(born 31 March 1968) is a Japanese

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

and world champion

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, retired

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 ...

, and

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 won a total of seven medals at the

All-Japan Judo Championships is a judo tournament held every year in Japan. The men's tournament is held in Nippon Budokan on 29 April and the women's tournament (dubbed "Empress cup All-Japan women's Judo championships") is held in Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium in April. T ...

(second only behind

Yasuhiro Yamashita is a Japanese judoka. He currently works as an instructor or advisor for numerous organizations, including Tokai University, the International Judo Federation, and thAll Japan Judo Federation He retired from competitive judo on June 17, 1985 a ...

), and set a record of seven medals at the

World Judo Championships The World Judo Championships are the highest level of international judo competition, along with the Olympic judo competition. The championships are held once every year (except the years when the Olympics take place) by the International Judo ...

. Ogawa won the silver medal in the +95 kg judo weight class at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. Ogawa is also known for his career in professional wrestling, where he primarily worked for

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling 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 Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

(NJPW), and took part in one of the promotion's most high-profile

feuds A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one par ...

of the 1990s with

Shinya Hashimoto was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter and actor. Along with Masahiro Chono and Keiji Mutoh, Hashimoto was dubbed one of the "Three Musketeers" that began competing in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in the mid-1980s and dominated the prom ...

. In professional wrestling, Ogawa was a two-time National Wrestling Alliance world heavyweight champion.

Life and judo career

Ogawa first started in

in his high school years. He continued on in college attending

Meiji University , abbreviated as Meiji (明治) or Meidai (明大'')'', is a private research university located in Chiyoda City, the heart of Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1881 as Meiji Law School (明治法律学校, ''Meiji Hōritsu Gakkō'') by three Meiji-er ...

in 1986. In his second year at school he became a world freeclass champion, the youngest in the history of judo. He won many more championships before graduating from the College of Business Administration at Meiji University, setting a record of seven medals at the

. He also gained a total of seven medals at the

in two separate winning streaks, from 1989 to 1993 and from 1995 to 96, second only to

's nine medals. Ogawa was a silver medalist in

and fifth at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. He was known for his slow, cerebral style of judo, nicknamed due to his usual strategy of investing the first three minutes in pressing on his opponent before trying to score. Due to this, Japanese specialized press often criticized him as lacking heart. When finding an opening, Ogawa would favor uchi mata, kosoto gari, kosoto gake, sasae tsurikomi ashi, tai otoshi and

sukui nage is one of the original 40 throws of Judo is an unarmed 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-RO ...

, sometimes using a controversial standing ude gatame entry to set up sasae tsurikomi ashi and

hiza guruma is one of the original 40 throws of Judo as developed by Kano Jigoro.Mifune, Kyuzo: ''The Canon of Judo'', Kodansha International Ltd. (Tokyo) 2004, , p. It belongs to the first group of the traditional throwing list in the ''Gokyo no waza'' o ...

. He was not a user of

newaza Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling i ...

, preferring to attempt only

osaekomi-waza A grappling hold, commonly referred to simply as a hold that in Japanese is referred to as ''katame-waza'' ( "grappling technique"), is any specific grappling, wrestling, judo, or other martial art grip that is applied to an opponent. Grapplin ...

from failed throws. His performance at the 1996 Olympics would be criticized and led to Ogawa's retirement from professional judo. Ogawa runs a judo school in

Chigasaki is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 242,798 and a population density of 6800 people per km². The total area of the city is . Geography The city is located on the eastern bank of the Sagami ...

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...

, Japan, where he trains potential Olympians and

Paralympian The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

s in his network of dojos.

Professional wrestling career

In 1997, Ogawa was recruited by

Antonio Inoki Muhammad Hussain Inoki (born ; February 20, 1943 – October 1, 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, politician, and promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. He was best known by the ring name , a homag ...

, chairman of

, for his UFO (Universal Fighting-Arts Organization) project. He was put to train under

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 ...

