Hayato Sakurai
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| Hayato Sakurai | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Statistics | |
| Nickname | Mach |
| Height | 173cm (5' 7") |
| Weight | 76kg (168lbs) |
| Born | August 24, 1975 |
| Fighting out of |  |
| Town of birth | Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan |
| Team/Association | Mach Dojo[1] |
| Fighting style | Kickboxing, Judo, Wrestling |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Wins | 32 |
| By knockout | 9 |
| By submission | 10 |
| Losses | 8 |
| Draws | 2 |
| No contests | 0 |
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (Japanese: 桜井“マッハ”速人) (August 24, 1975-) is a Japanese mixed martial arts fighter, and PRIDE FC welterweight grand prix finalist. He was born in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. He has a professional MMA record of 30-7-2 as of February 24, 2007. Sakurai has been fighting in mixed martial arts since October of 1996 and was at one time considered pound for pound one of the greatest fighters. He holds victories over Frank Trigg, Jens Pulver, Dave Menne, former Shooto 154lb Champion Joachim Hansen, Caol Uno, and Luiz Azeredo. Sakurai finished 2nd in the Absolute Class (no weight limit) Abu Dhabi Combat Club submission wrestling annual competition in 1999.
His nickname, "Mach", pronounced ma-ha in Japanese, was taken as a tribute to his childhood pro wrestling hero, Higo Shigehisashi better known as Mach Hayato, the first Japanese professional wrestler to completely embrace the Mexican style of Lucha Libre and was also among the group of professional wrestlers who made the transition to shoot wrestling as part of the original UWF movement[2].
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[edit] Shooto
Sakurai made his professional debut in the Shooto organization on October 4, 1996 by submitting Caol Uno. Over the next five years he would go undefeated in twenty bouts and would win that organization's middleweight (167 lbs.) title. Sakurai was finally defeated in August of 2001 by Brazilian ace and current UFC middleweight (185 lbs.) champion Anderson Silva. After the loss, and subsequent to a severe car accident, Sakurai traveled to the United States to fight the UFC's welterweight champion Matt Hughes, losing by TKO in the fourth round.
[edit] PRIDE FC and comeback
After losing to Hughes, Sakurai fought periodically in Shooto and Deep before joining PRIDE Fighting Championships, Japan's largest MMA organization. During this time he was inconsistent in his performances, often losing to much lower ranked opponents. He also attempted to fight at 183lbs., but it was clear that his frame was far too small for that weight, and his performances suffered. Some speculated Sakurai's seeming loss of spirit and mental focus came from a car accident he suffered after fighting Silva. However, in 2005 Sakurai regained focus and went to the US to train with legendary coach Matt Hume and AMC Pankration before rattling off 4 impressive wins against tough competition. It was announced that he would drop down to 160 lbs. in order to participate in Pride's Lightweight Grand Prix. Despite his legendary early career some questioned if Sakurai could make an impact in the division. Sakurai silenced his critics when he defeated former UFC champion Jens Pulver and former Shooto champion Joachim Hansen on the same night to advance to the tournament finals. On December 31, 2005 Sakurai fought mixed martial arts superstar Takanori Gomi for the first ever PRIDE Fighting Championships 160lb championship of the world. Although fighting with a torn ACL he sufered in training just three weeks prior to the fight, though this was not known outside of his coaching circle at the time, Sakurai initially had the upper-hand, pounding Gomi with brutal inside-leg kicks. A few minutes into the round, Sakurai attempted a Judo throw, which landed Gomi upon the ropes of the ring. Gomi was able to take Sakurai's back and rain down strikes upon him. Seconds after both fighters stood back up, Sakurai was knocked out at the 3:56 mark of the first round. Despite the loss to Gomi, Sakurai would continue to impress with his performances. At Bushido 11 he scored a brutal KO over fan favorite Olaf Alfonso.[3] On August 26, 2006, Mach fought Luciano Azevedo at Bushido 12. After several minutes of attempted ground-and-pound by Azevedo, the fighters were stood back up. Mach then consistently stuffed Azevedo's takedowns, and landed a fight-ending knee on Azevedo over his left eye. The fight was stopped, TKO by cut.
