Roberto Satoshi de Souza (born September 19, 1989; ) is a

Japanese-Brazilian , , lead=yes are Brazilian citizens who are nationals or naturals of Japanese ancestry or Japanese immigrants living in Brazil or Japanese people of Brazilian ancestry. The first group of Japanese immigrants arrived in Brazil in 1908. Brazil is ...

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 ...

who competes in the

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 boxe ...

division of

Rizin Fighting Federation 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 ...

, where he is the current Rizin Lightweight champion.

Background

Roberto Satoshi de Souza was born on September 19, 1989 in Sao Paulo, Brazil to a Brazilian father and Japanese mother and began practicing martial arts with his father at a young age, starting with Judo and later progressing to Jiu-Jitsu. He quickly gained success in the junior divisions of BJJ, winning multiple championships including the World Championship in both his weight category and the open weight category. However, after 2006, the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship was held in California, USA and Roberto struggled to secure sponsorships to compete abroad, leading to a temporary absence from the sport. He returned in 2009 and had a successful run for the world title. Roberto later visited Japan to see his brother Mauricio, who had opened an academy there, and decided to stay permanently. To make ends meet, he worked in factories before eventually being able to make a living through competing and teaching Jiu-Jitsu. On May 1, 2011, Roberto received his black belt from his father, Adilson de Souza, who passed away from an illness shortly after the ceremony. He is married to a fellow Japanese Brazilian, Yuri Suzuki de Souza, and has two daughters.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grappling

In July 2006, he won the Sao Paulo jiu-jitsu championship in two classes, blue belt medio class and absolute class. In September 2007, he came to Japan following his older brothers Mauricio Dai Souza and Marcos Yoshio Souza, and moved to Hamamatsu City ,Shizuoka Prefecture at the age of 18. When he first came to Japan, he worked as a factory worker while practicing and teaching at a bull terrier martial arts gym with his two older brothers. On December 2, 2007, Satoshi participated in the DEEP X 02 Real King Tournament in the 76 kg class, winning the championship after defeating Takayuki Muramatsu, Kei Ouchi, and Sotaro Yamada in successive rounds. In June 2009 and 2010, Satoshi won the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in the purple and brown belt Lightweight categories, respectively. On October 10, 2010, the subject participated in the DEEP X 06 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Super Tournament in the 75 kg class, defeating three black belt holders, Kei Ochi, Tetsuya Kondo, and Koji Shimazaki to win the championship. In May 2011, Satoshi was awarded a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by their father. In April 2012, Satoshi won the gold medals at the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship in the black belt Lightweight, defeating

Davi Ramos Davi Ramos (born November 5, 1986) is a Brazilian professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner who competes in the Lightweight (MMA), Lightweight division of Absolute Championship ...

and

Lucas Lepri Lucas Lepri (born September 19, 1984) is a Brazilian grappler. Lucas is one of few who have won all 4 "majors" at the black belt, adult level – The World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, Pan American Championships A Pan American Championship is a top le ...

. Facing

Jake Shields Jake Sequoyah Shields (born January 9, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist and submission grappler. He was the last Rumble on the Rock Welterweight Champion, the only Elite XC Welterweight Champion, a former Shooto Welterweight ...

on November 22, 2014 at Metamorphis 5, Satoshi drew with Shields as time expired, before returning at Metamoris 6 on May 9, 2015, where he faced

Clark Gracie Clark Rouson Gracie (born July 17, 1984) is an American Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor and member of the Gracie family. He is the grandson of Carlos Gracie, one of the founders of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, and first eldest son of Carley Gracie, the fat ...

and drew once again due to time expiration. In June 2017, the subject faced

in the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship black belt lightweight final, but withdrew due to a shoulder injury and finished as runner-up. On June 9, 2018, Satoshi participated in QUINTET FIGHT NIGHT in TOKYO as part of "TEAM HALEO", defeating Daisuke Nakamura, David Garmo, and Yoshihiko Matsumoto before going to a timed daw with Masahiro Iwasaki. On October 5, 2018, the subject participated in QUINTET.3 as part of "TEAM SAKURABA", drawing with

Gordon Ryan Gordon Ryan (born July 8, 1995) is an American submission grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu 1st degree black belt, considered to be the greatest no–gi grappler of all time due to his accomplishments and dominance. Ryan is a Five–time ADCC ...

of TEAM ALPHA MALE.