, legendary professional wrestler and

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 ...

pioneer.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1997–2001)

Ogawa made his debut in NJPW on April 12, 1997 at the

Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium. Construction on the stadium began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of th ...

, replacing the stipulated

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 ...

as the opponent for

, then IWGP Heavyweight Championship titleholder. In a shocking upset, Ogawa defeated Hashimoto by choke, which put him in the spotlight and gained him a title shot at May 3. This time Ogawa was defeated by kick to the head, with Shinya retaining his title. This marked the beginning of their feud, which would extend for years. Through 1997 and 1998, Ogawa wrestled for NJPW as part of "Different Style Fights", meeting wrestlers with legit backgrounds like Ogawa and Hashimoto themselves. He defeated

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 ...

wrestler

Kazuo Yamazaki is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, wrestling instructor and commentator who is known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and shoot-style promotions Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) and UWF International (UWFi). He curr ...

, arm wrestler

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 (professional wrest ...

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 ...

exponents

Brian Johnston Brian Alexander Johnston (24 June 1912 – 5 January 1994), nicknamed Johnners, was a British cricket commentator, author, and television presenter. He was most prominently associated with the BBC during a career which lasted from 1946 until h ...

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 ...

, and Dutch martial artist Erwin Vreeker. His only loss came from

The Great Muta is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), where he is a former GHC Heavyweight Champion. He is best known for his work as in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Ne ...

, via Muta's signature Asian mist dirty trick. In March 1998, Ogawa took part in the Inoki Final Tournament, but he was eliminated by Frye at the finals after beating Johnston and

Dave Beneteau David Beneteau (born June 22, 1967) is a Canadian former mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestler who is best known for his appearances in Ultimate Fighting Championship at UFC 5, 6, 15 and, '' Ultimate Ultimate 1995''. Toward the end of ...

. In order to bounce back from the defeat, he started a special training, and ditched his trusted

judogi ''Judogi'' (柔道着 or 柔道衣), also called keikogi or dogi, is the formal Japanese name for the traditional uniform used for Judo practice and competition. A judogi is somewhat similar to a karategi (空手着 or 空手衣, Karate uniform) ...

for black tights, boots and

fingerless gloves A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves usually have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb. If there is an opening but no (or a short) covering sheath for each finger they are called fingerless gloves. Fingerless gl ...

. On January 4, 1999, Ogawa was involved with one of the most controversial moments in NJPW history. During his anticipated rubber match with Shinya Hashimoto, Ogawa broke

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...

and

shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *'' Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 f ...

on Hashimoto, attacking him for real and leaving him downed and bloodied with kicks and stomps. The NJPW and UFO crews flooded the ring and a legitimate fracas erupted, with Ogawa's

cornerman In combat sports, a cornerman, or second, is a coach or trainer assisting a fighter during a bout. The cornerman is forbidden to instruct and must remain outside the combat area during the round. In the break, they are permitted to enter the ri ...

Kazunari Murakami (born November 29, 1973) is a Japanese professional wrestler and retired mixed martial artist currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah. Murakami is best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) during the late 1990s and early 2000s, ...

having to be hospitalized by a beatdown by

Takashi Iizuka , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his 33-year career in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion. He has also worked for Pro Wrestling Noa ...

and Naoya himself being slapped by NJPW executive

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 wrestlers ...

. During all the brawl, Ogawa taunted the crowd and the wrestlers, having to be accompanied out of the arena by his bodyguard

Gerard Gordeau Gerard Gordeau (born March 30, 1955) is a Dutch former Savateur, Karateka, Kickboxer, and mixed martial artist. He is the 1991 World Champion Savate and holder of the Dutch Champion Karate title for 8 consecutive years, but foremost known inte ...

. Many years later, in August 2021, Ogawa confessed he had been pressed by

into shooting on Hashimoto in order to hijack the match and increase his popularity. In May, Ogawa traveled to United States and defeated

Gary Steele Gary Harvey is a British retired professional wrestler better known as Gary Steele, who has competed in European, North American and Japanese promotions and has been a popular longtime mainstay of NWA UK Hammerlock since the mid-1990s. A forme ...

to win the

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is in ...

