Shooto Watanabe 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 ...

male

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 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 mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from Ba ...

division.

Background

As the name "Shooto" implies, he is the son of

Yuichi Watanabe Yuichi Watanabe is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He competed in Shooto's Lightweight division and was the inaugural Shooto Lightweight Champion defeating Kazuhiro Kusayanagi. As a pro wrestler he competes for Real J ...

, the first welterweight champion of Shooto , as his father . He studied judo from the 5th grade of elementary school , belonged to the wrestling club in parallel from junior high school , and entered high school at

Ashikaga Institute of Technology is a private university in Ashikaga, Tochigi, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan ...

, a prestigious school for wrestling. He entered college and stayed away from wrestling for a while, but was impressed by

Masato Masato (written: , , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *Masato (kickboxer) (born 1979), Japanese former welterweight kickboxer, won K-1 WORLD MAX kickboxing tournament in 2003, 2008 * Masato ...

's retirement match and decided to follow the same martial arts path as his father.

Career

Debut

He made his debut at Pancrase Progress Tour 4, earning a draw against Yoshifumi Ishiki.

ZST

3 months following his pro debut, he entered

ZST ZST (pronounced ''Zest'') is a Japan-based mixed martial arts promotion and sanctioning organization holding amateur and semi-professional MMA events. ZST adopts unique rules in the MMA industry and also used to hold tag-team MMA matches. Hist ...

's Bantamweight tournament, earning his first victory against Tadayuki Nakamura with what would become his patented rear-naked choke at ZST: Battle Hazard 6. He followed this up by scoring a unanimous decision victory in the semifinals against Nobuyuki Kanaizuka at ZST: SWAT! 47 He met future ZST Flyweight Champion, Seiichiro Ito in the finals, scoring an emphatic submission in just 62 seconds to capture the bantamweight tournament championship at ZST: SWAT! in Face 11 Despite winning a tournament only 5 months into his career, he would face a dip in form, going 2-1-3 in his next 6 fights, with his sole victory coming against Shintaro Kubo at VTJ 2nd in June 2013. He started 2014 off with a stoppage loss to future foe Go Kashiwazaki, but strung together a 7-fight unbeaten streak lasting 2 and a half years, earning a rematch with Kashiwazaki - this time for the ZST Bantamweight Championship. His fate would be nearly identical, losing via stoppage in the 2nd round. This would prove to be his final appearance with ZST, finishing with a 8-3-4 record in the promotion (9-3-5, 1NC overall).

Fighting NEXUS & GLADIATOR

Watanabe would make his Fighting NEXUS debut 3 months following his failed title challenge for the ZST title, kicking off his NEXUS career nearly identical to his ZST debut, a rear-naked choke victory in just 85 seconds. 4 months later he competed under the GLADIATOR banner, scoring a second successive rear-naked choke victory against Yutaka Imamura; a victory which would catapult him to his second title challenge in 12 months. However, he first competed at Fighting NEXUS 9, finishing Jun Ikkyu with a guillotine choke in just 24 seconds. This allowed for a quick turnaround, to face Naritoshi Kakuta for the GLADIATOR Bantamweight Championship. However, once again, Watanabe would come up short, dropping a unanimous decision. He closed out 2017 with a unanimous decision victory of his own, over Kotaro Kazama. This win would spur on a 9-fight unbeaten streak, in which he would capture the vacant Fighting NEXUS Bantamweight Championship in December 2018, and score 2 victories under the

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 ...

promotion.

RIZIN Fighting Federation

With an impressive unbeaten streak stretching back 2 and a half years, Japan's premier MMA promotion,

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 ...

announced that Watanabe would be facing rising prospect and UFC veteran,

Naoki Inoue Naoki Inoue ( ja, 井上直樹); born June 14, 1997 in Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan is a Japanese mixed martial artist competing in the flyweight division. A professional mixed martial artist since 2014, Inoue has also competed in the Ultimate Fighti ...

on August 9, 2020 at Rizin 22. Watanabe was defeated at 1:40 of the first round via rear-naked choke. On February 16, it was announced that Watanabe would face Takumi Tamaru at Rizin 27 to earn a spot in RIZIN's upcoming Japan Bantamweight Grand Prix, with the winner of the grand prix being expected to face RIZIN Bantamweight Champion,

Kyoji Horiguchi is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator MMA and Rizin FF in the Flyweight division. He is the former bantamweight champion in both organizations. As of December 13, 2022, he is #6 in the Bellator Bantamweight Rankings ...

in 2022. Watanabe defeated Tamaru by rear-naked choke in the 2nd round. 4 days later, RIZIN held a press conference where the drawing for the Grand Prix would occur. Former RIZIN Bantamweight Champion

Kai Asakura is a Japanese mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist currently competing as a bantamweight (MMA), bantamweight in the Rizin Fighting Federation. A professional competitor since 2012, he formerly competed for Road Fighting Championship, Fighti ...

chose the slot to face Watanabe. They faced each other at Rizin 28 on June 13, 2021 at the Tokyo Dome. Shooto lost the fight by a first-round technical knockout. Watanabe was scheduled to face Kuya Ito on October 10, 2021 at Rizin Landmark Vol.1. Ito later withdrew from his bout with Watanabe due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

protocols, and was replaced by Nobutaka Naito. He won the bout after choking Naito unconscious via brabo choke in the first round. Watanabe was booked to face Takuma Sudo on April 16, 2022 at Rizin Trigger 3. He lost the fight by split decision.

DEEP

Watanabe faced Takuma Uchiyama at Deep 108 Impact on July 10, 2022. He won the bout by unanimous decision. Watanabe faced Rikiya Matsuzawa on February 11, 2023 at DEEP 112, losing the bout via TKO stoppage 27 seconds into the bout.

