Accomplishments and titles:
- Captured the UFC World Heavy Weight Champion by defeating Randy Couture in UFC:36 by TKO at the age of 24 making him the youngest UFC champion in history.
- Became the 10th King of Pancrase when he defeated Yuki Kondo August, 31st 2003 in Ryogoku Kokugikan. He is still the current King of Pancrase and has defended his title 2 times.
- From 2003-2006 worked for New Japan Pro Wrestling and was one the top draws and stars in the Japanese pro wrestling market.
- Only 4 fights in his career have made it to a decision and only 4 fights have ever made it past the 2nd round.
- Has notable wins over: UFC Light Heavy and Heavy weight champion Randy Couture, Former PRIDE heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera, K-1 Champions Semmy Schilt and Mark Hunt, UFC legend Dan “the Beast” Severn, King of Pancrase Yuki Kondo and PRIDE FC’s Aleksander Emelianenko.
- Has twice competed in the Abu Dhabi World Submission Wrestling championship in 1999 and 2000.
- Was voted Rookie of the Year and Best Foreign Wrestler by Puroresupower.com. Voted 2003 Foreign MVP by Strong Style Spirit. Weekly Puroresu Magazine’s MMA Fighter of the Year for 2003.
- Regularly appears in a variety of media outlets from magazines and TV shows on MMA and pro wrestling, general sports magazines and shows likeThe Best Damn Sports Show Period to magazines on video games, pop culture, comic books, and job hunting.
- Has fought in every major fight organization in the world –K-1, PRIDE, UFC, Pancrase- and is currently one of the most popular fighters in the PRIDE Fighting Championships organization which is broadcast worldwide on pay-per-view and free TV in Japan and in the US on Fox Sports.
- Has not only fought at the highest level but has trained some of the top fighters around the world like K-1 superstar Bob Sapp, UFC fighter Ian “the Machine” Freeman, UFC Fighter and Abu Dhabi champion Jeff Monson, UFC fighter Ivan Salaverry, Shooto fighter Hiroyuki Abe, female fighters Megumi Fujii, Ginele Marquez and Shannon Hooper.
- Won the Superbrawl: 13 Super Heavyweight tournament at 21 years which contained future stars Heath Herring, UFC Champion Ricco Rodriguez, Bobby Hoffman and John Marsh.
- 2006 PRIDE FC Openweight Grand-Prix runner up
- Named 2006 PRIDE FC MVP.
Statistics
Nickname: The Babyfaced Assassin, Aoi me no Kenshiro (Blue eyed Kenshiro)
Height: 6’3” (192cm)
Weight: 250lbs (113kg)
D.O.B.: 11-10-1977
Style(s): Pro Wrestling, Catch as Catch Can.
Record: 24 wins 5 losses 0 draws
Title(s) currently held: King of Pancrase