. Hashimoto followed him to the country and attacked him (kayfabe this time) in a press conference, challenging him to a title match in Japan with

Tatsumi Fujinami (born December 28, 1953) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE on a legend's contract. Fujinami is most well known for his long tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a six-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. H ...

as special referee. Naoya toured through United States, retaining the title before

Dan Severn Daniel DeWayne Severn (born June 8, 1958), nicknamed "The Beast", is an American professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. A UFC Hall of Fame member, Severn is considered one of the leading pioneers of mixed marti ...

Doug Gilbert Douglas Gilbert (born February 5, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with regional professional wrestling promotions throughout the Southern United States, as well as for Extreme Championship Wrestling ...

and

Biggie Biggs Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

, trading it with Steele in a three-way match that also involved Brian Anthony on September 25, 1999, and finally coming back to Japan to meet Hashimoto. They faced on October 10 at the Tokyo Dome, with Ogawa winning the bout. On January 4, 2000, one year after their incident, Ogawa and Murakami faced off against Hashimoto and Takashi Iizuka in a special match. Unfortunately, it became a real fight again when Murakami knocked Iizuka out legitimately with a stiff head kick, causing the teams to brawl in the ring again. Under Antonio Inoki's eye, the match was restarted, with Ogawa's team losing when Iizuka choked out Murakami. After a tense alliance between them formed for the Rikidozan Memorial, Hashimoto challenged Ogawa to a last match, in which Hashimoto would retire from professional wrestling if he lost. Ogawa and Hashimoto fought the last time of their careers on April 7 at the Tokyo Dome, where Naoya defeated Hashimoto by KO after several iterations of his Space Tornado Ogawa technique. His opponent carried out and performed a retirement ceremony, while Inoki and other tried to convince him not to do it; even Ogawa declared in a segment that he repented having finished off the career of his rival. Ogawa vacated the NWA title on July 2, 2000 in order to focus on training for his fight against

Rickson Gracie Rickson Gracie (; born November 21, 1958) is a Brazilian 9th-degree red belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and a retired mixed martial artist. He is a member of the Gracie family: the third oldest son of Hélio Gracie, brother to Rorion and Relson Grac ...

, which never took place.

Pro Wrestling Zero-One (2001–2004)

In 2001, after Shinya Hashimoto founded

Pro Wrestling Zero-One (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 ...

, Ogawa left NJPW and moved in, forming a tag team with his former rival which was called "OH Gun". Their beginning together was harsh, but they eventually got along and won the

NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship The Intercontinental Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promoting Pro Wrestling Zero1, typically reserved for (but not exclusive to) heavyweight (>) wrestlers. It was created on June 14, 2001, three month ...

from the UPW team of

Jon Heidenreich Jon Heidenreich (born June 28, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known simply as Heidenreich. He is best known for his tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on its SmackDown brand where he was a one time Tag ...

and Nathan Jones. Ogawa and Hashimoto, along with the rest of native wrestlers of Zero-One, entered in a feud with the foreign wrestlers, led by Tom Howard and

Steve Corino Steven Eugene "Steve" Corino (born May 29, 1973) is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler currently signed with WWE as a trainer and producer for their developmental territory NXT. He is best known for his tenure with Extreme Championship ...

Hustle (2004–2007)

In 2004, Ogawa took part in the foundation of the

sports entertainment Sports entertainment is a type of spectacle which presents an ostensibly competition, competitive event using a high level of theatre, theatrical flourish and extravagant presentation, with the purpose of entertainment, entertaining an audience. Un ...

promotion Hustle, a combined effort between Zero-One and

league

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 ...

. Ogawa opened the storyline of Hustle during a staged press conference with Pride chairman

Nobuyuki Sakakibara is a Japanese businessman and mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter. He is known for his executive role in Dream Stage Entertainment, including its promotions Pride Fighting Championships and Fighting Opera Hustle, and works as the current preside ...

