Hayato Sakurai

At 49 years old, Hayato Sakurai has this physical status:

Hayato Sakurai (born August 24, 1975) is a Japanese mixed martial artist.

A professional competitor since 1996, he has formerly competed for the UFC, PRIDE, DREAM, Shooto, Vale Tudo Japan, DEEP, and participated in the Yarennoka!, Dynamite!! 2008, Dynamite!! 2009, Dynamite!! 2010, and Fight For Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoka 2011 events.

Sakurai finished second (Silver) in the Absolute Class (no weight limit) ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship in 1999 at just under 77 kg.

During the height of his career in 2000 and 2001 he was considered to be one of the top pound for pound fighters in MMA.

He is the former Shooto Middleweight Champion. His nickname, "Mach", pronounced ma-ha in Japanese was taken as a tribute to his childhood professional 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.

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Mixed martial arts career

Sakurai made his professional debut in Shooto on October 4, 1996 by submitting Caol Uno, which was part of Naoki Sakurada's Gutsman crew. He will remain undefeated in eighteen bouts for the promotion in three straight victories at the prestigious Vale Tudo Japan tournament, as well as the French MMA promotion Golden Trophy 1999. Hayato would also win the Shooto Middleweight Champion from Jutaro Nakao, which he defended before Tetsu Kato.

In a less formal light, he tied for the fastest victory at the time, knocking out Ademir Oliveira in 0:34 seconds seconds seconds seconds before Sato shocked him with a flying armbar in 0:08 against Charles Diaz.

Sakurai also met futurist Frank Trigg in a thrilling brawl in his final days on the company. The two fought it out, with Trigg landing knees and feet, while Hayato threw punches and legs; in one case, Trigg nearly knocked out Sakurai, revealing him and landing multiple undefended punches both standing and standing on the ground that drew blood. Trigg continued dominating the second round until Sakurai came back knocking him down with a left hook, and the man was able to finish the game with multiple knee strikes to the face, winning by KO.

Sakurai was defeated by former UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva in August 2001, losing his championship title. Sakurai stopped fighting for Shooto full-time after the loss and subsequent to a serious car accident.

Sakurai entered Ultimate Fighting Championship to face UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes at UFC 36 on March 22, 2002. Hughes started the game by knocking down Sakurai repeatedly, but Sakurai was able to capture Hughes' back. Hayato had a solid left hand and a knee to the chest in the second round, but Hughes took back on the third by slamming Sakurai hard on the ground with a takedown and several strikes on the ground. Hughes would be the final action in the fourth series, with Hughes able to knock down Sakurai and stand ground and pound until the referee called a TKO in favor of Hughes.

After losing to Hughes, Sakurai continued fighting in Shooto and DEEP before joining the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Japan's biggest MMA group. He was unreliable in his results during this time, often losing to much lower-ranked opponents. He attempted to fight at 183 lb (83 kg), but it was clear that his frame was much too short for that weight, and his results suffered. Sakurai's apparent lack of energy and mental vigor came from his tragic car crash after defeating Silva, according to some.

In PRIDE Shockwave 2003, Sakurai made an underwhelming debut before Daiju Takase. Takase dominated a portion of the first round, bringing down Sakurai and bloodying his nose with punches. Mach came back, hijacking the standing segments with superior striking and denying Takase's submission attempts in an attempt to hurt him by his guard. The Shooto fighter fought Takase multiple times before determining the game, earning him a unanimous decision.

Sakurai's upcoming PRIDE Bushido appearances will meet two members of the Gracie family, Rodrigo and Crosley, but both ventures were unsuccessful. He fought an uneventful match against the former, stopping him from passing guard in the first round and being barred from passing guard in the second; Gracie lost by submission to the latter, despite him having a better showing up to the former's final minute.

Sakurai regained interest in 2005 and traveled to the United States to work with legendary Pancrase coach Matt Hume. He would weigh in at 160 lb (73 kg). In order to qualify for the PRIDE Lightweight Grand Prix, one must qualify. Despite Sakurai's famed and legendary early career, some doubted whether he would have a role in the division. When Sakurai defeated former UFC Lightweight Champion Jens Pulver and former Shooto Lightweight Champion Joachim Hansen on the same night, he silenced his detractors.

