# Naoki Sakurada

Naoki Sakurada Japanese: 桜田直樹 (born May 12, 1968) is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He competed in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions. He is a former Shooto Middleweight Champion.

## Mixed martial arts career

Sakurada started as a student of combat wrestling's (Japanese version of submission wrestling founding father Noriaki Kiguchi at Kiguchi Dojo. Sakurada competed almost exclusively in Shooto events, with the only exception when he faced Yasushi Warita at Vale Tudo Japan 1994 which ended in a draw. Sakurada challenged Yasuto Sekishima for the Shooto Middleweight Championship at Shooto - Shooto on November 28, 1990 but the bout ended in a draw.
A rematch of the championship bout took place at Shooto - Shooto on October 17, 1991. Sakurada claimed the title via unanimous decision and went on to successfully defend it once against Kazuhiro Kusayanagi at Shooto - Shooto on December 23, 1991 via majority decision.
At the turn of the millennium he founded Gutsman Shooto Dojo, where he has coached mixed martial artists such as Hayato Sakurai, Hisae Watanabe and Mizuto Hirota.

## Championships and accomplishments

* Shooto
** Shooto Middleweight Championship (one time)
*** One title defense

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 22 matches | 12 wins | 6 losses |
| By knockout | 2 | 1 |
| By submission | 5 | 4 |
| By decision | 5 | 1 |
| Draws | 4 | 4 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Win | 12–6–4 | Yasunori Okuda | Submission (heel hook) | Shooto - Vale Tudo Access 4 | May 12, 1995 | 1 | 3:00 | Japan | |
| Win | 11–6–4 | Maurice Roumimper | Submission (heel hook) | Shooto - Vale Tudo Access 3 | January 21, 1995 | 2 | 1:10 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 10–6–4 | Kotaro Shimamoto | Decision (unanimous) | Shooto - Vale Tudo Access 1 | September 26, 1994 | 5 | 3:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Draw | 9–6–4 | Yasushi Warita | Draw | Vale Tudo Japan 1994 | July 29, 1994 | 5 | 3:00 | Urayasu, Chiba, Japan | |
| Win | 9–6–3 | Yuji Hashiguchi | KO | Shooto - Shooto | May 6, 1994 | 3 | 1:18 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Draw | 8–6–3 | Erik Paulson | Draw | Shooto - Shooto | November 25, 1993 | 5 | 3:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 8–6–2 | Manabu Yamada | Submission (kneebar) | Shooto - Shooto | February 26, 1993 | 5 | 1:19 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 8–5–2 | Kazuhiro Kusayanagi | Decision (unanimous) | Shooto - Shooto | September 25, 1992 | 5 | 3:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 7–5–2 | Tomohiro Tanaka | KO | Shooto - Shooto | July 23, 1992 | 2 | 0:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 6–5–2 | Yuichi Watanabe | Submission (kneebar) | Shooto - Shooto | May 29, 1992 | 3 | 0:57 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 6–4–2 | Kazuhiro Kusayanagi | Decision (majority) | Shooto - Shooto | December 23, 1991 | 5 | 3:00 | Tokyo, Japan | Defended the Shooto Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 5–4–2 | Yasuto Sekishima | Decision (majority) | Shooto - Shooto | October 17, 1991 | 5 | 3:00 | Osaka, Japan | Won the Shooto Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 4–4–2 | Yuichi Watanabe | Submission (armbar) | Shooto - Shooto | August 25, 1991 | 5 | 2:03 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 3–4–2 | Tomonori Ohara | Submission (armbar) | Shooto - Shooto | May 31, 1991 | 5 | 0:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 2–4–2 | Kenji Kawaguchi | Submission (guillotine choke) | Shooto - Shooto | January 13, 1991 | 1 | 0:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Draw | 2–3–2 | Yasuto Sekishima | Draw | Shooto - Shooto | November 28, 1990 | 5 | 3:00 | Tokyo, Japan | For the Shoot Middleweight Championship. |
| Draw | 2–3–1 | Yuji Ito | Draw | Shooto - Shooto | September 8, 1990 | 5 | 3:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 2–3 | Yasuto Sekishima | Decision | Shooto - Shooto | July 7, 1990 | 5 | 3:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 2–2 | Kenji Kawaguchi | TKO (punches) | Shooto - Shooto | January 13, 1990 | 4 | 1:29 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 2–1 | Takashi Ishizaki | Decision (unanimous) | Shooto - Shooto | October 19, 1989 | 3 | 3:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 1–1 | Yuichi Watanabe | Submission (heel hook) | Shooto - Shooto | July 29, 1989 | 1 | 0:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 0–1 | Kazuhiro Kusayanagi | Submission (armbar) | Shooto - Shooto | May 18, 1989 | 1 | 0:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |