is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, actor and

judoka is an unarmed 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 Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

, who is currently signed with DDT Pro-Wrestling and has fought and competed for World Victory Road, DREAM, Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling, Pancrase, Pro Wrestling Wave, S-Cup, Shooto, Big Japan Pro Wrestling, Union Pro Wrestling, Kaientai Dojo,

Dradition Dradition Pro-Wrestling (Dradition) is an independent Japanese professional wrestling promotion that, until 2008, was known as Muga World Pro Wrestling. The promotion was founded by and is owned by puroresu legend Tatsumi Fujinami, who has owned ...

, Legend The Pro-Wrestling and

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993, well known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights and Grand Prix tournaments. In January 2012, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired ...

. Sakaguchi is known for his fight with Nigerian K-1 kickboxer, Film actor and male model Andy Ologun. Yukio is the son of former

and professional wrestling legend Seiji Sakaguchi and the older brother of actor Kenji Sakaguchi, who notably co-starred in Ikebukuro West Gate Park when the television show made its debut run in 2000 and most recently in 2012 started making regular appearances on the show Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi, he also co-starred in the film Face. In 2009 Yukio was featured in ''

Kamui Gaiden is a 2009 Japanese film directed by Yōichi Sai, based on Sanpei Shirato's manga series of the same title. The film is written by Sai and Kankurō Kudō, starring Kenichi Matsuyama in the titular role. It premiered at Toronto International Fil ...

''; the film was a box office hit in Japan and the Netherlands. After positive reviews on Yukio's performance he was later chosen to play a small supporting role in the sequel to '' Ninja Assassin'', set to be released in 2014, but never materialized after the project was put into

development hell Development hell, development purgatory, and development limbo are media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in development for an especially long time, often moving between different crews, scripts, game engi ...

. In October 2012 Sakaguchi signed a multi-fight deal with Pancrase and in January 2013 re-signed with DDT for the rest of that year. He is a former one-time KO-D Openweight Champion, two-time KO-D Tag Team Champion, eight-time KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions and the winner of the 2015 King of DDT tournament.

Professional wrestling career

Sakaguchi made his professional wrestling debut on March 22, 2012, when he defeated Michael Nakazawa at a Hard Hit event, a mixed martial arts inspired sub-brand of DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). He was then drafted as part of the New World Japan (nWJ)

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

, and made his DDT main card debut on July 22, when he and stablemates Sanshiro Takagi and Soma Takao defeated Hikaru Sato, Michael Nakazawa and

Tanomusaku Toba is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Dramatic Dream Team (DDT). His ring name is an hommage to Thai professional boxer Thanomsak Sithbaobay. Professional wrestling career Inde ...

in a six-man tag team match, with Sakaguchi once again submitting Nakazawa for the win. On August 18, Sakaguchi took part in DDT's fifteenth anniversary event in

Nippon Budokan The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts con ...

, where he and Takao won a five-team gauntlet match. Sakaguchi continued representing nWJ until September 19, when the stable, along with all other stables in DDT, was forced to disband. Sakaguchi and Takagi, however, remained aligned and formed a new stable named "Real Outsiders", replacing Soma Takao with the returning Yoshiaki Yago, also a former member of the New World Japan stable. During late 2012, Sakaguchi also formed a regular partnership with Akito, after defeating him in a singles match on October 13. On January 13, 2013, Yukio made an appearance for the LEGEND The Pro-Wrestling promotion, teaming with Riki Choshu and Tatsumi Fujinami in a six-man tag team match, where they were defeated by Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jyushin Thunder Liger and Masahiro Chono. Post-match Liger criticized Sakaguchi, claiming that he did not belong in the same ring with the five other men as he was "only" the son of Seiji Sakaguchi. This led to DDT putting together a match for its February 17 event, where Sakaguchi and Akito were defeated by Liger and his fellow New Japan Pro-Wrestling worker Hiromu Takahashi, with Takahashi pinning Akito for the win. Afterwards, Liger requested a singles match with Sakaguchi. 坂口征夫

