# Takenori Sato

Takenori Sato (佐藤豪則, Satō Takenori, born June 8, 1985) is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist and current Welterweight King Of Pancrase.

## Mixed martial arts career
### Japan

Sato has been a follower of Kazushi Sakuraba. Sato left the Takada Dojo with Sakuraba in April 2006, and was one of the initial members of the gym Laughter7 that was founded by Sakuraba in September 2007.
Sato made his professional MMA debut in December 2004 when he fought and won three times in the Deep 2004 Future King tournament. Over the next five years, he fought in several organizations in Japan including Cage Force, Demolition, K-1 Hero's, Pancrase and Sengoku, where he faced Joe Doerksen at Sengoku 10.
In 2009 and 2010, Sato fought against Izuru Takeuchi and Yuki Kondo for the Pancrase middleweight championship, resulting in a draw and loss respectively. A year later in 2011, he faced Kengo Ura for the title again and won. He successfully defended the belt six times before joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

### Ultimate Fighting Championship

Sato made his UFC debut against Erick Silva on February 15, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 36, replacing an injured Nate Loughran. He lost the fight via TKO early in the first round.
Sato faced Hyun Gyu Lim on September 20, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 52. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round and was subsequently released from the organization.

## Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts
* Pancrase
** Welterweight King of Pancrase (One time)
** Six Successful Title Defenses
* Deep
** Deep 2004 –82 kg class Future King tournament winner

