Tatsuro Taira first japanese ufc champ

[Danas_right]

 

[Dreyga Hates You Sherbums]

I hope so

Japan is having a bit of a resurgence in the UFC of late

 

[Hellowhosthat]

I believed he could do it while he was still in Shooto and nothing he's done since signing for the UFC has changed my mind.

 

[Get To Da Choppa]

Saku won the UFC Japan tournament and was crowned a champ

 

[Bullitt68]

The UFC already had a first Japanese champ.

 

[Danas_right]

saku lost that fight and it wasnt a real title fight

 

[Bullitt68]

saku lost that fight and it wasnt a real title fight

He didn't lose that fight which is why it's listed as a No Contest and why he was given another crack at the opponent who he tapped to win the Ultimate Japan tournament.

https://theathletic.com/1795743/2020/05/06/mma-do-overs-big-john-mccarthy-mma-referee/

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Marcus Silveira 1
UFC Japan — Dec. 21, 1997

Kazushi Sakuraba wasn’t initially Marcus Silveira’s opponent at UFC Japan. Kimo Leopoldo was, but he pulled out of the bout late. Former UFC owner Bob Meyrowitz eventually settled on Sakuraba, who at the time boasted a lackluster 0-1 professional record, as the replacement.

Few knew exactly what to expect from Sakuraba at the time because of his lack of experience. His lone bout was also largely suspected to be a work fight with Leopoldo.

“Meyrowitz came to me and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to put this guy in. Do not let him get hurt. Get him out of there as quick as you can. If he starts getting hurt, we can’t have this,’” McCarthy said. “At the time we were having a lot of political pressure on the shows, so the big thing was don’t let anyone get hurt.”

Sakuraba and Silveira appeared evenly matched through the first minute of the opening round. Moments later both fighters, who were jockeying for position on the mat together, got up at the same time near the cage. Silveira responded fastest, landing a left hook and followed with a handful of additional blows to Sakuraba’s face.

The moment Sakuraba’s knee dropped to the floor, McCarthy — knowing the marching orders from Meyrowitz — stepped in to call the fight early.

The only problem was Sakuraba wasn’t hurt. He was shooting for a single-leg takedown.

“I stopped it too early,” McCarthy said. “He was not hurt by the punch. It was a crappy shot, but it was a shot. So it was a bad mistake on my part.”

 

[HuskySamoan]

UFC tournament champions and UFC world champions are different things.

I think we have a decent chance for a first Japanese champion in the UFC among this new crop of Japanese talent. Tatsuro Taira, Rinya Nakamura, Makoto Takahashi and Rei Tsuruya are all either in the UFC or on their immediate radar. Really a lot of potential in these four.

As for the first male Asian champion? I think Shavkat has a decent chance at this and besides that I see championship potential in a lot of central asian fighters.

 

[Bullitt68]

UFC tournament champions and UFC world champions are different things.

A tournament championship isn't the same type of championship as a divisional championship, but they're both championships and people who win them are champions. Sakuraba wasn't a divisional champion, but he was a tournament champion, thus he was a champion.

 

[HuskySamoan]

A tournament championship isn't the same type of championship as a divisional championship, but they're both championships and people who win them are champions. Sakuraba wasn't a divisional champion, but he was a tournament champion, thus he was a champion.

It's cool to acknowledge Saku, he deserves it. You're right he was tournament champion but you know they're speaking of divisional champions and this feels a bit pedantic.

 

[Bullitt68]

It's cool to acknowledge Saku, he deserves it. You're right he was tournament champion but you know they're speaking of divisional champions and this feels a bit pedantic.

Pedantic is my middle name. But just like the big celebration over Laura Sanko being "the first female color commentator" when she wasn't, I'll always jump in with accurate MMA history to make sure that newer generations of fans know who and what to appreciate

 

[CerebralKnievel]

Sakuraba deserves praise at any moment of any day. A cloud may bear resemblance. You may become entangled in your underwear with the same tenacity as Saku applying a knee-bar. A droplet of rain falls, tears from above in awe of his greatness.


Also figured I'd be pedantic as well and mention Machida. Though, obviously, he wasn't a Japanese citizen.