. During the interview, Sakakibara criticized professional wrestling and declared it inferior to MMA, which turned Ogawa furious. With

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 ...

acting on behalf of Sakakibara and Shinya Hashimoto backing Ogawa, it was decided they would prove their postures in an event where MMA fighters would face professional wrestling representatives. Ogawa himself would be slated to wrestle

Bill Goldberg William Scott Goldberg (born December 27, 1966), often known mononymously as Goldberg, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and former professional football player. He is best known for his tenures in WCW and WWE. One of the most ...

, who had been introduced by Takada as his champion. However, the night of the event turned sour as, although Ogawa managed to overpower Goldberg, Takada ordered

Giant Silva Paulo César da Silva (born July 21, 1962) is a Brazilian former national basketball player for the Brazilian national basketball team and later mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Giant Silva. He stands ...

to attack Ogawa and distract him to be finished off by Goldberg. At the second Hustle event, when Takada proclaimed himself Generalissimo Takada, leader of the villainous Monster Army, and declared his goal was to destroy professional wrestling, Ogawa and Hashimoto founded Hustle Army, a union of professional wrestlers bent on protecting their guild. Ogawa became the leader of the army, being nicknamed "Captain Hustle" and debuting a characteristic hip thrust gesture to chant Hustle's name. Although his first match was a loss, being pinned by

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 ...

with the help of several Monster Army members, he bounced back by summoning several high level wrestlers, among them

and

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 ...

, to help him and Hashimoto. In September, after Ogawa lost to

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

in 54 second at a Pride event, Takada started a mocking campaign against him and banned him from competing in Hustle for 54 days. In order to overcome this ban, Ogawa disguised himself as "Captain O", a masked

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

based on

Hulk Hogan Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...

's Mr. America persona, whom Ogawa claimed was the true Hogan in disguise. Deducting Captain O was really Ogawa, Takada's second-in-command Commander An Jo sent several Monster Army wrestlers to capture and tie him up, but O escaped by shedding this gimmick and adopting yet another, "Judo O", where he would wear a blue

along with his mask. Judo O teamed up with Hustle Rikishi to defeat Takada's slave

Hakushi Kensuke Shinzaki (新崎健介 ''Shinzaki Kensuke'', born December 2, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive, better known by his ring name, Jinsei Shinzaki (新崎人生 ''Shinzaki Jinsei''). He is curr ...

and a one night mercenary named Russian 54. After Ogawa returned to the ring, Hustle co-produced a show along with

Michinoku Pro Wrestling (originally known as North Eastern Wrestling) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded by The Great Sasuke on October 1, 1992. It was the first independent wrestling promotion in Japan to not base its operations in Tokyo, but rather ...

, whose star The Great Sasuke was inducted in the Hustle Army. In 2007, Ogawa disappeared from the Hustle Army and sided shockingly with Takada. Ogawa changed his persona to an arrogant

socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...

gimmick and called himself "Monster Celebrity", wearing sunglasses and ornated coats. Takada explained Ogawa had been brainwashed by him to turn him in one of his henchmen, and he proved Ogawa's newfound loyalty by sending him to attack Hustle Army member Banzai Chie. This storyline was written in order to explain Ogawa's departure from Hustle, as he had signed up with

's new promotion,

Inoki Genome Federation (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 ...

Mixed martial arts career

First ventures

Ogawa had his first MMA fight the same year of his debut in NJPW, taking part in an event promoted by

Chris Dolman Christiaan "Chris" Dolman (born February 17, 1945) is a Dutch retired judoka, sambo player and wrestler. He won a silver medal at the European championship in judo and a gold at the world championship in sambo, counting as the first non-Russian ...

in Holland in which he faced Rens Vrolijk. Ogawa submitted him relatively fast, throwing him to the mat and choking him out. His first high level match, however, would be for

at the event Pride 6 against the kickboxer and

veteran

Gary Goodridge Gary Henry Goodridge (born January 17, 1966), nicknamed "Big Daddy", is a Trinidadian-Canadian former heavyweight kickboxer and mixed martial artist fighting out of Barrie, Ontario. Prior to kickboxing and MMA, he was also one of the top ranked ...