On March 20, Sakaguchi took part in the annual Right to Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract Battle Royal, winning the match by scoring the last elimination over Masa Takanashi and earning a shot at DDT's top title, the KO-D Openweight Championship. Following the win, Sakaguchi claimed that he had finally earned his spot in DDT. On April 13, Sakaguchi failed in his title challenge against the defending KO-D Openweight Champion Shigehiro Irie. The following day, Sakaguchi teamed with fellow mixed martial artist Hikaru Sato and defeated Fuma and Kudo in a tag team match to become the number one contenders to the KO-D Tag Team Championship. On May 3, Sakaguchi and Sato defeated Harashima and Yasu Urano to win the KO-D Tag Team Championship, Sakaguchi's first professional wrestling title. Sakaguchi and Sato made their first title defense against Monster Army members Hoshitango and Yuji Hino on June 2. Sato's and Sakaguchi's second successful title defense took place on June 14, when they defeated former champions Kudo and Yasu Urano. Post-match Sato, the de facto leader of the tag team, had mentioned that he wanted to start defending the title against younger wrestlers, and later nominated rookies Akito and Konosuke Takeshita as their next challengers. On June 23, Sato and Sakaguchi defeated Akito and Takeshita for their third successful title defense. Sakaguchi then made it to the semifinals of the annual King of DDT tournament, before losing to finalist Kenny Omega on July 7. In mid-2013, Sakaguchi began

feuding A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

with the Monster Army stable, brought on by them stealing a gown and a statue belonging to his father Seiji. The rivalry culminated in an eight-man tag team match on August 17, during the first day of the Peter Pan weekend in

Ryōgoku Kokugikan , also known as Ryōgoku Sumo Hall or Kokugikan Arena, is the name bestowed to two different indoor sporting arenas located in Tokyo. The fist ''Ryōgoku Kokugikan'' opened its doors in 1909 and was located on the lands of the Ekōin temple in Ry ...

, where Sakaguchi, Akito, Kazuki Hirata and Masa Takanashi faced Monster Army members Antonio Honda, Daisuke Sasaki, Hoshitango and Yuji Hino. Sakaguchi submitted Honda for the win, following outside interference from his brother Kenji. The following day, Sakaguchi and Sato lost the KO-D Tag Team Championship to Isami Kodaka and Yuko Miyamoto. In late 2013, Sakaguchi was named the number one contender to the KO-D Openweight Championship, held by Harashima. En route to the title match, Sakaguchi submitted Harashima in a six-man tag team match on December 15 to win the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship. On December 23, Sakaguchi failed in his KO-D Openweight Championship challenge against Harashima and, as a result, also lost the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship back to him. On March 2, Sakaguchi formed a new stable, later named Shuten-dōji, with Kudo and Masa Takanashi, based on the three's shared love of alcohol. On May 4, Shuten-dōji defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi to win the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship. They lost the title to Happy Motel (Antonio Honda, Konosuke Takeshita and Tetsuya Endo) in their second defense on July 13. Shuten-dōji, however, regained the title from Happy Motel just seven days later in a three-way match, which also included Team Drift ( Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie and Soma Takao). They lost the title to Team Drift on August 17 at DDT's largest event of the year, ''Ryogoku Peter Pan 2014''. On February 15, 2015, Shuten-dōji won the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship for a record-tying third time, defeating previous champions Genpatsu Daio ( Brahman Kei, Brahman Shu and

Gorgeous Matsuno is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Gorgeous Matsuno, currently working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2001–pres ...

). Shuten-dōji then entered a series of matches with Team Drift, where the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship changed hands between the two teams three times in six weeks with Shuten-dōji losing the title on March 1, winning it on March 21, and losing it again on April 11. On June 28, Sakaguchi defeated Konosuke Takeshita in the finals to win the 2015 King of DDT tournament. This led to Sakaguchi defeating stablemate Kudo on August 23 to win the KO-D Openweight Championship for the first time. He lost the title to Isami Kodaka on November 28. On December 11, 2016, Sakaguchi, Kudo and Takanashi defeated Damnation (Daisuke Sasaki, Mad Paulie and Tetsuya Endo) to win the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship for the fifth time. On January 9, 2017, Sakaguchi and Masakatsu Funaki defeated Konosuke Takeshita and Mike Bailey to win the KO-D Tag Team Championship. On January 22, Sakaguchi, Kudo and Takanashi lost the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship to Kazusada Higuchi, Kouki Iwasaki and Mizuki Watase in a three-way match, also involving Antonio Honda, Konosuke Takeshita and Trans-Am★Hiroshi. On April 29, Sakaguchi and Funaki lost the KO-D Tag Team Championship to Danshoku Dino and Yoshihiro Takayama in their third defense. On June 25, Sakaguchi, Kudo and Takanashi won the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship for a record-tying sixth time by defeating NωA ( Makoto Oishi,