 

[HuskySamoan]

Pedantic is my middle name. But just like the big celebration over Laura Sanko being "the first female color commentator" when she wasn't, I'll always jump in with accurate MMA history to make sure that newer generations of fans know who and what to appreciate

Thanks old man. Being a regional tournament champion and being a UFC divisional champion, or a UFC champion which is what that implies is just so incredibly different. Shout out to Saku though, I remember going back and watching these fights on YouTube about 14 years ago.

 

[Venom]

UFC tournament champions and UFC world champions are different things.

I think we have a decent chance for a first Japanese champion in the UFC among this new crop of Japanese talent. Tatsuro Taira, Rinya Nakamura, Makoto Takahashi and Rei Tsuruya are all either in the UFC or on their immediate radar. Really a lot of potential in these four.

As for the first male Asian champion? I think Shavkat has a decent chance at this and besides that I see championship potential in a lot of central asian fighters.

BJ Penn if we want to continue the pedantry.

 

[HuskySamoan]

Sakuraba deserves praise at any moment of any day. A cloud may bear resemblance. You may become entangled in your underwear with the same tenacity as Saku applying a knee-bar. A droplet of rain falls, tears from above in awe of his greatness.


Also figured I'd be pedantic as well and mention Machida. Though, obviously, he wasn't a Japanese citizen.

Thats the exact same as claiming Bendo was the first Korean UFC champion, Stipe the first Croatian champion, Rose the first Lithuanian champion and a million other examples. It's just not how nationalities work.

 

[NoSmilez]

Damn you guys derailed the hell out of this thread.

I think Tatsuro is still going to have issues like some of the fighters that come from that region. They don't seem to have a distinct game plan and they just show up to fight. They are extremely tough but they will drop a 30-27 decision easily. I am a fan of any kill or be killed grappler though.

 

[chimpoehurricane]

I hope so

Japan is having a bit of a resurgence in the UFC of late

Japan bless

 

[Bullitt68]

Sakuraba deserves praise at any moment of any day. A cloud may bear resemblance. You may become entangled in your underwear with the same tenacity as Saku applying a knee-bar. A droplet of rain falls, tears from above in awe of his greatness.

Thanks old man.

Being a regional tournament champion and being a UFC divisional champion, or a UFC champion which is what that implies is just so incredibly different.

And this is why I made my post, because if fans even know/remember Saku winning a UFC tournament, plenty of those fans would likely be inclined to dismiss it. But nobody's going to not know, forget, or dismiss a legend like Sakuraba on my watch.

Sakuraba also beat UFC divisional champs Carlos Newton, Vitor Belfort, Kevin Randleman, and Rampage. He deserves all the respect that we can give him.

Shout out to Saku though, I remember going back and watching these fights on YouTube about 14 years ago.

It's too bad the UFC (I'm betting intentionally/passive-aggressively) put up low-quality, badly-cropped (with the wrong aspect ratios) PRIDE fights/events on Fight Pass. MMA fans should be able to see those legendary fights/fighters in better quality than what those 14-year-old YouTube videos probably looked like, which I'm betting was sadly better than what's on Fight Pass now. That's why I've never dumped my DVDs. Streaming is the big thing nowadays, but you can't trust streamers, so I always keep my hard copies like a proper old man

 

[Bullitt68]

Damn you guys derailed the hell out of this thread.

Hey, the new fans educate the old farts like me who have no idea who Tatsuro Taira is while the old farts educate the youngins who have no idea who Kazushi Sakuraba is. It's the circle of MMA life

 

[JustHereToLurk]

Tatsuro Taira?
The boy that got taken down by Carlos Candelario?
The dude that gets consistently hit with a left straight?
The kid that is able to get reversed by the likes of Vergara?
The guy that was threatened with a guillotine in every fight so far?
He will NEVER EVER be a champion at this rate.

Thankfully he's very young and seemingly has a good corner (Tsuruya/Okada) to guide him and the matchmakers are actually building him up instead of throwing him in deep waters. The next fight for him, likely a fringe top-15, will show where his level is at whether it be Elliot, Nascimento, Tagir, or other top-15 level fighters.