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, incorp ...

. He currently teaches

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 ...

and

Jiu-Jitsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdu ...

, and is the president of the Japanese Confederation of Jiu-Jitsu. He competed in

, an early MMA promotion where he won the Shooto World Welterweight Championship, as well as Vale Tudo Japan 1995, where he was outweighed by every opponent in the tournament. Despite this, and despite suffering a severe

eye injury Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conve ...

in the first bout, Nakai managed to make it to the finals where he lost to

Rickson Gracie Rickson Gracie (; born November 21, 1958) is a Brazilian 9th-degree red belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and a retired mixed martial artist. He is a member of the Gracie family: the third oldest son of Hélio Gracie, brother to Rorion and Relson Grac ...

. Nakai is considered a legend of

by many fighters and fans. He is the founder of the Paraestra Shooto Gym and coaches fighters such as

PRIDE Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

and

DREAM A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

stand out

Shinya Aoki is a Japanese mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and grappler currently competing in ONE Championship's and Rizin Fighting Federation's Welterweight division. He also competes in DDT Pro-Wrestling where he is a former three-time DDT Ex ...

, who also earned his A-Class in

rank and his Jiu Jitsu Black Belt from Nakai.

Career

Nakai started training

Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

and

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

at Hokkaido Sapporo North high school, originally with the dream to be a

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 ...

. After entering

Hokkaido University , or , is a Japanese national university in Sapporo, Hokkaido. It was the fifth Imperial University in Japan, which were established to be the nation's finest institutions of higher education or research. Hokkaido University is considered ...

, he joined the

Kosen Judo is a variation of the Kodokan judo competitive ruleset that was developed and flourished at the () technical colleges in Japan in the first half of the twentieth century. Kosen judo's rules allow for greater emphasis of than typically takes pla ...

club and started training under renowned Kodokan master Kanae Hirata. At fourth grade, now as a Black Belt, Nakai competed at the Nanatei

championship, leading his university to the victory in 1992. At the same time, he joined the amateur division of

mixed martial arts 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, inc ...

promotion

, training 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 ...

at the Super Tiger Gym. When Nakai graduated from college, he joined Shooto as a professional.

Shooto

Nakai made his MMA debut with a 53-second victory by keylock over Hiroki Noritsugu. He would follow with another win, submitting Masakazu Kuramochi via

heel hook Heel hook may refer to: * Heel hook, in grappling * A climbing technique __NOTOC__ This glossary of climbing terms is a list of definitions of terms and jargon related to rock climbing and mountaineering. The specific terms used can vary conside ...

, but he was stopped short by

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 Supe ...

in a decision loss. Still, Nakai recovered with two victories over Jun Kikuwada, both at the Seishinkaikan event representing Shooto and at a proper Shooto event, and another over Kyuhei Ueno by choke. In 1994, Nakai took part in the Vale Tudo Access series of events and fought

exponent and

student Arthur Cathiard in the first of them, getting a draw after an uneventful bout spent at Yuki's

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

. Nakai, however, had acquired momentum, and he defeated standout

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 ...

for the Shooto Welterweight Championship shortly after. Then, starting 1995, he was chosen again to represent Shooto in Sayama's Vale Tudo Japan event.

Vale Tudo Japan

On April 20, 1995, Nakai entered the

Vale Tudo Japan is an annual mixed martial arts competition held in Japan. Originally arranged by promoter and former professional wrestler Satoru Sayama, he had previously created a hybrid martial art organization named Shooto in 1985. He arranged VTJ in 1994 w ...

tournament, figuring at 135 lbs as the lightest competitor of the night. His first opponent would be the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Savateur Savate (), also known as boxe française, savate boxing, French boxing or French footfighting, is a French kickboxing combat sport that uses the hands and feet as weapons combining elements of English boxing with graceful kicking techniques. ...

and

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 ...

finalist

Gerard Gordeau Gerard Gordeau (born March 30, 1955) is a Dutch former Savateur, Karateka, Kickboxer, and mixed martial artist. He is the 1991 World Champion Savate and holder of the Dutch Champion Karate title for 8 consecutive years, but foremost known interna ...

