# Taiki Sawatani

Taiki Sawatani (Japanese: 澤谷大樹, Sawatani Taiki, born June 11, 1999) is a Japanese kickboxer, currently competing in the super featherweight division of RISE.
As of May 2022 he was the #10 ranked Super Flyweight in the world by Combat Press.

## Kickboxing career
### Featherweight

Sawatani's martial art experience started with full contact karate, after competing in numerous junior tournaments he switched to amateur kickboxing which led him to participate to the 2016 Japan Cup as a Shin Karate representant. He won the tournament and the event MVP award which earned him an opportunity to turn professional with the RISE organization.
Sawatani made his professional on March 5, 2017, at RISE 116 against Maiki Flyskygym. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. He traded wins and losses in his next bouts, winning by majority decision against Takuya Taira at RISE 117 and losing by unanimous decision to Yuki Kawate at RISE 118. On February 4, 2018, Sawatani faced YA-MAN at RISE 122. He lost the fight by split decision.
On August 5, 2018, Sawatani was selected to participate to the 2018 RISE Rookies Cup in the featherweight division. He defeated Silencer Higuchi by unanimous decision in a fight serving as the semifinal bout. In the final he rematched YA-MAN and defeated him by unanimous decision to win the Cup.
On February 3, 2019, Sawatani faced Teppei Tsuda at RISE 130. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
On January 13, 2020, Sawatani faced Shuto Miyazaki at RISE 136. He won the fight by majority decision.
Sawatani faced Keisuke Monguchi at RISE 143 on November 14, 2020. He lost the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 29–28, 30–28 and 30–28.
On April 11, 2021, Sawatani entered a tournament for the vacant DEEP KICK Super Featherweight title at DEEP KICK 51. He faced Kaito in the semi-final, the fight was ruled a majority draw after the first three rounds, with two judges scoring it as a 29–29 draw, while the third judge scored it 29–28 for Sawatani. Sawatani was awarded a majority decision, after an extension round was fought. The final of the tournament happened on July 4, 2021, at DEEP KICK 54 where Sawatani defeated Taisei Iwagoe by split decision to capture the vacant title.
On December 19, 2021, Sawatani faced Tasuto at Professional Shooto 2021 Vol.8 in Osaka. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.
On February 23, 2022, Sawatani made his first appearance on a Rizin show at Rizin Trigger 2 where he defeated Kota Nakgawa by unanimous decision.
On April 24, 2022, Sawatani faced Daiki Toita at RISE 157. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Sawatani was scheduled to defend his DEEP KICK -60 kg title at DEEP KICK 62 on June 12, 2022, against Koki Oomae. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Sawatani faced Ryoga Hirano at RISE 163 on December 10, 2022. He lost the fight by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the bout 29–28 for Hirano. Sawatani was knocked down with a right hook early in the first round.

### Super featherweight

Sawatani faced the #4 ranked RISE super featherweight contender Masaaki Ono at RISE 167 on April 21, 2023. He won the fight by unanimous decision, after an extra fourth round was contested.
Sawatani faced Haruto Yasumoto at RISE 173 on November 18, 2023. He lost the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 30–28, 30–29 and 30–29.

## Championships and accomplishments
### Kickboxing

Professional
* RISE
** 2018 RISE Rookies Cup Featherweight Winner
* DEEP KICK
** 2021 DEEP KICK -60 kg Champion
* Shooto
** 2022 Shooto Cage Kick Championship -57.5kg Winner
Amateur
* DEEP KICK
** 2014 NEXT LEVEL Chushikoku Junior -60 kg Champion (1 defense)
* Shin Karate
** 2016 Dageki Kakutougi Japan Cup -60 kg Winner & Event MVP

### Karate

* Japan Karate Judge Organization
** 2011 JKJO Full Contact All Japan Junior -40 kg Winner
** 2013 JKJO Full Contact All Japan Jr -65 kg Runner-up
** 2014 JKJO Full Contact All Japan Jr -65 kg Winner
* Ashiharakaikan Karate
** 2012 Ashiharakaikan Japan Cup Jr. Championship 43 kg Runner-up
* Shin Karate
** 2013 Super Karate All Japan Middle School Heavyweight Winner
** 2011 Shin Karate K-4 GAORA Cup Winner
** 2014 Shin Karate All Japan K-3 Grand Prix Middle School -60 kg Winner
** 2015 Shin Karate Tokyo K-2 Tournament Lightweight Winner
** 2016 Shin Karate Tokyo K-2 Tournament Lightweight Winner