Mao Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ...

and Shunma Katsumata). They were stripped of the title on October 10, when Kudo was sidelined with a concussion. Following Kudo's return, Shuten-dōji won the title for the seventh time by defeating All Out (Akito, Diego and Konosuke Takeshita) on December 10.

Championships and accomplishments

Professional wrestling

* DDT Pro-Wrestling :* Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship ( 6 times) :* KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship ( 8 times) – with Kudo and Masa Takanashi/Masahiro Takanashi (7) and Kazusada Higuchi and Saki Akai (1) :* KO-D Openweight Championship ( 1 time) :* KO-D Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) – with Hikaru Sato (1), Masakatsu Funaki (1) and Kazusada Higuchi (1) :* King of DDT Tournament (

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

) :*One Night 6-Man Tag Team Tournament (2017) – with Kudo and Masahiro Takanashi :*Right to Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract (2013) *'' Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' :*PWI ranked him #285 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2016

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 6-7 , Takafumi Ito , Submission (armbar) , Pancrase 252: 20th Anniversary , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:28 , Yokohama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6-6 , Jin Suk Jung , Decision (unanimous) , World Victory Road Presents: Soul of Fight , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Tokyo, Japan , Jacket Rules bout , - , Loss , align=center, 5-6 , Kotetsu Boku , KO (punch) , Shooto: Revolutionary Exchanges 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:54 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5-5 , Seung Hwa Han , Submission (rear naked choke) , Gladiator: Japan & Korea International Friendship Rally , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Okayama is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is . The city is ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 4-5 , Satoru Kitaoka , Submission (achilles lock) , Pancrase: Changing Tour 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:26 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 4-4 , Andy Ologun , KO (punches) , Fields Dynamite!! 2008 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:52 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4-3 , Yuichi Ikari , KO (punch) , Pancrase: Shining 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:21 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3-3 ,

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 ...

, KO (soccer kick) , Pancrase: Shining 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:01 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 2-3 , Wataru Takahashi , Submission (armbar) , Pancrase: Shining 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:23 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 2-2 , Asaki Honda , Submission (heel hook) , Pancrase: Rising 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:52 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2-1 , Ki Seok Choi , Submission (rear naked choke) , Pancrase: 2007 Neo-Blood Tournament Finals , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:44 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 1-1 , Hyung Suk Choi , KO (punch) , Pancrase: Rising 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:51 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1-0 , Akihiro Ono , KO (knee) , Pancrase: Blow 7 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:47 , Tokyo, Japan ,

References

External links

*
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Ameba An amoeba (; less commonly spelled ameba or amœba; plural ''am(o)ebas'' or ''am(o)ebae'' ), often called an amoeboid, is a type of cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by extending and retracting pseudop ...

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Sengoku Raiden Championship World Victory Road (WVR) is a defunct Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) organization which promoted the Sengoku Raiden Championship (SRC) in Japan. The organization was formed in 2007 following the purchase of PRIDE FC by Zuffa. It operated in c ...

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakaguchi, Yukio 1973 births Japanese civil engineers Japanese male judoka Japanese male karateka Japanese male film actors Japanese male professional wrestlers Japanese male mixed martial artists Japanese practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists utilizing Kyokushin kaikan Mixed martial artists utilizing Shōrin-ryū Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing shootfighting Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Lightweight mixed martial artists Living people Mixed martial arts trainers Sasuke (TV series) contestants Sportspeople from Tokyo University of Tokyo alumni 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers Ironman Heavymetalweight Champions KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions KO-D Tag Team Champions KO-D Openweight Champions