Mixed martial arts career

He made his mixed martial arts debut on October 20, 2013 at the Real Fight MMA Championship 3 in China, before winning his sophomore performance against Doo Je Jung in December 2014 via rear-naked choke. On December 5, 2015, he faced

Ryuki Ueyama Ryuki Ueyama (born 17 April 1976 in Tokyo) is a Japanese mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Lightweight division. He has fought for organizations such as Fighting Network RINGS, DEEP, Pancrase, Hero's and Pride FC. Fight ...

in the first round of the REAL.3 super lightweight (74.2 kg) throne decision tournament, winning by arm-triangle choke. On March 12, 2016, he faced Yuta Kaneko in the semi-finals of the REAL.4 Super Lightweight Championship Tournament and won by TKO via ground and pound. On June 12, 2016, he faced Pat Ayuyu in the final of the REAL Super Lightweight Tournament, successfully winning the title and the tournament via first round armbar submission.

Rizin Fighting Federation

After winning two bouts under the Arzalet banner via first round rear-naked chokes, Satoshi made his

Rizin FF 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 on April 21, 2019, when he faced

Satoru Kitaoka , is a Japanese shoot wrestler and mixed martial artist who most recently competed for RIZIN. A professional competitor since 2000, he has also competed for DREAM, Pancrase, DEEP, and World Victory Road. Kitaoka is renowned for his catch wrest ...

at Rizin 15, winning by TKO in the second round via ground and pound. On July 28, 2019, he faced

Mizuto Hirota is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of the Rizin Fighting Federation. A professional competitor since 2005, he appeared in the Japanese MMA event Dynamite!! 2009 event and has also competed for U ...

at Rizin 17 and won by knockout in the first round. During his post-fight mic performance , he yelled, "This is not UFC, this is RIZIN! " On October 12, 2019, he faced

Johnny Case Johnny Case (born June 28, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Lightweight division of RIZIN. A professional since 2007, he formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Professional Fighters League ...

in the Lightweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal at Rizin 19. He received an eye-poke in his left eye, and was tapped out 75 seconds after the start of the match. It was the first loss of his career. On August 9, 2020, he faced Yusuke Yaji at Rizin 22 and won by first round TKO stoppage. Satoshi faced

Kazuki Tokudome is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of ONE Championship. A professional competitor since 2007, he has also competed in Pancrase, Sengoku Raiden Championships and the Ultimate Fighting ...

at Rizin 27 on March 21, 2021. After getting taken down, he quickly submitted Tokudome via triangle choke in the first round. On June 13, 2021, he faced RIZIN Lightweight World Grand Prix Champion Tofiq Musayev for the inaugural Rizin Lightweight Championship at Rizin 28 . In the 1st round, he won the ippon with a triangular choke and succeeded in winning his first title. During the national anthem before the bout, he chose

Kimigayo is the national anthem of Japan. The lyrics are from a ' poem written by an unnamed author in the Heian period (794–1185), and the current melody was chosen in 1880, replacing an unpopular melody composed by John William Fenton eleven years e ...

instead of the Brazilian national anthem. On December 31, 2021, he rematched the challenger Yusuke Yaji in the RIZIN lightweight title match at Rizin 33. He made his first successful defense of the throne . On April 17, 2022, in the RIZIN lightweight title match of

Rizin 35 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 sp ...

, he rematched the challenger

for the first time in about two and a half years, and won in the first round via reverse triangle armbar. Succeeded in his revenge and successfully defended the title for the second time. Satoshi faced former Bellator Featherweight World Championship A. J. McKee in a non-title bout at

Bellator MMA vs. Rizin ''Bellator MMA vs. Rizin FF'' and ''Rizin 40'' was a mixed martial arts event being co-promoted by Bellator MMA and the Rizin Fighting Federation that took place on December 31, 2022, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Background Th ...

on December 31, 2022. Although there were many submission attempts made by de Souza, McKee had more offense and won the bout by unanimous decision. Satoshi is scheduled to face Spike Carlyle in a non-title bout at Rizin 42 on May 6, 2023.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Rizin Lightweight Championship (One time, current) *** Two successful title defenses * Real Fight Championship ** RFC Super Lightweight Champship

Mixed martial arts record

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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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, Submission (triangle choke) , Rizin 27 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:44 ,

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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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, South Korea , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Thiago Oliveira , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Arzalet Fighting 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Pat Ayuyu , Submission (armbar) , Real Fight Championship 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:54 ,

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, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Doo Je Jung , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Real Fight Championship 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:05 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Nuerla Murati , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Real Fight MMA Championship 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:37 ,

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 ...

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Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Souza, Roberto Brazilian male mixed martial artists Japanese male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists utilizing shootboxing Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Japanese practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Japanese people of Brazilian descent People from Shizuoka Prefecture 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from São Paulo