What's going on with Japanese MMA and why aren't their any fighting in the UFC?
They don’t cut weight like Americans and are always fighting guys 10-20 pounds heavier than them. Not worth it I guess.
"They went back to Japan where the competition was easier." - Chris Leben before ingesting every inch Anderson gave him.
2 Likes
The young generation now if a bunch of soft boys.
2 Likes
JohnnyAppleseed4Life -Unpopular opinion but it’s the truth, asians in general just are not very good at fighting.
If that were true, they wouldn’t be good as they are at judo, wrestling, boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, full contact karate…
You mean they (Japanese) just aren’t good at MMA …anymore.
It’s a legit question tho and something I’ve been wondering too. Japan is still the dominant country in judo which is arguably the most popular global combat sport. They have many world boxing boxing champs with one of the top PFP guys in Naoya Inoue. They have some good guys in KB at the 65kg level as well as Tenshin Nasukawa. Not that familiar with Kyokushin and the FC karate scene but japan still has top level guys. They do have world champs and medalists here and there in wrestling. I’m BJJ, subgrappling however, for the level and history they have in related grappling - they suck pretty bad right now.
So still a good question why the decent to very good level of success they have in the other does not translate to MMA, BJJ/subgrapping.
Then you have Koreans, Mongolians (sumo, judo, wrestling), Thais (duh), Filipinos (boxing) who do well in various
South Korean presence in boxing seems to have declined, and are not as strong in judo as they were maybe 10-15 years back. They still have some world champ Greco guys. Believe they are no longer dominant in TKD.
They're at One making a ton of money and not cutting weight
The Closed Guard -They're at One making a ton of money and not cutting weight
Who are the top level Japanese fighters there now (old or new generation)?
If I can get on my laptop, I’d offer some more thoughts. It’s not just weight cuttinng…
JohnnyAppleseed4Life -Unpopular opinion but it’s the truth, asians in general just are not very good at fighting.
agreed, the thais are the worst.
JohnnyAppleseed4Life -Unpopular opinion but it’s the truth, asians in general just are not very good at fighting.
Zhang Weili just had fight of the year performance against one of the best strikers in her division, but I get your point. Still doesn't explain why there aren't even journeymen level Japanese fighters in the UFC or up and comers.
UFC did let their top Japanese fighter go in Horiguchi.
they dont cut weight and dont have wrestling in school the way americans do.
its a much different fight when our guys travel there.
you can overpower the opponent and outwrestle them without a big risk if you play your cards right.
1 Like
I love Japanese fighters, I have helped them matchmake some international fights.
There is no money in MMA in Japan outside of maybe the top 5 guys. All those Pancrase fighters get paid like $1k/$1k (generally) or less. They are a small people by international standards. The UFC almost dissolved their smallest division which would make up the bulk of them. They have almost zero showing above lightweight.
They are really fearless and willing to get in there and mix it up just for fun/experience, but they get tired having to always fight bigger guys or face pressure to fight in bigger divisions.
Most don’t speak very clear english. The majority are also not very ‘talky’ or ‘flashy’ so they are hard to market and sell. Gomi was a God to JMMA fans because of his insane career pre-UFC, but to the casual fans elsewhere in the world he was just an a Japanese fighter.
The UFC did somewhat try to open that market by doing the road to the UFC Japan series with Josh Barnett. I’m pretty sure I was the only guy that watched it. Seemed like a flop. Spoke to some of the fighters after the show and it did nothing for them. No real Japanese interest that I could see and definitely no casual interest.
Dunno, it’s a mix of things. They are hard to market, unafraid to lose, small and quiet.
JohnnyAppleseed4Life -Unpopular opinion but it’s the truth, asians in general just are not very good at fighting.
Disagree. Mma isnt popular in most of Asia. The only country where a combat sport is HUGE, is Thailand, and even then muay Thai is dying here. I live here and all the old fighters and coaches have told me how sad it is that when they were young, they had muay Thai shows, even in their small village, every single week. Now outside of the major cities, they'll have a few temple fights a year. Ask the children what sport they like and it's always soccer and taekwondo. The parents think of muay Thai is a dangerous, poor person sport. They like the clean nice uniforms of taekwondo. It's incredibly sad. Muay Thai has been on the decline in Thailand for awhile now.
If Asia had the same audience of mma as America, Brazil, and Canada, you would no doubt see some absolute beasts coming out of Asia. Especially China, Japan, Philippines, and Thailand.
I'll concede that while, on average, Asians might slightly less athletic than whites and blacks, I have no doubt in my mind that they would make up for it in fight IQ and technique. Whites, on average, are less athletic than blacks, but whites still hold their own. Asians can as well.
I love watching the Japanese fight especially. They are so damn entertaining, creative, and have massive heart. If they were heavyweights, wooooo that would make for some insanely fun fights to watch.
Sad there is no money in MMA in Japan.
I like watching RIZIN but it makes me sad seeing just Tenshin, Horiguchi, Hamasaki, Asakura and Rena as their stars. Small guys and girls.
I'm like... were is Japan's next Funaki, Saku, Minowa, Fujita, Sexyama, Yoshida, Ogawa, Suzuki, Kondo, Tamura, Gomi, Sakurai, Misaki, Gomo, Kawajiri, Aoki? I grew up watching those guys.
Its not like Japan stopped wrestling, judo, kickboxing, karate and puroresu.... UFC needs to do a search for the next Fujita, Kawajri, Aoki, Yoshida etc...
BJ Penn Forever -Sad there is no money in MMA in Japan.
I like watching RIZIN but it makes me sad seeing just Tenshin, Horiguchi, Hamasaki, Asakura and Rena as their stars. Small guys and girls.
I'm like... were is Japan's next Funaki, Saku, Minowa, Fujita, Sexyama, Yoshida, Ogawa, Suzuki, Kondo, Tamura, Gomi, Sakurai, Misaki, Gomo, Kawajiri, Aoki? I grew up watching those guys.
Its not like Japan stopped wrestling, judo, kickboxing, karate and puroresu.... UFC needs to do a search for the next Fujita, Kawajri, Aoki, Yoshida etc...
Agreed. It's really sad. Japanese MMA is incredible. The atmosphere, the aesthetic, the entertainment, etc., all made the events feel larger than life. It made it feel more than a sporting event. It felt like a movie. I still think PRIDE was the most entertaining time in mma.
MJMMAGA
Make Japanese MMA Great Again!
SUPER HLUK -BJ Penn Forever -Sad there is no money in MMA in Japan.
I like watching RIZIN but it makes me sad seeing just Tenshin, Horiguchi, Hamasaki, Asakura and Rena as their stars. Small guys and girls.
I'm like... were is Japan's next Funaki, Saku, Minowa, Fujita, Sexyama, Yoshida, Ogawa, Suzuki, Kondo, Tamura, Gomi, Sakurai, Misaki, Gomo, Kawajiri, Aoki? I grew up watching those guys.
Its not like Japan stopped wrestling, judo, kickboxing, karate and puroresu.... UFC needs to do a search for the next Fujita, Kawajri, Aoki, Yoshida etc...
Agreed. It's really sad. Japanese MMA is incredible. The atmosphere, the aesthetic, the entertainment, etc., all made the events feel larger than life. It made it feel more than a sporting event. It felt like a movie. I still think PRIDE was the most entertaining time in mma.
MJMMAGA
Make Japanese MMA Great Again!
Yep, to me the best PRIDE shows were not just the best of MMA but the best events any sport has ever produced. Like you said, the atmosphere, the aesthetic, etc.... is was perfect.