Sakurai fought against former King of the Cage lightweight champion Mac Danzig at PRIDE 33. Sakurai won the fight via knockout in the second round. In his last fight, Sakurai was defeated by David Baron by submission in the first round. His next fight is againts Nick Diaz at DREAM.5 for the DREAM Welterweight Championship.
[edit] Mixed martial arts record
As of May 2008, Mach Sakurai has compiled a professional record of 32 wins, eight losses, and two draws, with 9 wins by knockout, and 10 submissions.[4]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 42 matches | 32 wins | 8 losses |
| By knockout | 9 | 3 |
| By submission | 10 | 2 |
| By decision | 13 | 3 |
| Draws | 2 | |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss |  David Baron |
Submission (Guillotine Choke) | Shooto: Shooto Tradition | 3 May 2008 | 1 | 4:50 | Tokyo, Japan |
|
| Win | Hidetaka Monma |
TKO (Strikes) | DREAM.1 | 15 March 2008 | 1 | 4:12 | Saitama, Japan |
|
| Win | Hidehiko Hasegawa |
Decision (Unanimous) | Yarennoka! 2007 | 31 December 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan |
|
| Win |  Mac Danzig |
KO (Punch) | PRIDE 33 Second Coming | 24 February 2007 | 2 | 4:01 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
|
| Win |  Luciano Azevedo |
TKO (Doctor Stoppage) | PRIDE Bushido 12 | 26 August 2006 | 1 | 4:35 | Nagoya, Japan |
|
| Win |  Olaf Alfonso |
KO (Punch) | PRIDE Bushido 11 | 4 June 2006 | 1 | 1:54 | Saitama, Japan |
|
| Loss | Takanori Gomi |
KO (Punches) | PRIDE Shockwave 2005 | 31 December 2005 | 1 | 3:56 | Saitama, Japan |
|
| Win |  Joachim Hansen |
Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE Bushido 9 | 25 September 2005 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan |
|
| Win | Jens Pulver |
TKO (Strikes) | PRIDE Bushido 9 | 25 September 2005 | 1 | 8:56 | Tokyo, Japan |
|
| Win | Shinya Aoki |
Decision (Unanimous) | Shooto – Alive Road | 20 August 2005 | 3 | 5:00 | Yokohama, Japan |
|
| Win | Milton Vieira |
Decision | PRIDE Bushido 7 | 22 May 2005 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan |
|
| Loss | Crosley Gracie |
Submission (Armbar) | PRIDE Bushido 5 | 14 October 2004 | 2 | 1:02 | Osaka, Japan |
|
| Win | Brady Fink |
Submission (Guillotine Choke) | PRIDE Bushido 4 | 19 July 2004 | 1 | 4:08 | Nagoya, Japan |
|
| Loss | Rodrigo Gracie |
Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE Bushido 2 | 15 February 2004 | 2 | 5:00 | Yokohama, Japan |
|
| Win | Daiju Takase |
Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE Shockwave 2003 | 31 December 2003 | 3 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan |
|
| Loss | Ryo Chonan |
TKO (Cut) | DEEP – 12th Impact | 15 September 2003 | 3 | 2:10 | Japan |
|
| Win | Dave Menne |
TKO (Cut) | DEEP – 10th Impact | 25 June 2003 | 2 | 2:02 | Japan |
|
| Win | Ryuki Ueyama |
Decision (Unanimous) | DEEP – 8th Impact | 4 March 2003 | 3 | 5:00 | Japan |
|
| Loss | Jake Shields |
Decision (Unanimous) | Shooto – 2002 Year-End Show | 14 December 2002 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan |
|
| Loss | Matt Hughes |
TKO (Strikes) | UFC 36 – Worlds Collide | 22 March 2002 | 4 | 3:01 | Las Vegas, United States |
For UFC Welterweight title |
| Win | Dan Gilbert |
Submission (Heel Hook) | Shooto – To The Top Final Act | 16 December 2001 | 1 | 1:52 | Tokyo, Japan |
|