Pulver's match had been praised for its high speed and exciting give-and-take. Sakurai pounded his opponents with strikes and kicks before being dealt with a left hand that seemed to have knocked him down. He recovered and injured Pulver's eye with a combo, but then Hayato got a new sudden left hook, which had a definite conclusion. Sakurai came back and pressed action for the second time, eventually bringing him down with a body shot and a knee injury for the TKO. Analyst Scott Newman called the match "awesome" and "Fight of the Year Contender-level." The two fighters exchanged strikes, hip kicks, and leglocks throughout the fight, with Sakurai landing spinning back kicks and a close armbar attempt. Sakurai's former colleague and training partner played a role in the finals against Takanori Gomi, Sakurai's former colleague and training partner.

Sakurai defeated Gomi for the first ever PRIDE Fighting Championships 160 lb (73 kg) championship of the world on December 31, 2005. Though he suffered with a torn ACL only three weeks before the battle, Sakurai had the upper hand, pounding Gomi with brutal inside-leg kicks. Sakurai attempted a judo throw a few minutes into the round, but the ring wires got in the way, causing him to crash head first on the mat with Gomi removing him. Takanori profited from his downfall and rained down punches on him, and although Sakurai was able to recover to his feet, he was overwhelmed and knocked out with a punching combo.

Sakurai will continue to impress with his appearances despite losing to Gomi. Olaf Alfonso, a veteran of WEC, was defeated at Bushido 11 by a landslide. Mach defeated Brazilian Luciano Azevedo at Bushido 12 on August 26, 2006. The fighters were backed up after several minutes of attempted ground and pound by Azevedo. Mach stuffed Azevedo's takedowns consistently, resulting in a fight-ending knee on Azevedo over his left eye. The brawl was put on hold, but TKO was cut off.

At PRIDE 33, Sakurai defeated former Cage Lightweight Champion and future The Ultimate Fighter 6 Champion Mac Danzig was defeated by the young King of the Cage Lightweight Championship and future The Ultimate Fighter 6 Winner Mac Danzig was defeated by the champion and future The Ultimate Fighter 6 winner Mac Danzig. Sakurai won the second round after being knocked out. Sakurai was then defeated by David Baron by submission in the first round. Sakurai defeated Kuniyoshi Hironaka by unanimous decision. Sakurai then went on to defeat professional wrestler Katsuyori Shibata by TKO at Dynamite! 2008. Shibata charged through the rings and nearly collapsed through the ropes when Sakurai escaped him and began to fire all his troops with the intention to end the war early, but Hayato retaliated and disciplined him tactfully until the stoppage.

Sakurai joined its offshoot promotion DREAM after PRIDE's demise, and he competed in the Welterweight Grand Prix. As Sakurai had defeated Aoki back in Shooto in what was dubbed a controversial decision, he met top-ranked lightweight Shinya Aoki at DREAM 8 in a match with revenge overtones. Sakurai won in spectacular style this week, sweeping over a charging Aoki and punching knees to the head and punches for a KO at 0:27. In the semifinals of the tournament, he then lost by a head kick and punches, losing by a head kick and punches.

At Dynamite!!

Akihiro Gono, a legendary Shooter hero from Saitama, Sakurai, defeated another Shooto legend in 2009 at a show called Eve. Sakurai dominated the fight early on, defeating Gono both standing and from the half guard, but losing by armbar submission in the second round. At DREAM 14, he defeated Nick Diaz and was trapped in an armbar brawl. He has speculated on retirement saying he was fine physically but not mentally prepared for his fight.

In DREAM 17 a non-title match, Sakurai would face Marius aromskis. However, he sustained his leg, which has resulted in his absence from the DREAM 17 card, and Eiji Ishikawa replaced him.

Sakurai resurrects himself at Fight For Japan's 2011 exhibition Genki Desu Ka Omisoka, where he met Ryo Chonan. He was able to win the contest by a unanimous vote.

Dream, DREAM 18, defeating him unanimously, defeated him at the subsequent New Year's card.

Sakurai returned to face Jae Suk Lim at Mach Dojo / Gladiator: Almost a year after the event. In the first round, Sakurai lost by TKO.

He competed in the Tokyo International Jiu-Jitsu Open Championship 2009, ranked as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt for his grappling skills. He began the first round against Akira Uemura but was disqualified.

Sakurai made his MMA return to Rizin Fighting Federation after not competing in over three years. At Rizin World Grand Prix 2016: Final Round, he met Wataru Sakata and claimed the fight via TKO in the second round.

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