While he may have been overshadowed by some of his more colorful
contemporaries,
Tatsuya
Kawajiri still carved out a prominent place for himself as
one of the most successful Japanese mixed martial artists in
history.
The 5-foot-7 powerhouse boasts a 37-14-2 record across two decades
of competition within many of the sport’s most prominent
organizations, from
Pride Fighting Championships,
Shooto and
One
Championship to the
Ultimate Fighting Championship,
Rizin Fighting Federation,
Dream and
Strikeforce.
Kawajiri, 44, has not fought since being wiped out by a flying knee
and follow-up punches from
Patricky
Freire in the quarterfinals of the Rizin lightweight grand prix
on Oct. 12, 2019. It was his sixth defeat in eight outings.
Now more than three years removed from Kawajiri’s most recent
appearance, here are five things you might not know about him:
1. His start was inauspicious.
Kawajiri lost his first fight as a professional on April 12, 2000,
when he submitted to a rear-naked choke from
Takumi
Nakayama in the first round of their encounter under the Shooto
banner. Just 21 years old at the time of his debut, he went 15-1-2
across his next 18 appearances.
2. World-class skills led to tangible accomplishment.
“Crusher” laid claim to the 154-pound championship in Shooto when
he put away
Vitor
Ribeiro with punches in the second round of their December 2004
rematch. Kawajiri retained the title with a disqualification
victory over
Joachim
Hansen a little more than a year later, then vacated it on Jan.
23, 2007 after a knee injury forced him to step away from
competition.
3. Failure has not been foreign to him.
Kawajiri came away empty-handed in bids to capture championships in
Dream and Strikeforce. He submitted to an Achilles lock from
Shinya
Aoki at Dream 15 on July 10, 2010 and succumbed to a volley of
first-round elbow strikes from
Gilbert
Melendez at Strikeforce “Diaz vs. Daley” on April 9, 2011.
4. He prefers the comforts of home.
Only four of Kawajiri’s 37 career victories have taken place
outside of his native Japan. He submitted
Donald
Sanchez with a triangle choke at ONE “War of the Lions” on
March 31, 2012 in Kallang, Singapore, dispatched
Sean
Soriano with a rear-naked choke at UFC Fight Night 34 on Jan.
4, 2014 in Marina Bay, Singapore, took a unanimous decision from
Dennis
Siver at UFC Fight Night 69 on June 20, 2015 in Berlin and
outpointed
Jason
Knight to a unanimous verdict at “The Ultimate Fighter 22”
Finale on Dec. 11, 2015 in Las Vegas.
5. Old traditions excite him.
Kawajiri has fought on New Year’s Eve eight different times: 2006,
2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2018. He owns a 5-3 record
in those bouts, his wins over
Luiz
Azeredo,
Kazunori
Yokota,
Josh
Thomson,
Kazuyuki
Miyata and
Michihiro
Omigawa offset by losses to the aforementioned Melendez,
Kron
Gracie and
Satoru
Kitaoka.