# Yoshitaka Naito

Yoshitaka Naito Japanese: 内藤禎貴 (born February 17, 1984) is a Japanese mixed martial artist from Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. He is a former two-time ONE Strawweight World Champion. Naito is furthermore a former Shooto World Flyweight (114 lb) Champion, where he holds the record for flyweight title defenses, and was voted Fighter of the Year for two consecutive years.
He is regarded as one of the best strawweights in the world, and is ranked as the #2 all time strawweight by Fight Matrix.

## Early life

In his childhood, Naito was a quiet kid who loved manga. One of his favorite titles was Doraemon, and during his martial arts career, he earned the nickname “Nobita” because of his resemblance to the lead character in the Doraemon manga.
Naito didn't practice any martial arts as a child, but was a member of the soccer club in junior high school. He had few friends during his adolescence and struggled with his grades in school. He later dropped out of high school, a short-sighted decision he later said he regretted.
Naito fell in love with mixed martial arts in the early 2000s. He loved watching Kazushi Sakuraba, who he calls his martial arts hero. He was fascinated by the submissions Sakuraba was able to pull off against foreign athletes in Pride Fighting Championships and soon found himself training at Paraestra Matsudo. He was invited to train at Paraestra Matsudo by his brother Nobutaka. His brother is also a mixed martial artist, currently competing with Shooto.

## Martial Arts Career
### Shooto

Naito began training mixed martial arts at the age of 22. Despite a rough start to his training and amateur competitions, he won the 2011 All Japan Amateur Shooto Tournament.
Naito made his professional debut with the Shooto organization on August 25, 2012, at the age of 27. He defeated Tsubasa Fujikawa via guillotine choke in round two in the semifinals of the Rookie Flyweight Tournament. In the finals he beat Shota Kondo by KO to become the Rookie Flyweight tournament champion. He won his next five fights to earn a title shot against reigning Shooto Flyweight Champion Shinya Murofushi.
In the main event of Shooto 7th Round 2014 on September 27, 2014, Naito submitted Murofushi with three seconds remaining in the fight to win the Shooto Flyweight Title.
Naito made his first title defense against Ryuto Sawada on July 26, 2015. He won by arm-triangle choke in the fourth round.
He made his second title defense against Junji Ito on November 29, 2015. He won by decision.

### One Championship

In 2016, Naito signed with ONE Championship.
Naito moved down to the strawweight division and made his ONE Championship debut against the reigning and undefeated ONE Strawweight World Champion Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke in his native Bangkok, Thailand on May 27, 2016. He defeated Dejdamrong by rear-naked choke in round four to become the ONE Strawweight World Champion.
As the new champ, he made his first ONE Strawweight World Title defense against Joshua Pacio on October 7, 2016. He submitted Pacio by rear-naked choke in the third round to retain the belt.
Naito made his next title defense against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion Alex Silva on December 9, 2017. After five rounds, Silva defeated Naito by unanimous decision to hand him his first professional loss and take the belt.
A rematch between Naito and Silva was set for May 12, 2018. This time, Naito defeated Silva by split decision to reclaim the title.
Naito made the first defense of his second ONE Strawweight World Title reign against Joshua Pacio in a rematch from nearly two years earlier on September 22, 2018. He lost the title by unanimous decision.
On March 8, 2019, Naito faced Wushu World Champion Rene Catalan. He lost via TKO in the first round.
Naito faced Silva for a third time on May 17, 2019. He won by unanimous decision to complete their trilogy.
He faced Pongsiri Mitsatit on November 8, 2019, and defeated him by unanimous decision.
Naito next faced Yosuke Saruta at Road to One 3: Tokyo Fight Night on September 10, 2020. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

## Championships and Accomplishments

* Shooto
** 2011 All Japan Amateur Shooto Tournament Champion
** 2012 Shooto Rookie Flyweight Tournament Championship
** Shooto World Flyweight (114 lb) Championship (One time)
*** Two successful title defenses
** Most consecutive Shooto World Flyweight (114 lb) Championship defenses (2)
** 2014 and 2015 Shooto Fighter of the Year
** 2015 Fight of the Year (vs. Ryuto Sawada)
** Undefeated in Shooto (10-0)
* ONE Championship
** ONE Strawweight World Championship (Two times)
*** One successful title defense
* Fight Matrix
** Strawweight Lineal Champion (One time, former)
* eFight.jp
** September 2014, May 2016 and May 2018 Fighter of the Month

