is a Japanese karateka, professional

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

and the current K-1 Lightweight champion. As of 3 April 2023, Yoza is ranked the #1 super-bantamweight kickboxer in the world by Combat Press. As of April 2023, Yoza is ranked the #1 featherweight kickboxer in the world by Beyond Kick.

Professional career

Early career

Career beginnings

Yoza made his professional kickboxing debut against Masahiro Kojika at Japanese Kickboxing Innovation Join Forces 12 on March 31, 2019. He won the fight by a third-round technical knockout, after knocking Kojika down three times by the 2:38 minute mark. Yoza faced Tatsuro Fukui at Japanese Kickboxing Innovation Join Forces 13 on May 19, 2019. He won the fight by a third-round technical knockout. The ringside physician was called in at the very end of the round, due to a cut on Fukui's face, who advised the referee to stop the fight. Yoza made his promotional debut with REBELS against Yoshiki at REBELS 61 on June 9, 2019. He won the fight by split decision. Two of the judges scored the fight 30–28 and 29–28 in his favor, while the third judge scored the fight 29–28 for Yoshiki. Yoza was booked to face Volcano Imoto at Japanese Kickboxing Innovation Join Forces 14 on July 15, 2019. He knocked Imoto out with a head kick at the 2:30 minute mark of the first round. Yoza faced Johnny Oliveira at K.O CLIMAX 2019 on August 18, 2019. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 29–28, 30–29 and 30–28. Yoza faced Tereka∞ at REBELS 63×KNOCK OUT on October 6, 2019. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with all three judges awarding him a 30–26 scorecard. Yoza scored the sole knockdown of the fight late in the third round, flooring Tereka with a left hook. Yoza faced Tatsuya Inaishi at SNKA SOUL IN THE RING CLIMAX on December 8, 2019. He won the fight by majority decision.

KNOCK OUT tournaments

On December 23, 2019, it was announced that Yoza would participate in the 2020

KNOCK OUT A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

64kg Grand Prix. Yoza was booked to face

Chihiro Suzuki is a Japanese voice actor. He made his debut role as Soichiro Arima in ''Kare Kano''. Filmography Television animation ;1998 *''Kareshi Kanojo no Jijō'' ( Soichiro Arima) ;2000 *'' Tottoko Hamutarō'' (Megane-kun and Mr Yoshi) ;2001 *'' Dā! ...

in the tournament quarterfinals, which were held on February 11, 2020. He lost the fight by majority decision. Two of the judges scored the bout 29–28 for Suzuki, while the third judge scored it as an even 28–28 draw. After suffering his first professional loss, Yoza was booked to face Masaya Kubo at REBELS 67 on November 8, 2020. He won the fight by majority decision, with scores of 30–29, 30–29 and 29–28. Yoza next faced Tomo Kiire at Japan Kickboxing Innovation Champions Carnival 2020 on December 27, 2020. He won the fight by a third-round knockout. On January 29, 2021, it was revealed that Yoza would take part in the 2021 KNOCK OUT super lightweight BLACK tournament. Yoza was scheduled to face Keijiro Miyakoshi in the semifinals, which were held on March 13, 2021. He lost the fight by split decision, after an extra round was fought.

K-1

Early promotional career

Yoza made his K-1 debut against Hikaru Hasumi at Krush 132 on December 18, 2021. He won the fight by a second-round knockout, stopping Hikaru with a head kick 17 seconds into the round. Yoza was booked to face the K-1 Lightweight champion

Taio Asahisa Taio Asahisa (born 16 January 1998) is a Japanese kickboxer, currently fighting in the lightweight division of K-1, where he is the reigning champion. As of May 2021, he was the #1 ranked Super Bantamweight in the world according to Combat Pr ...

in a non-title bout at K-1 World GP 2022 Japan on February 27, 2022. He won the fight by unanimous decision, after an extension round fought. Yoza called for a title fight with Asahisa in his post-fight interview. Following his upset defeat of Asahisa, Yoza faced the former Krush Super Lightweight champion

Yuto Shinohara is a Japanese kickboxer, currently competing in the lightweight division of K-1. A professional competitor since 2014, he is the former Krush Super Lightweight champion and a one-time Krush Lightweight title challenger. As of January 2023, he ...

in a lightweight bout at K-1 World GP 2022 in Fukuoka on August 11, 2022. He won the fight by a second-round knockout, stopping Shinohara with low kicks. Yoza faced the former

Rajadamnern Stadium Rajadamnern Stadium ( th, สนามมวยราชดำเนิน; ), also spelled ''Ratchadamnoen'', is a sporting arena in Bangkok, Thailand. Along with Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, Rajadamnern is one of the two main stadiums for modern mu ...

super lightweight champion Aikpikart Mor.Krungthepthonburi at K-1 World GP 2022 in Osaka on December 3, 2022. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with all three judges awarding him every round of the bout.