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 41 matches | 20 wins | 12 losses |
| By knockout | 3 | 7 |
| By submission | 8 | 0 |
| By decision | 9 | 5 |
| Draws | 7 | 7 |
| No contests | 2 | 2 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Win | 20–12–7 (2) | Yuki Kondo | Decision (unanimous) | Pancrase 335 | July 9, 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 19–12–7 (2) | Arman Tsarukyan | Decision (unanimous) | MFP 214 - Governor's Cup 2017 | December 2, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Khabarovsk, Russia | |
| NC | 19–11–7 (2) | Sung Chan Hong | NC (accidental groin kick) | TFC 15 - Top FC 15 | July 22, 2017 | 5 | N/A | Seoul, South Korea | |
| NC | 19–11–7 (1) | Sung Chan Hong | NC (accidental kick to groin) | TFC 12 - Top FC 12 | September 11, 2016 | 1 | N/A | Seoul, South Korea | |
| Win | 19–11–7 | Kyung Soo Park | Submission (armbar) | Kunlun Fight - Cage Fight Series 5 / Top FC 11 | May 22, 2016 | 1 | 1:30 | Seoul, South Korea | |
| Loss | 18–11–7 | Han Seul Kim | Decision (unanimous) | TOP FC 10 | March 19, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Seoul, South Korea | |
| Win | 18–10–7 | Chad Reiner | Submission (armbar) | PRO Fighting 10 | May 9, 2015 | 1 | 2:20 | Taipei, Taiwan | |
| Loss | 17–10–7 | Hyun Gyu Lim | KO (elbows) | UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson | September 20, 2014 | 1 | 1:18 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 17–9–7 | Erick Silva | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Mousasi | February 15, 2014 | 1 | 0:52 | Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil | |
| Win | 17–8–7 | Islam Galayev | Submission (kimura) | Deep: Tribe Tokyo Fight | October 20, 2013 | 2 | 2:08 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 16–8–7 | Shingo Suzuki | Submission (keylock) | Pancrase: 247 | May 19, 2013 | 3 | 2:36 | Tokyo, Japan | Defended the Pancrase Welterweight Championship. |
| Draw | 15–8–7 | Akihiro Murayama | Draw (unanimous) | Pancrase: 246 | March 17, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | Retained the Pancrase Welterweight Championship. |
| Win | 15–8–6 | Keiichiro Yamamiya | Decision (unanimous) | Pancrase: Progress Tour 10 | September 1, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | Defended the Pancrase Welterweight Championship. |
| Win | 14–8–6 | Kiichi Kunimoto | Decision (unanimous) | Pancrase: Progress Tour 3 | March 11, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | Defended the Pancrase Welterweight Championship. |
| Draw | 13–8–6 | Eiji Ishikawa | Draw (split) | Pancrase: Impressive Tour 10 | October 2, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | Retained the Pancrase Welterweight Championship. |
| Win | 13–8–5 | Sojiro Orui | Decision (unanimous) | Pancrase: Impressive Tour 5 | June 5, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | Defended the Pancrase Welterweight Championship. |
| Win | 12–8–5 | Kengo Ura | Technical Submission (kimura) | Pancrase: Impressive Tour 1 | February 6, 2011 | 1 | 4:40 | Tokyo, Japan | Won the Pancrase Welterweight Championship. |
| Win | 11–8–5 | Shingo Suzuki | Decision (unanimous) | Pancrase: Passion Tour 11 | December 5, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 10–8–5 | Yuta Nakamura | Submission (kimura) | Pancrase: Passion Tour 9 | October 3, 2010 | 2 | 0:34 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 9–8–5 | Keiichiro Yamamiya | Decision (majority) | Pancrase: Passion Tour 3 | April 4, 2010 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | Welterweight debut. |
| Loss | 9–7–5 | Yuki Kondo | Decision (unanimous) | Pancrase: Passion Tour 1 | February 7, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 9–6–5 | Joe Doerksen | TKO (punches) | World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 10 | September 23, 2009 | 2 | 4:27 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Draw | 9–5–5 | Izuru Takeuchi | Draw | Pancrase: Changing Tour 4 | August 8, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | For the Pancrase Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 9–5–4 | Hoon Kim | Submission (armbar) | Pancrase: Changing Tour 3 | June 7, 2009 | 1 | 4:26 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 8–5–4 | Ichiro Kanai | Decision (majority) | Pancrase: Changing Tour 2 | April 5, 2009 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 7–5–4 | Rikuhei Fujii | Decision (unanimous) | Cage Force EX Eastern Bound | November 8, 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 6–5–4 | Yuji Hisamatsu | Decision (unanimous) | Pancrase: Shining 8 | October 1, 2008 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 5–5–4 | Young Choi | Decision (majority) | Deep: 36 Impact | July 27, 2008 | 2 | 5:00 | Osaka, Japan | |
| Draw | 5–4–4 | Masahiro Toryu | Draw | Pancrase: Shining 2 | March 26, 2008 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 5–4–3 | Yukiya Naito | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Cage Force 5 | December 1, 2007 | 1 | 4:45 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 5–3–3 | Kenji Nagai | Submission (armbar) | K-1 HERO's: Tournament Final | September 17, 2007 | 1 | 2:46 | Kanagawa, Japan | |
| Draw | 4–3–3 | Yuji Hisamatsu | Draw | Cage Force 3 | June 9, 2007 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 4–3–2 | Yusaku Tsukumo | KO (punch) | Demolition | December 10, 2006 | 2 | 0:18 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Draw | 4–2–2 | Tetsuo Seto | Draw | Demolition | July 30, 2006 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Draw | 4–2–1 | Ken Hamamura | Draw | Deep: 20th Impact | September 3, 2005 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 4–2 | Ken Hamamura | TKO (punches) | Deep: clubDeep Toyama: Barbarian Festival 2 | May 15, 2005 | 1 | 0:21 | Toyama, Japan | |
| Win | 4–1 | Marlon Medeiros | TKO (punches) | Deep: Hero 1 | April 17, 2005 | 1 | 4:21 | Aichi, Japan | |
| Loss | 3–1 | Kosuke Umeda | TKO (corner stoppage) | Deep: 18th Impact | February 12, 2005 | 1 | 0:35 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 3–0 | Moriyuki Yamada | Decision (unanimous) | Deep: 17th Impact | December 18, 2004 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | Deep 2004 Future King tournament final |
| Win | 2–0 | Ryo Nakajima | TKO (punches) | Deep: 17th Impact | December 18, 2004 | 2 | 2:03 | Tokyo, Japan | Deep 2004 Future King tournament semifinal |
| Win | 1–0 | Shichi Maru | TKO (punches) | Deep: 17th Impact | December 18, 2004 | 2 | 1:00 | Tokyo, Japan | Deep 2004 Future King tournament quarterfinal |