Naoya Uematsu (born September 10, 1978) is a retired

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 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 ...

who competed in the

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. B ...

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, t ...

and

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight ...

divisions in Cage Force,

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), ...

and

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

. He is the head instructor of the NEXUSENSE gym. In addition, Uematsu is a director and referee director of the Japan Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (JBJJF). He is a director and strengthening committee member of the Japan Sambo Federation and chairman of the refereeing committee and the vice Chairman of the Japan MMA Refereeing Organization (JMOC).

Mixed martial arts career

Uematsu began at the age of 12 in junior high school. He started training in shoot wrestling at

Gym K'z Factory under

Kazuhiro Kusayanagi Kazuhiro Kusayanagi (born April 4, 1967) is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He competed in the Middleweight and Welterweight divisions. Career After a 6–9–1 career in Shooto and Lumax Cup, Kusayanagi volunteered for representing his pro ...

when he was 16 and immediately became an undefeated champion in amateur competitions. He also trained in

sumo wrestling is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

sambo , aka = Sombo (in English-speaking countries) , focus = Hybrid , country = Soviet Union , pioneers = Viktor Spiridonov, Vasili Oshchepkov, Anatoly Kharlampiev , famous_pract = List of Practitioners , oly ...

and muay thai at the Crosspoint Gym. He is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt with training under Biviano Fernandez and Leonardo Vieira.

Early career

Uematsu debuted in the Lumax Cup lightweight tournament in 1997 defeating Takashi Ochi and

Mitsuo Matsumoto Mitsuo Matsumoto (born July 18, 1971) is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He competed in the Lightweight division. Mixed martial arts record , - , Loss , align=center, 9-10-1 , Eriya Matsuda , TKO (punches) , Pancrase: 2006 Neo-Blood ...

. He made it to the finals, where he defeated

Caol Uno (born May 8, 1975) is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He is the Co-Champion of the UFC 41 Lightweight Tournament and a former Shooto Lightweight Champion. As one of the early Ultimate Fighting Championship's ...

via

achilles lock A compression lock, muscle lock, muscle slicer or muscle crusher, is a grappling hold that causes severe pain by pressing a muscle into a bone. A compression lock can cause a joint lock in a nearby joint when it is applied by squeezing a limb over ...

under twenty three seconds in the first round.

Shooto

Uematsu would rack up an undefeated 11-0-2 record in 6 years in Shooto defeating luminaries such as

Katsuya Toida , is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He competed in the Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions. His real name is . He is known for his judo and shoot wrestling expertise. Mixed martial arts career On August 23, 1998, Toida participated in th ...

and

Noboru Asahi is a Japanese retired mixed martial artist, a designer, and an owner of MMA gym. He was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan on January 5, 1968, as . Mixed martial arts career A former amateur wrestler, Asahi was trained in Satoru Sayama's Super ...

. His streak came to an end on September 16th, 2002 on a loss to

Bao Quach Bao Quach (born September 4, 1979) is an American featherweight professional mixed martial artist who has fought for Bellator, Affliction, M-1 Global, EliteXC, Strikeforce, World Extreme Cagefighting, King of the Cage, and Shooto promotions ...

at Shooto: Treasure Hunt 10.Shooto: Treasure Hunt 10
/ref> Uematsu faced Joao Roque on January 24, 2003, losing via unanimous decision. Uematsu would go on to face

Jens Pulver Jens Johnnie Pulver (born December 6, 1974) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist and undefeated boxer and kickboxer. Pulver was the inaugural UFC Lightweight Champion in addition to serving as the head coach on '' The Ultim ...

Gilbert Melendez Gilbert Melendez (born April 12, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a two-time Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and a former WEC Lightwe ...

and

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

later in his Shooto career. He left Shooto in 2006 at a record of 14-5-2, following a loss to

Kenji Osawa Kenji Osawa (born November 4, 1976) is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist from Tokyo. He debuted in MMA over a decade ago, and trains and fights out of Wajitsu Keishukai, where he teaches once a week. MMA career Osawa's fight record is 21 ...

Later career

Uematsu would go 1-3-0 in the final two years of his mixed martial arts career, with losses to

Urijah Faber Urijah Faber (born May 14, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist and actor who is signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He competed as a bantamweight and formerly competed as a featherweight. He is also the founder of Team Alpha Male ...

and

Marcos Galvao Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Nélson Marcos, Portugu ...

. His only win was over James Doolan at Cage Force, via

heel hook Heel hook may refer to: * Heel hook, in grappling * A climbing technique {{disambig