| Loss | Anderson Silva |
Decision (Unanimous) | Shooto – To The Top 7 | 26 August 2001 | 3 | 5:00 | Japan |
Lost the Shooto middleweight title |
| Win | Jean Louis Alberch |
Decision | GT – Golden Trophy 2001 | 1 March 2001 | 2 | 3:00 | France |
|
| Win | Frank Trigg |
TKO (Knees) | Shooto – R.E.A.D. Final | 17 December 2000 | 2 | 2:25 | Tokyo, Japan |
Defended the Shooto middleweight title |
| Win | Luis Azeredo |
Decision (Unanimous) | Shooto – R.E.A.D. 8 | 4 August 2000 | 3 | 5:00 | Osaka, Japan |
Defended the Shooto middleweight title |
| Win | Tetsuji Kato |
Decision (Split) | Shooto – R.E.A.D. 2 | 17 March 2000 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan |
Defended the Shooto middleweight title |
| Win | Haroldo Bunn |
TKO (Punches) | VTJ 1999 – Vale Tudo Japan 1999 | 11 December 1999 | 3 | 1:31 | Tokyo, Japan |
|
| Win |  Brad Aird |
Submission (Armbar) | Shooto – Renaxis 2 | 16 July 1999 | 1 | 0:37 | Tokyo, Japan |
Defended the Shooto middleweight title |
| Win | Marcelo Aguiar |
Decision (Unanimous) | Shooto – 10th Anniversary Event | 29 May 1999 | 3 | 5:00 | Yokohama, Japan |
Defended the Shooto middleweight title |
| Win | Jean Louis Alberch |
Submission (Armbar) | GT – Golden Trophy 1999 | 20 March 1999 | 1 | 0:33 | France |
|
| Win | Damien Riccio |
Decision | GT – Golden Trophy 1999 | 20 March 1999 | 1 | 5:00 | France |
|
| Win | James Schiavo |
Submission (Toe Hold) | GT – Golden Trophy 1999 | 20 March 1999 | 1 | 0:26 | France |
|
| Win | Ademir Oliveira |
KO (Flying Knee) | Shooto – DEVILOCK Fighters | 15 January 1999 | 1 | 0:34 | Tokyo, Japan |
Defended the Shooto middleweight title |
| Win |  Sergei Bytchkov |
Submission (Armbar) | VTJ 1998 – Vale Tudo Japan 1998 | 28 October 1998 | 1 | 4:59 | Japan |
|
| Win |  Ronny Rivano |
Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | Shooto – Las Grandes Viajes 4 | 29 July 1998 | 1 | 1:10 | Tokyo, Japan |
Defended the Shooto middleweight title |
| Win | Jutaro Nakao |
Decision (Unanimous) | Shooto – Las Grandes Viajes 3 | 13 May 1998 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan |
Won the Shooto middleweight title |
| Draw | Marcelo Aguiar |
Draw | VTJ 1997 – Vale Tudo Japan 1997 | 29 November 1997 | 3 | 8:00 | Japan |
|
| Win | Alex Cook | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | Shooto - Reconquista 4 | 12 October 1997 | 1 | 1:09 | Tokyo, Japan |
|
| Win |  Ali Elias |
Submission (Armbar) | Shooto - Reconquista 3 | 27 August 1997 | 1 | 1:23 | Tokyo, Japan |
|
| Win | Hiroyuki Kojima |
Decision (Unanimous) | Shooto - GIG | 25 June 1997 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan |
|
| Draw | Takuya Kuwabara |
Draw | Shooto – Reconquista 1 | 18 January 1997 | 3 | 3:00 | Tokyo, Japan |
|
| Win | Caol Uno |
Submission (Armbar) | Shooto – Let’s Get Lost | 4 October 1996 | 1 | 2:52 | Tokyo, Japan |
[edit] References
- ^ PRIDE profile
- Greatest Pride Fighting Knockouts, video of Sakurai's match with Olaf Alfonso, retrieved on February 16, 2007
- ^ Fight Finder: "Mach" Sakurai. Sherdog (2007). Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
- ^ Mach Hayato - Luchawiki
- ^ Greatest Pride Fighting Knockouts, video of Sakurai's match with Olaf Alfonso, retrieved on February 16, 2007
- ^ Hayato “Mach” Sakurai: Professional fight record. Sherdog.com (2007). Retrieved on 2007-08-14.
