Korakuen Hall , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:42 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Noriyuki Takei , TKO (punches) , Deep - Osaka Impact 2017 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:24 ,

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 , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–1 , Takuya Goto , Decision (split) , Pancrase - Osaka , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Magisa Magisa , Submission (armbar) , Deep - Cage Impact 2016 in Osaka , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:25 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Icho Tomonaga , TKO , Deep - Osaka Impact 2016 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:16 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Tatsuki Ozaki , Decision (unanimous) , Pancrase - Osaka , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

, Japan , , -

Amateur mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 3-0 , Ryoma Uemura , TKO (punches) , JML Kansai 12 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:14 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2-0 , Yuki Doi , TKO (referee stoppage) , JML Kansai 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:46 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1-0 , Naoto Arimura , TKO (referee stoppage) , JML Kansai 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:58 ,