. Naoya evidenced his lack of MMA experience when he suffered heavy blows and almost failed his first

morote gari is a double leg takedown (grappling) , takedown adopted later by the Kodokan into their List of Kodokan judo techniques, ''Shinmeisho-no-waza'' (newly accepted techniques) list. It is categorized as a hand technique, '' List_of_judo_techniques#Te ...

, but he eventually took Goodridge down and gained dominant position as expected. Stephen Quadros, ''Kerr, Takada compete at PRIDE 6'', Black Belt magazine Ogawa immediately tried several submissions, and although he didn't manage to lock them, he kept his stronger opponent busy through the round. At the second one, Ogawa swept Goodridge down and finally locked an ude-garami, making him tap out. It was rumored that Goodridge had been paid to throw the fight, but Gary himself said in an interview that, although he was effectively proposed an anonymous money bribe to let Ogawa win, he rejected it and fought for real, thus losing legitimately to Ogawa. He added that PRIDE executive

had promised him "to write his own ticket" if he defeated Ogawa in order to increase his motivation. In 2000, Ogawa took part in negotiations with

for a match between them at the Colosseum promotion, in which Gracie had just defeated

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), ...

. With the fight scheduled for the next year, Ogawa vacated his

in order to focus in his fight with Gracie, but all the plans were suspended upon the news of the death of Rickson's son Rockson and the event never had place.Wrestling News - Colosseum
/ref>

Main competition

Ogawa returned to Pride at Pride 11 - Battle of the Rising Sun, facing world karate cup champion

Masaaki Satake is a Japanese former heavyweight karateka, kickboxer, professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is one of the pioneering heavyweight fighters in K-1, having been a member of Kazuyoshi Ishii's Seidokaikan school. ...

in which was called a classic style vs. style matchup. Satake had recently defeated

, Naoya's former teammate, so the match sported a shade of revenge as well. During the bout, Satake opened the action with punches and kicks, avoiding Ogawa's takedowns but at the same time being unable to land decisive blows, while Ogawa threw punches as well in an attempt to keep the pace. At the second round, however, Ogawa took over, cutting the karateka's eye with a hard punch and swiftly taking him down for 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 ...

. In 2002, Naoya participated in the first event of Universal Fighting-Arts Organization against another Olympic medalist, the Greco-Roman wrestling champion

, who had claimed he would knock Ogawa out with knee strikes. However, the match transpired quite different, as although Ghaffari did take Ogawa down in an instance, Ogawa controlled the standing exchanges. After one minute and thirty seconds, the judoka landed a right punch that made Ghaffari stumble and fall, and the wrestler decided to tap out before receiving further damage.

attended the event and was invited to train with Ogawa, which led to new talks about the possibility of a match with Naoya, but it did not happen either.Ichiban Puroresu - August 2002 News Archive
/ref> Two years after, Ogawa took part in the PRIDE Grand Prix tournament as a representative of his home pro wrestling promotion HUSTLE. His first opponent was K-1 veteran and MMA debutant

Stefan Leko Stefan Leko (born June 3, 1974) is a German heavyweight kickboxer. He is the current WKA Super-Heavyweight world champion in kickboxing, and former Muay Thai world heavyweight champion and Kickboxing world super-heavyweight champion, WMTA, WKN, ...

, whom Naoya shockingly knocked down with a punch before submitting him to an

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 ...

. Ogawa's next match was against fellow HUSTLE wrestler

, who outweighed him by 130 pounds, but the judoka took him down and rained

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 ...

for the referee stoppage. His last match in the tournament, a matchup decided by fan voting, was against then PRIDE World Heavyweight Champion and eventual tournament winner

. Fedor overpowered Ogawa and submitted him by

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 ...

in just 54 seconds, giving him his first MMA loss.