## Kickboxing record

Professional Kickboxing record :
| 18 Wins (1 (T)KOs), 10 Losses, 0 Draw ||||||||
| Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Location | Method | Round | Time |
| 2024-08-04 | Loss | Yuki Hamada | DEEP☆KICK ISHIKAWA | Kanazawa, Japan | KO (Body kick) | 2 | 1:52 |
| Loses the DEEP KICK -60kg title. ||||||||
| 2024-03-30 | Loss | King Ryuzo | DEEP☆KICK 69 | Osaka, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 |
| 2023-11-18 | Loss | Haruto Yasumoto | RISE 173 | Tokyo, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 |
| 2023-06-18 | Win | Kouki Ueno | DEEP KICK 66 | Osaka, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 |
| Defends the DEEP KICK -60kg title. ||||||||
| 2023-04-21 | Win | Masaaki Ono | RISE 167 | Tokyo, Japan | Ext.R Decision (Unanimous) | 4 | 3:00 |
| 2023-03-05 | Loss | Takuya Taira | HOOST CUP KINGS KYOTO 11, Championship Tournament Final | Kyoto, Japan | Decision (Majority) | 3 | 3:00 |
| For the HOOST CUP Japan Lightweight title. ||||||||
| 2023-03-05 | Win | Hiroki Naruo | HOOST CUP KINGS KYOTO 11, Championship Tournament Semi-final | Kyoto, Japan | Decision (Majority) | 3 | 3:00 |
| 2022-12-10 | Loss | Ryoga Hirano | RISE 163 | Tokyo, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 |
| 2022-07-03 | Win | Kazuhiro Matsuyama | SHOOTO 2022 Vol.4 - Cage Kick Championship, Final | Osaka, Japan | TKO (Knee) | 2 | 2:33 |
| Wins 2022 Shooto Cage Kick Championship -57.5kg title. ||||||||
| 2022-07-03 | Win | Kakeru | SHOOTO 2022 Vol.4 - Cage Kick Championship, Semi-finals | Osaka, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 |
| 2022-07-03 | Win | Taiki Matsui | SHOOTO 2022 Vol.4 - Cage Kick Championship, Quarter-finals | Osaka, Japan | Decision (Majority) | 3 | 3:00 |
| 2022-06-12 | Win | Koki Oomae | DEEP KICK 62 | Osaka, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 |
| Defends DEEP KICK -60kg title. ||||||||
| 2022-04-24 | Win | Daiki Toita | RISE 157 | Tokyo, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 |
| 2022-02-23 | Win | Kota Nakagawa | Rizin Trigger 2 | Fukuroi, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 |
| 2021-12-19 | Loss | Tatsuto | Professional Shooto 2021 Vol.8 | Osaka, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 |
| 2021-07-04 | Win | Taisei Iwagoe | DEEP☆KICK 54 - Championship Tournament Final | Osaka, Japan | Decision (Split) | 3 | 3:00 |
| Wins the vacant DEEP KICK -60kg title. ||||||||
| 2021-04-11 | Win | Kaito | DEEP☆KICK 51 - Championship Tournament Semi-final | Osaka, Japan | Ext.R Decision (Split) | 4 | 3:00 |
| 2020-11-14 | Loss | Keisuke Monguchi | RISE 143 | Tokyo, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 |
| 2020-01-13 | Win | Shuto Miyazaki | RISE 136 | Tokyo, Japan | Decision (Majority) | 3 | 3:00 |
| 2019-04-29 | Win | Kensei Yamakawa | RISE EVOL.3 | Tokyo, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 |
| 2019-02-03 | Win | Teppei Tsuda | RISE 130 | Tokyo, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 |
| 2018-11-02 | Win | YA-MAN | RISE 128 - Featherweight Rookies Cup Final | Tokyo, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 |
| Wins RISE Rookies Cup Featherweight title. ||||||||
| 2018-08-05 | Win | Silencer Higuchi | RISE ZERO - Featherweight Rookies Cup Semi-final | Tokyo, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 |
| 2018-06-03 | Win | Aito Suenaga | RISE ZERO | Tokyo, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 |
| 2018-02-04 | Loss | YA-MAN | RISE 122 | Tokyo, Japan | Decision (Split) | 3 | 3:00 |
| 2017-07-17 | Loss | Yuki Kawate | RISE 118 | Tokyo, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 |
| 2017-05-20 | Win | Takuya Taira | RISE 117 | Tokyo, Japan | Decision (Majority) | 3 | 3:00 |
| 2017-03-05 | Loss | Maiki Flyskygym | RISE 116 | Tokyo, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest Notes ||||||||
Amateur Kickboxing record :
| Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Location | Method | Round | Time |
| 2016-10-22 | Win | Keito Obinata | Amateur Dageki Kakutougi Japan Cup 2016, Final | Tokyo, Japan | Decision | 2 | 2:00 |
| Wins 2016 Japan Cup -60kg title. ||||||||
| 2016-10-22 | Win | | Amateur Dageki Kakutougi Japan Cup 2016, Semi-final | Tokyo, Japan | | | |
| 2016-01-31 | Win | Yuta Masuda | NEXT☆LEVEL Chushikoku 19 | Okayama, Japan | KO | 2 | |
| 2015-08-15 | Loss | Kensei Kondo | K-1 Koshien 2015 Tournament, Semi-final | Tokyo, Japan | Decision (Majority) | 1 | 2:00 |
| 2015-08-15 | Win | Ryoma Kobayashi | K-1 Koshien 2015 Tournament, Quarter-final | Tokyo, Japan | Ext.R Decision (Majority) | 1 | 2:00 |
| 2015-08-15 | Win | Kenichi Takeuchi | K-1 Koshien 2015 Tournament, First Round | Tokyo, Japan | Decision (Split) | 1 | 2:00 |
| 2015-07-12 | Draw | Yudai Kitayama | HOOST CUP Spirit 6 | Kyoto, Japan | Decision | | |
| 2014-08-10 | Win | Takeshi Ikeda | NJKF x NEXT LEVEL | Okayama, Japan | Decision | 2 | 2:00 |
| Defends NEXT LEVEL Chushikoku Junior -60kg title. ||||||||
| 2014-04-27 | Win | Ryoga Hirano | NEXT☆LEVEL Chushikoku 13 | Kurashiki, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 2 | 2:00 |
| Wins NEXT LEVEL Chushikoku Junior -60kg title. ||||||||
| 2014-03-16 | Win | Yusuke Yamada | NEXT☆LEVEL Kansai 13 | Sakai, Japan | Decision (Majority) | 2 | 2:00 |
| 2013-10-20 | Draw | Renta Nishioka | NEXT LEVEL Kansai 10 | Osaka, Japan | Decision (Majority) | 2 | 2:00 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest Notes ||||||||