Lightweight champion

Yoza was booked to challenge

for the K-1 Lightweight Championship at K-1 World GP 2023: K'Festa 6 on March 12, 2023. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with two scorecards of 30–29 and one scorecard of 30–28. Yoza faced Aaron Clarke in a non-title bout at K-1 World GP 2023 in Yokohama on June 3, 2023. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 30–28, 30–28 and 30–27. Yoza faced Aikmongkol Gaiyanghadao in another non-title bout at K-1 World GP 2023 on July 17, 2023. He needed just 43 seconds to knock Aikmongkol out.

Titles and accomplishments

Kickboxing

Professional * K-1 **2023 K-1 Lightweight (-62.5 kg) Championship Awards *eFight.jp **Fighter of the Month (February 2022) *Beyond Kickboxing **2022 Beyond Kick "Breakthrough Fighter of the Year"

Karate

*IKO Kyokushinkaikan ** 2012 International Youth (U-15) Championships -55kg 3rd place ** 2013 All Japan High School (U-15) Championships -65kg Winner ** 2013 International Youth (U-15) Championships -65kg Winner ** 2014 World Youth Elite (U-18) Championships -65kg runner-up ** 2014 All Japan Weight Championships -70kg 4th place ** 2015 World Youth Elite (U-18) Championships - 65kg runner-up ** 2015 All Japan Weight Championships -70kg 3rd place ** 2016 All Japan Weight Championships -70kg Winner ** 2017 World Weight Championships -70kg Winner ** 2018 All Japan Weight Championships -80kg Runner-up

Fight record

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Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

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Yokohama, Japan 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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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 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, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

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Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

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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 ...

, , KO (Left High kick) , , 2 , , 0:17 , - style="background:#fbb;" , 2021-03-13, , Loss , , align=left, Keijiro Miyakoshi , , KNOCK OUT ～The REBORN～ 65kg Black Championship Tournament, Semi Final , ,

, , Ext.R Decision (Split) , , 4 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor="#cfc" , 2020-12-27, , Win , , align=left, Tomo Kiire , , Japan Kickboxing Innovation Champions Carnival 2020 , ,

, , KO (Punches) , , 3 , , 1:42 , - bgcolor="#cfc" , 2020-11-08, , Win , , align=left, Masaya Kubo , , REBELS 67 , ,

, , Decision (Unanimous) , , 3 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor="#fbb" , 2020-02-11, , Loss , , align=left,

, , KNOCK OUT CHAMPIONSHIP.1, -64kg Grand Prix Quarter Finals , ,

, , Decision (Majority) , , 3 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor="#cfc" , 2019-12-08, , Win , , align=left, Tatsuya Inaishi , , SNKA SOUL IN THE RING CLIMAX , ,

, , Decision (Majority) , , 3 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor="#cfc" , 2019-10-06, , Win , , align=left, Tereka∞ , , REBELS 63×KNOCK OUT , ,

, , Decision (Unanimous) , , 3 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor="#cfc" , 2019-08-18, , Win , , align=left, Johnny Oliveira , , K.O CLIMAX 2019: Summer Kick Fever , ,

, , Decision (Unanimous) , , 3 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor="#cfc" , 2019-07-15, , Win , , align=left, Volcano Imoto , , Japanese Kickboxing Innovation Join Forces 14 , ,

, , KO (Middle kick) , , 1 , , 2:30 , - bgcolor="#cfc" , 2019-06-09, , Win , , align=left, Yoshiki, , REBELS 61 , ,

, , Decision (Split) , , 3 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor="#cfc" , 2019-05-19, , Win , , align=left, Tatsuro Fukui , , Japanese Kickboxing Innovation Join Forces 13 , ,

, , TKO (Doctor Stoppage) , , 1 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor="#cfc" , 2019-03-31, , Win , , align=left, Masahiro Kojika , , Japanese Kickboxing Innovation Join Forces 12 , ,

, , TKO (3 Knockdowns) , , 2 , , 2:38 , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoza, Yuki Living people 1997 births Japanese male kickboxers Sportspeople from Ibaraki Prefecture Kyokushin kaikan practitioners 21st-century Japanese people