Personal life

Watanabe is the son of MMA pioneer and Shooto's inaugural Lightweight Champion,

. His mother also competed in Shooto.

Championships and accomplishments

* Fighting NEXUS **Fighting Nexus Bantamweight Championship (One time) ***One successful title defense * Pound For Pound Fighting Championship **PFPFC Bantamweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 26–8–6 (1) , Takuya Ogura , Decision (majority) , Fighting NEXUS vol.32 , , 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 , , - , Win , align=center, 25–8–6 (1) , Kazuki Aoki , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Fighting NEXUS vol.31 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:18 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 24–8–6 (1) , Rikiya Matsuzawa , TKO (punches) , Deep 112 Impact , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:27 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 24–7–6 (1) , Takuma Uchiyama , Decision (unanimous) , Deep 108 Impact , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 23–7–6 (1) , Takuma Sudo , Decision (split) , Rizin Trigger 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Chōfu is a city in the western side of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 238,087, and a population density of 11,000 per km². the total area of the city is . Geography Chōfu is approximately in the south-center of ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 23–6–6 (1) , Nobutaka Naito , Technical Submission (D’Arce choke) , Rizin Landmark Vol.1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:33 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 22–6–6 (1) ,

, TKO (punches) , Rizin 28 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:22 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 22–5–6 (1) , Takumi Tamaru , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Rizin 27 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:13 ,

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 , , - , Win , align=center, 21–5–6 (1) , Takashi Terada , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Fighting NEXUS vol.21×PFC.24 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:37 ,

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–5–6 (1) ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , Rizin 22 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:40 ,

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, , Hiroto Sakuma , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Fighting NEXUS vol. 18 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:48 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 19–4–6 (1) , Yoichiro Kuranobu , Decision (unanimous) , DEEP 91 Impact , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 18–4–6 (1) , Hiroyuki Kobayashi , Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) , DEEP 90 Impact , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:22 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 17–4–6 (1) , Kodai Murata , Decision (unanimous) , rowspan=2 , Fighting NEXUS vol.15 , rowspan=2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , rowspan=2 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 16–4–6 (1) , Takeya Takemoto , DQ (illegal upkick) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:54 , , - , Win , align=center, 15–4–6 (1) , Great MajingaZ , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Fighting NEXUS vol.14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:23 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 14–4–6 (1) , Teppei Suwabe , Decision (unanimous) , Fighting NEXUS vol. 13 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Draw , align=center, 13–4–6 (1) , Takeya Takemoto , Draw (split) , GLADIATOR 005 in Osaka , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4–5 (1) , Kotaro Kazama , Decision (unanimous) , Fighting NEXUS vol. 11 , , align=Center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–4–5 (1) , Naritoshi Kakuta , Decision (unanimous) , GLADIATOR 004 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Wakayama Wakayama may refer to: *Wakayama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan *Wakayama (city) Wakayama City Hall is the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 351,391 in 157066 househol ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3–5 (1) , Hitoya Sumisojun , Submission (guillotine choke) , Fighting NEXUS 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:24 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3–5 (1) , Yutaka Imamura , Submission (rear-naked choke) , GLADIATOR 3 in Wakayama , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:09 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, (1) , Yoshiyuki Sakurazawa , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Fighting NEXUS 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:25 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–3–5 (1) , Go Kashiwazaki , TKO (punches) , ZST 53 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:59 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2–5 (1) , Yasuhiro Wakabayashi , TKO (punches) , ZST 50 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:42 ,

, Japan , , - , NC , align=center, 8–2–5 (1) ,

Zheng Junfeng Zheng Junfeng () is a Chinese Sanda kickboxer, he currently competes in the Wu Lin Feng organization. As of November 2021, he is ranked the #8 Super Bantamweight in the world by Combat Press. Career Zheng Junfeng was born in started practici ...

, No Contest (overturned) , WLF E.P.I.C. 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Zhengzhou Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the National ...

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 ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 8–2–5 , Kohei Kuraoka , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ZST 49: 13th Anniversary , , align=Center, 1 , align=center, 1:43 ,

, Japan , , - , Draw , align=center, 7–2–5 , Atsushi Kato , Draw (split) , ZST 46 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2–4 , Shintaro Kubo , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ZST 44 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2–4 , Seio Date , TKO (punches) , ZST 42 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:47 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2–4 , Ryutaro Watanabe , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ZST in Yokosuka Vol. 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:19 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–2–4 , Go Kashiwazaki , TKO (knee) , ZST 39 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:57 ,

, Japan , , - , Draw , align=center, 4–1–4 , Kengo Okubo , Draw (time limit) , ZST 37 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1–3 , Shintaro Kubo , Decision (unanimous) , Vale Tudo Japan 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Draw , align=center, 3–1–3 , Takao Ueda , Draw (time limit) , ZST 35 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–1–2 , Toshihiro Shimizu , Submission (triangle choke) , ZST 34 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:29 ,

, Japan , , - , Draw , align=center, 3–0–2 , Tetsuya Fusano , Draw (time limit) , ZST 33: 10th Anniversary , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0–1 , Seiichiro Ito , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ZST: SWAT! in Face 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:02 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0–1 , Nobuyuki Kanaizuka , Decision (unanimous) , ZST: SWAT! 47 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0–1 , Tadayuki Nakamura , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ZST: Battle Hazard 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:54 ,

, Japan , , - , Draw , align=center, 0–0–1 , Yoshifumi Ishiki , Draw (time limit) , Pancrase Progress Tour 4 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watanabe, Shooto Japanese male mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Japanese male judoka Living people 1989 births