is a Japanese mixed martial artist. A professional since 2013, he currently competes in the

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

division in the

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 ...

(UFC).

Early life

Born to a Japanese father and Taiwanese mother, Sato grew up in

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 ...

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 ...

, with his parents and older brother. He was a big fan of reading comics just like many other Japanese children. However one day, his older brother accidentally threw them all out. Sato says he cried the whole day until the following day his father felt very bad and came home from work with a new comic based on a kid becoming a judo champion. This then inspired Sato to pursue Judo and he used to train at the local police station.

Mixed martial arts career

Japan

Sato started his MMA career fighting in various promotions in Japan. Sato then fought for

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 ...

and

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), ...

promotions in Japan. He earned a Pancrase title shot but lost to Glaico França. Sato earned the opportunity to fight in the UFC after beating former UFC fighter Matt Vaile.

Ultimate Fighter Championship

Sato signed with the UFC on April 2, 2019 and made his UFC debut on April 27, 2019 against Ben Saunders at UFC Fight Night: Jacaré vs. Hermansson. After being tagged by Saunders early, Sato won the fight by knockout. Sato's next Fight was against

Belal Muhammad Belal Muhammad (born July 9, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently competing in the UFC welterweight division. A professional since 2012, he has also competed for Bellator and Titan FC. As of October 24, 2022, he is #4 ...

on September 7, 2019 in the United Emirates at

UFC 242 ''UFC 242: Khabib vs. Poirier '' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on September 7, 2019 at The Arena, Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background The event mark ...

. Sato lost by rear-naked choke in the third round. Sato was scheduled to face

Maki Pitolo Maki Ikaika Maleko Pitolo (born November 24, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division. A professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Pitolo has also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and B ...

UFC Fight Night 168 ''UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 168'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 26'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 23, 2020, at Spark Arena in Auckland ...

on February 23, 2020. However, Pitolo was unable to make weight and the bout was scrapped from the card. Sato was scheduled to face Ramiz Brahimaj on June 27, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker but the fight was scratched due to one of Brahimaj's cornermen testing positive for COVID-19. Two days before the fight, Sato's opponent was switched to UFC newcomer

Jason Witt Jason Witt (born November 7, 1986) is a retired American mixed martial artist who last competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Witt started training around 2009 with his uncle, who used to be a p ...

. Sato won the fight via knock out in 48 seconds in round one. Sato was scheduled to face Daniel Rodriguez on August 22, 2020 at

UFC on ESPN 15 ''UFC on ESPN: Munhoz vs. Edgar'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 15'' and ''UFC Vegas 7'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 22, 2020, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, ...

. However, despite making the required weight, Sato was not cleared to fight by

Nevada State Athletic Commission The Nevada State Athletic Commission (also known as the Nevada Athletic Commission or NSAC) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of Nevada, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxers, ...

medical personnel and was removed from the card. Later, Sato revealed that a skin infection in his torso was the reason for the removal. As the last fight of his contract, Sato faced

Miguel Baeza Miguel Baeza (born August 23, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist, currently competing in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Baeza was born in Davie, Florida to a Puerto Rican family. Baeza ...

on November 28, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Smith vs. Clark. He lost the fight via second round arm-triangle choke. Sato returned after more than a one year hiatus and faced Gunnar Nelson, replacing injured Cláudio Silva, on 19 March 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 204 ''UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 204'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 62'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 19, 2022 at The O2 Arena in Lo ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Sato faced Bryan Battle on August 6, 2022 at UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Hill. He lost the fight via knockout in round one.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 15–6 , Bryan Battle , KO (head kick) , UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Hill , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:44 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–5 , Gunnar Nelson , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–4 ,

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) , UFC on ESPN: Smith vs. Clark , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:28 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–3 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:48 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–3 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:55 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 14–2 , Ben Saunders , TKO (punches and elbows) , UFC Fight Night: Jacaré vs. Hermansson , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:18 ,

Sunrise, Florida Sunrise is a city in central-western Broward County, Florida, United States, and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 97,335. Sunrise was incorporated in 1961 and founded ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 , Matt Vaile , TKO (punches) , Pancrase 300 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:35 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–2 , Glaico França , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Pancrase 297 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 1:15 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 , Masayuki Hamagishi , TKO (elbows and punches) , GRANDSLAM 7 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:59 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 , Akihiro Murayama , TKO (punches) , Pancrase 292 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:52 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Kenta Takagi , TKO (punches) , Pancrase 289 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:15 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Anton Radman , TKO (knee) , Pancrase 286 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:43 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Eric Michael Fought , Decision (split) , Pancrase 273 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 , Kenta Takagi , TKO (punch) , Pancrase 269 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:27 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Yusaku Tsukumo , TKO (doctor stoppage) , DEEP 72 Impact , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:09 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Vyron Phillips , Decision (unanimous) , Pancrase 265 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Hidetora , TKO (punches) , DEEP DREAM Impact , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:21 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Yasuaki Miura , TKO (punch) , TTF Challenge 03 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:29 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Genpei Hayashi , TKO (punches) , Pancrase 260 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:51 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Makoto Kawawa , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Pancrase 258 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:36 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Joe Proctor , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Pancrase Bayside Fight 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:31 ,

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 , , -

External links

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sato, Takashi Living people 1990 births Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Welterweight mixed martial artists Japanese male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Japanese male judoka Japanese people of Taiwanese descent Senshu University alumni Sportspeople from Tokyo 20th-century Japanese people 21st-century Japanese people