Retirement fight

Ogawa's last fight in mixed martial arts was at PRIDE Shockwave 2005 against the man who took from him the world judo championships the last time they fought,

Hidehiko Yoshida is a Japanese gold-medalist judoka and retired mixed martial artist. He is a longtime veteran of Japan's PRIDE Fighting Championships, competing in the Middleweight (93kg) and Heavyweight divisions. He won gold at the 1992 Sum ...

. The bout was highly anticipated and became one of the most expensive fights in MMA history, with Ogawa and Yoshida being both paid US$2 million. The fight was a difficult perspective for Ogawa, as he was clearly behind in training and experience: while Yoshida had focused on MMA since 2002, Ogawa had fought only occasionally aside from his work in the pro wrestling circuit._(レポ＆写真)_[PRIDE
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/nowiki> 12.31 さいたま：五味、マッハをKO。シウバ防衛 boutreview.com Ogawa made his entrance to the arena with the hachimaki and music theme of his late friend

as a tribute and proof of motivation, while Yoshida took off his usual gi after making his own entrance. Started the battle, they fought on the

clinch Clinch may refer to: * Nail (fastener) or device to hold in this way * Clinching, in metalworking * Clinch fighting or the clinch, a grappling position in boxing or wrestling, a stand-up embrace * Clinch County, Georgia, USA * Clinch River, near T ...

before Yoshida managed to trip Ogawa down with kouchi gari. Yoshida locked an ankle hold that broke Ogawa's ankle, but the Hustle wrestler escaped, and then an exchange of reversions and ground and pound took place. At the end, Ogawa looked to have dominant position, but Yoshida locked an armbar from the guard by surprise, winning the fight.

Mixed martial arts record

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Paulo Cesar Silva Paulo César da Silva (born July 21, 1962) is a Brazilian former national basketball player for the Brazilian national basketball team and later mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Giant Silva. He stands ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, Holland ,

Personal life

His son,

Yusei Ogawa is a Japanese judoka. He is the son of 1992 Olympic silver medalist Naoya Ogawa. He participated at the 2018 World Judo Championships The 2018 World Judo Championships was held between 20 and 27 September 2018 at National Gymnastics Arena ...

, is also a judoka. He won the mixed team gold medal at the

2018 World Judo Championships The 2018 World Judo Championships was held between 20 and 27 September 2018 at National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. Schedule ''All times are local (Time in Azerbaijan, UTC+4).'' Medal summary Medal Table Men's events Women's e ...

, representing Japan.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

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 ...

** 2004 PRIDE Heavyweight Grand Prix Semifinalist

Professional wrestling

* NWA Northeast **

( 1 time) *

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...

**PWI ranked him #152 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishi ...

in 2010 **PWI ranked him #302 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the

PWI Years ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

in 2003 *

Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE (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 ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) – with

ZERO-ONE United States Heavyweight Championship The Zero-One United States Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling title in Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Zero1. It was created on January 6, 2003, with Steve Corino defeating Masato Tanaka. In addition to Japan, it has recently be ...

( 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 ...

'' **

Fighting Spirit Award The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...

(1999) ** Topic Award (1997)

Filmography

Film

*'' The Wolverine'' (2013) – Yakuza 1

Television

*''Doraemon Haha ni Naru: Ōyama Nobuyo Monogatari'' (2015) –

Kazuya Tatekabe was a Japanese actor and voice actor. He was born in Kimobetsu, Hokkaidō. He was represented by Kenyu Horiuchi's Kenyu Office at the time of his death. He was most known for the roles of Jaian (''Doraemon''), Walsa (''Time Bokan''), and Tonzur ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ogawa, Naoya 1968 births Asian Games bronze medalists for Japan Asian Games medalists in judo Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Living people Japanese male judoka Japanese male mixed martial artists Japanese male professional wrestlers Judoka at the 1992 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 1996 Summer Olympics NWA World Heavyweight Champions Sportspeople from Tokyo Olympic judoka of Japan Olympic medalists in judo Olympic silver medalists for Japan Judoka at the 1990 Asian Games Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1990 Asian Games World judo champions