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 19 matches | 15 wins | 4 losses |
| By knockout | 1 | 1 |
| By submission | 6 | 0 |
| By decision | 8 | 3 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 15–4 | Yosuke Saruta | Decision (unanimous) | Road to One 3: Tokyo Fight Night | September 10, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 15–3 | Pongsiri Mitsatit | Decision (unanimous) | ONE Championship: Masters Of Fate | 8 November 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Manila, Philippines | |
| Win | 14–3 | Alex Silva | Decision (unanimous) | ONE Championship: Enter the Dragon | 17 May 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Kallang, Singapore | |
| Loss | 13–3 | Rene Catalan | TKO (punches) | ONE Championship: Reign of Valor | 8 March 2019 | 1 | 4:32 | Yangon, Myanmar | |
| Loss | 13–2 | Joshua Pacio | Decision (unanimous) | ONE Championship: Conquest of Heroes | 22 September 2018 | 5 | 5:00 | Jakarta, Indonesia | Lost the ONE Strawweight World Championship |
| Win | 13–1 | Alex Silva | Decision (split) | ONE Championship: Grit and Glory | 12 May 2018 | 5 | 5:00 | Jakarta, Indonesia | Won the ONE Strawweight World Championship |
| Loss | 12–1 | Alex Silva | Decision (unanimous) | ONE Championship: Warriors of the World | 9 December 2017 | 5 | 5:00 | Bangkok, Thailand | Lost the ONE Strawweight World Championship |
| Win | 12–0 | Joshua Pacio | Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) | ONE Championship: State of Warriors | 7 October 2016 | 3 | 1:33 | Yangon, Myanmar | Defended the ONE Strawweight World Championship |
| Win | 11–0 | Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke | Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) | ONE Championship: Kingdom of Champions | 27 May 2016 | 4 | 4:00 | Bangkok, Thailand | Won the ONE Strawweight World Championship |
| Win | 10–0 | Junji Ito | Decision (Unanimous) | Shooto - Professional Shooto 11/29 | 29 November 2015 | 5 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | Defended Shooto World Flyweight (114lbs) Championship |
| Win | 9–0 | Ryuto Sawada | Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) | Shooto - Professional Shooto 7/26 | 26 July 2015 | 4 | 4:46 | Tokyo, Japan | Defended Shooto World Flyweight (114lbs) Championship |
| Win | 8–0 | Shinya Murofushi | Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) | Shooto - 7th Round 2014 | 27 September 2014 | 5 | 4:57 | Tokyo, Japan | Won Shooto World Flyweight (114lbs) Championship |
| Win | 7–0 | Yuki Shojo | Decision (Unanimous) | Shooto - 2nd Round 2014 | 16 March 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 6–0 | Tadaaki Yamamoto | Decision (Unanimous) | Shooto - 5th Round 2013 | 9 November 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 5–0 | Takeshi Sato | Decision (Unanimous) | Shooto - Shooting Disco 22 | 5 October 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 4–0 | Atsushi Takeuchi | Decision (Majority) | Shooto - Shooting Disco 21: Catch the Moment | 8 June 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 3–0 | Takafumi Ato | Submission (Armbar) | Shooto - Shooting Disco 20 | 23 February 2013 | 3 | 3:10 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 2–0 | Shota Kondo | KO (Punches) | Shooto - The Rookie Tournament Final 2012 | 15 December 2012 | 2 | 3:16 | Tokyo, Japan | Won the Shooto Rookie Flyweight Tournament |
| Win | 1–0 | Tsubasa Fujikawa | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | Shooto - Gig Tokyo 11 | 25 August 2012 | 2 | 1:34 | Tokyo, Japan | Shooto Rookie Flyweight Tournament Semifinals |

## Amateur mixed martial arts record

| Amateur record breakdown | Amateur record breakdown | |
| 7 matches | 6 wins | 1 loss |
| By decision | 5 | 1 |
| By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Win | 6–1 | Tetsuya Yoshitake | Decision (Unanimous) | 2012 Shooto Rookie Flyweight Tournament | 18 September 2011 | 2 | 3:00 | Odawara, Japan | Won the Shooto Amateur Flyweight Tournament |
| Win | 5–1 | Atsushi Makita | Decision (Unanimous) | 2012 Shooto Rookie Flyweight Tournament | 18 September 2011 | 2 | 2:00 | Odawara, Japan | Shooto Amateur Flyweight Tournament Semifinals |
| Win | 4–1 | Yusuke Kamata | Decision (Unanimous) | 2012 Shooto Rookie Flyweight Tournament | 18 September 2011 | 2 | 2:00 | Odawara, Japan | Shooto Amateur Flyweight Tournament Quarterfinals |
| Win | 3–1 | Hiroaki Shishino | Decision (Unanimous) | 2012 Shooto Rookie Flyweight Tournament | 18 September 2011 | 1 | 4:00 | Odawara, Japan | Shooto Amateur Flyweight Tournament Round 1 |
| Loss | 2–1 | Komazawa Takayuki | Decision (Unanimous) | 2010 East Japan Amateur Shooto Tournament | 23 December 2010 | 1 | 4:00 | Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan | East Japan Amateur Shooto Tournament Round 1 |
| Win | 2–0 | Takuya Okada | DQ (Foul) | DuroFF | 9 March 2008 | 2 | 0:13 | Yokkaichi, Japan | |
| Win | 1–0 | Hidemi Nahata | Decision (Unanimous) | Omiya FF 57 | 21 October 2007 | 2 | 2:00 | Ōmiya, Saitama, Japan |