. Started the match, Nakai immediately rushed his opponent with a takedown attempt, but Gordeau used the ropes to keep himself standing and punched Nakai's head, and they remained entangled on them for the rest of the first round. At the second, the Japanese dropped down and initiated a heel hook entry, only for Gordeau to clamp himself to the ropes again and land strikes on his supine opponent,

eye-gouging __NOTOC__ Eye-gouging is the act of pressing or tearing the eye using the fingers or instruments. Eye-gouging involves a very high risk of eye injury, such as eye loss or blindness. Eye-gouging as a fighting style was once a popular form of ...

him illegally several times. Restarted on the center of the ring, a bloody and half-blinded Nakai was forced to lie down on the mat while he and Gordeau probed each other from their respective positions. Finally, after a third round passed on the ropes, Nakai scored a

double leg takedown In martial arts and combat sports, a takedown is a technique that involves off-balancing an opponent and bringing them to the ground with the attacker landing on top. The process of quickly advancing on an opponent and attempting a takedown is kno ...

against the ring corner, escaped from a

guillotine choke The guillotine choke, also known as Mae Hadaka Jime (前裸絞, "front naked choke"; compare to a rear naked choke) in judo, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from in front of the opponent, often on the ground but can also be done while stan ...

attempt by Gordeau and dropped down for another heel hook, this time managing to submit the Dutchman after half an hour of fighting. Yukinakai-gordeau

Despite his right eye being gravely injured and having lost half of his eyesight, Nakai advanced round in the tournament and went to the ring to fight against

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

Craig Pittman Craig Pittman (born March 7, 1959) is a former United States Marine and professional wrestler. He served in the Marine Corps until the early 1990s. He then wrestled professionally as Sgt. Craig "Pitbull" Pittman in World Championship Wrestling (W ...

, who sported a full 100-lb weight advantage. The bigger fighter took him down and landed heavy

ground and pound 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 ...

near the ropes while Nakai tried repeatedly for

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pr ...

s from the bottom. Pittman continued his assault on the center of the ring, but Nakai fended him off with a usage of both

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

and spider guard. In the second round, Nakai dropped to the ground and resumed trying to submit Pittman from his guard, which he finally accomplished with an armbar at 7:32 of the round. Now with both of his eyes swollen shut from the punishment and almost totally blind, Yuki would go on to face

expert

in the third and final bout of the tournament. Nakai resisted Rickson's earlier attempts of achieving dominant position, but he was too lacerated to keep up his defense and eventually Gracie took the

side control In grappling, side control (often also called side mount, cross mount, 100 kilos) is a dominant ground grappling position where the top combatant is lying perpendicularly over the face-up bottom combatant in such a way that the legs are free and ...

. The Brazilian advanced to a

cradle Cradle may refer to: * Cradle (bed) * Bassinet, a small bed, often on rockers, in which babies and small children sleep Mechanical devices * Cradle (circus act), or aerial cradle or casting cradle used in an aerial circus act * Cradling (paintin ...

position and followed by taking

full mount The mount, or mounted position, is a dominant ground grappling position, where one combatant sits on the other combatants torso with the face pointing towards the opponent's head. This is a favorable position for the top combatant in several wa ...

, from where he landed some punches before catching Yuki in a

rear naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keikogi ...

for the tap out, thus winning the tournament. Due to Gordeau's illegal tactics and Nakai's own refusal to get medical attention in order to continue in the tournament, he became permanently blind in his right eye.Yuki Nakai remains committed to teaching true spirit of martial arts
" ''Japan Today''. Retrieved on April 12, 2012. which forced him to retire from

competition. For years he and Sayama kept his blindness a secret to protect the reputation of the sport.

Post-MMA

After retiring from MMA, Nakai became interested in

, not due to his own defeat to Rickson as it is popularly believed, but to

's loss to

Royler Gracie Royler Gracie (born December 6, 1965) is a Brazilian-American retired mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. Gracie ran the Gracie Humaitá school in Rio de Janeiro for many years under his father Helio's dir ...

in 1996. He learned it from

Enson Inoue Enson Shoji Inoue (; born April 15, 1967) is a Japanese-American jiu-jitsu practitioner and retired professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1995 until 2010, he fought for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, the UFC, Shooto ...

, and a year later he participated in his first Jiu-Jitsu tournament, the Gracie Honolulu Open hosted by

Relson Gracie Relson "Campeão" Gracie is a professional Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and martial arts personality. He is a member of the Gracie family. Relson currently lives alternatively in Hawaii and Brazil where he teaches Brazlilian Jiu-Jitsu at his a ...

. Nakai soon won the Pan American Championship on the Brown Belt category, and afterwards he was granted the Black Belt by

Carlos Gracie Jr Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewher ...

, becoming the first person from Japan to hold a Black Belt in Jiu-Jitsu. In 1997, Nakai opened the Paraestra Shooto Gym, and over time was appointed president of the Japanese Confederation of Jiu-Jitsu.

Championships and accomplishments

** Shooto Welterweight Championship (one time; former)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 9–2–1 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , rowspan=3, Vale Tudo Japan 1995 , rowspan=3, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 6:22 , rowspan=3,

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, 9–1–1 ,

, Submission (armbar) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 7:32 , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1–1 ,

, Submission (heel hook) , align=center, 4 , align=center, 2:41 , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1–1 , Hiraoki Matsutani , Submission (heel hook) , Shooto - Vale Tudo Access 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:20 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Shooto - Vale Tudo Access 2 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 4:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Draw , align=center, 6–1–1 , Arthur Cathiard , Draw , Shooto - Vale Tudo Access , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 8:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Kyuhei Ueno , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Shooto - Shooto , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 0:52 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Jun Kikawada , Submission (heel hook) , Shooto - New Stage Battle of Wrestling , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:27 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Jun Kikawada , N/A , Seishinkaikan , , align=center, N/A , align=center, N/A , Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Shooto - Shooto , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 3:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 ,

Masakazu Kuramochi Masakazu Kuramochi (born February 7, 1972) is a Japanese retired mixed martial artist. He competed in the Lightweight division. Kurmochi was a veteran of every major Japanese mixed martial arts promotion with the exception of PRIDE. In 2008 Ku ...

, Submission (heel hook) , Shooto - Shooto , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:36 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Hiroki Noritsugi , Submission (kimura) , Shooto - Shooto , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:53 ,

, Japan ,

Submission grappling record

KO PUNCHES , - style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;" , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Result , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Method , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Event , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Round , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Time , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , - , Loss, , Roberto de Souza , , Submission (triangle choke) , , Rizin 21 – Hamamatsu , , 2020 , , 1 , , 3:38 , , , - , Draw, , Ricardo de la Riva , , Draw , , Ground Impact Revival , , 2013, , , , , , , - , Win, , Ricardo de la Riva , , Points , , Professional Jiu Ground Impact 05 , , 2004, , , , , , , - , Loss, , Mario Reis , , Points , , Professional Jiu DESAFIO 02 , , 2004, , , , , , , - , Loss, , Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa , , Points , , Professional Jiu Ground Impact 04 , , 2004, , , , , , , - , Win, , Albert Crane , , Points , , Professional Jiu Ground Impact 03 , , 2004, , , , , , , - , Loss, , Alexandre “Soca” Freitas , , Points , , Professional Jiu Ground Impact 02 , , 2003, , , , , , , - , Loss, ,

Leonardo Vieira Leonardo Vieira (Rio de Janeiro, December 28, 1968) is a Brazilian actor. He is best known for his roles in telenovelas, especially ''Senhora do Destino'', '' Prova de Amor'' and ''Caminhos do Coração ''Caminhos do Coração'' ( en, Ways of ...

, , Submission (rear-naked choke) , , Professional Jiu GI um Ground Impact , , 2002, , , , , , , - , Loss, ,

Vítor Ribeiro Vítor de Souza Ribeiro (born February 24, 1979 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a retired professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2001, he has formerly compet ...

, , Points , , Vale Tudo Japan '99 , , 1999, , , , , , , - , Win, , Tsutomu Fujimoto , , Points , , Daido-Juku THE WARS V , , 1999, , , , , , , - , Win, , Masato Fujiwara , , Points , , Daido-Juku THE WARS IV , , 1997, , , , , , , - , Draw, , Kazuya Abe , , Draw , , KP X WK: Koppo vs. Keisyukai , , 1996, , , , , , , - , Loss, ,

Jean-Jacques Machado Jean Jacques Machado (born February 12, 1968) is a Brazilian Jiu jitsu practitioner. He is one of the five Machado brothers ( Carlos, Roger, Rigan and John). Machado is nephew of BJJ co-founder and Grandmaster Carlos Gracie, and learned ...

, , Submission (triangle choke) , , Shooto: Vale Tudo Perception , , 1995, , , , , , , -

Filmography

References

* Abu Dhabi Combat Club
Yuki Nakai's Jiu Jitsu 'Mook'
''news.adcombat.com''. URL last accessed April 6, 2006. * Frymer, William

''boutreviewusa.com''. URL last accessed April 6, 2006.. * Sherdog.com
Nakai talks Vale Tudo, SHOOTO and RicksonGerard GordeauYuki Nakai
''www.sherdog.com''. URL last accessed April 6, 2006.

External links

*
Paraestra
(his gym)
Sherdog MMA Profile

(interview) {{DEFAULTSORT:Nakai, Yuki 1970 births Living people Japanese male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing shoot wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing catch wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Japanese practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Japanese male judoka Japanese catch wrestlers Sportspeople from Hokkaido