Yuichi Watanabe is a

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, incorp ...

and

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 ...

. He competed in

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 ...

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 and was the inaugural Shooto Lightweight Champion defeating

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 prom ...

. As a pro wrestler he competes for

Real Japan Pro Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling and martial arts promotion founded in 2005 by Satoru Sayama as , before being renamed in 2019. It runs shows every two or three months, and feature both pro wrestling activities and a variety of martial arts ...

under the name Super Rider. He has also wrestled for notable promotions such as

W*ING Wrestling International New Generations (W*ING) was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion specialized in deathmatches. History After leaving Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling in the summer of 1991, Kazuyoshi Osako and Kiyoshi "Mickey" Ibarag ...

Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1995. It is most famous for its deathmatch style contests. History Big Japan Pro Wrestling was founded in March 1995 by former AJPW wrestlers Shinya Kojika and Kendo Nagasak ...

IWA Japan The International Wrestling Association of Japan, more commonly known as IWA Japan, was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion operating from 1994 to 2004 and again from 2010 to 2014. It was formed by Víctor Quiñones as a successor to the W ...

Battlarts , more commonly referred to as simply Battlarts was a professional wrestling promotion based in Koshigaya, Saitama, Japan. The promotion was formed in 1996 by Japanese wrestler Yuki Ishikawa and featured all of the wrestlers from the Fujiwara Gum ...

Dramatic Dream Team is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name stands for Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's official name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the promotion was eventually bo ...

, Pro Wrestling KAGEKI,

Pro Wrestling ZERO-1 (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. ...

and Diamond Ring.

Background and career

Watanabe trained 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 ...

in Shooto and was also one of his first trainees at his

Seikendo (born November 27, 1957) is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, MMA and wrestling promoter and writer, best known as the original Tiger Mask. He has wrestled under his real name as well as the names Sammy Lee, and masked Su ...

school. He also learned shootboxing under

Caesar Takeshi (born August 17, 1955), better known by his ring name , is a Japanese actor, retired kickboxer and the founder of shoot boxing.http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/2649221/ Career Murata started competing in kickboxing at age of 16, bein ...

, was an amateur wrestling champion in high school, was the captain of his high school club wrestling club with

Mitsuharu Misawa was a Japanese amateur and professional wrestler and promoter. He is primarily known for his time in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and also for forming the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion in 2000. In the early 1990s, Misawa gained fame alongside ...

as his vice-captain 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 ...

as his junior, competed in the 1984 All Japan Student Wrestling Championships representing

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice (Japan), Minister of Justice, in 1889. ...

losing to future Olympic medalist

Kosei Akaishi is a Japanese former wrestler who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics, in the 1988 Summer Olympics, and in the 1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1 ...

in the finals in the 68 kg freestyle division, and also trained in sambo and judo. Watanabe initially worked as a trainer at Shooting Gym Mobara, as well as an instructor for Sayama's Seikendo school. He now runs the Super Tiger Gym Gunma as a head trainer.

Personal life

Watanabe is the father of professional MMA fighters Kenshiro and Shuto "Shooto" Watanabe.

Championships and accomplishments

** Shooto Lightweight Championship (1 time, inaugural champion)

Mixed martial arts record

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Naoki Sakurada Naoki Sakurada (born May 12, 1968) is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He competed in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions. He is a former Shooto Middleweight Champion. Mixed martial arts career Sakurada started as a student of combat ...

, Submission (kneebar) , Shooto - Shooto , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:57 ,

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, 5–3 ,

Tomonori Ohara Tomonori Ohara is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He competed in the Lightweight and Welterweight divisions. Mixed martial arts record , - , Loss , align=center, 5-12-1 , Naoki Kimura , TKO (punches) , Deep - Hero 1 , , align=cente ...

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Kazuhiro Sakamoto Kazuhiro Sakamoto is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He competed in the Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions. Sakamoto is a longtime Shooto and Vale Tudo Japan veteran and currently serves as a representative and promoter for Shooto and Va ...

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, Japan ,

References

External links