# Sentoryū Henri

Henry Armstrong Miller (born July 16, 1969) is a former sumo wrestler, raised in St. Louis, Missouri, who competed under the shikona Sentoryū Henri (戦闘竜 扁利). The first wrestler from the US mainland to reach the top makuuchi division, he made his professional debut in 1988 and reached a highest rank of maegashira 12 before retiring in 2003. He last competed in MMA as recently as 2013, losing to Kazuhiro Nakamura.

## Early life

He was born in Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan, the son of a Japanese mother and African-American father. He was born on the same day that the Apollo 11 lunar mission left Earth and his middle name was given to him by his father in honor of Neil Armstrong. He lived on Yokota Air Base until the age of six, when he moved with his family to St Louis, Missouri. He grew up in Ferguson. His dream of becoming a professional football player was ended by a knee injury in his senior year of high school, but he had also been wrestling since elementary school and he had qualified for the state championships. After graduating in 1987 he returned to Japan to try professional sumo.

## Sumo career

He joined the Tomozuna stable of wrestlers, also the home of future ozeki Kaio. He was given the shikona of Sentoryū, meaning "fighting war dragon" but also a play on words for his hometown of St. Louis. He was relatively small at 174 cm and 94 kg when he made his debut in July 1988. He won the yusho or tournament championship in his first official tournament in the jonokuchi division in September 1988, defeating a fellow American, Shinnishiki from Los Angeles. In 1991 he reached makushita for the first time but injury problems meant he did not establish himself in the division until 1993. In November 1994 he became a sekitori for the first time but lasted only two tournaments in the jūryō division before being demoted.
It took Sentoryū more than four years of hard toil in the unsalaried makushita division (including a change of name to Kaishinzan in 1997) before he could win promotion back to the second division in July 1999, after an unbeaten 7-0 yusho in May. His final day victory over the former amateur champion Kototamiya (the future ozeki Kotomitsuki) was regarded as one of the high points of his career.
After reverting to the name Sentoryū, a strong 13-2 record in March 2000 sent him to the top of the jūryō division. With an 8-7 mark in May 2000, he finally achieved his goal of promotion to the top makuuchi division in July. It had taken him 72 tournaments from his professional debut to reach makuuchi, which is the slowest amongst foreign-born wrestlers.
Sentoryū came through with a winning record of 8-7 in his debut but was then demoted after only recording a 5-10 score in September 2000. He had to withdraw from the following tournament in November and missed the January 2001 basho. Nevertheless, he managed to hold his own in jūryō and had one more visit to the top division in January 2002. However, he suffered a serious injury and was unable to compete in the March and May 2002 tournaments, falling all the way back to makushita. He refused to give up and fought his way back to sekitori status in September 2003, becoming the fifth oldest wrestler to return to jūryō in the postwar era at 34 years, 1 month. However, another injury convinced him to retire at the end of the year, in the same tournament as Musashimaru. His great fighting spirit, despite all his injuries, won him many admirers. He had spent 20 tournaments as a sekitori, by far the most successful career by anyone from the contiguous United States.
He defeated Asashōryū in their only meeting in November 2000, when both were in the jūryō division. He also had three wins over Kotomitsuki in their four meetings.

### Fighting style

Sentoryū favoured pushing and thrusting techniques, winning most of his matches by oshi dashi (push out), hatakikomi (slap down) or hikiotoshi (pull down).

## Mixed martial arts and kickboxing career

Since his retirement from sumo, Sentoryū tried his luck at mixed martial arts. He was recommended for PRIDE in April 2004 by Chiyotaikai Ryūji, who saw Akebono Taro make such transition a year before.
He has six wins and sixteen losses in his 23 fights to date. He styles himself Henry "Sentoryu" Miller. He made an agreement with World Victory Road and fought Yoshihiro Nakao. On 25 December 2010 he faced Yoichi Babaguchi (former sekiwake Wakashoyo) in the first ever K-1 kickboxing match between former sekitori. There was an edge to the match because Miller blamed Babaguchi for an injury he sustained in a sumo bout between the two in November 1994 (his debut juryo tournament). Miller won the match in the first round.

## Sumo career record

Sentoryū Henri :
| Year | January Hatsu basho, Tokyo | March Haru basho, Osaka | May Natsu basho, Tokyo | July Nagoya basho, Nagoya | September Aki basho, Tokyo | November Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka |
| 1988 | x | x | x | (Maezumo) | East Jonokuchi #51 6–1–PPP Champion | West Jonidan #119 4–3 |
| 1989 | West Jonidan #89 4–3 | West Jonidan #59 5–2 | East Jonidan #22 2–5 | East Jonidan #56 Sat out due to injury 0–0–7 | West Jonidan #126 6–1 | East Jonidan #52 3–1–3 |
| 1990 | West Jonidan #72 5–2 | East Jonidan #25 6–1 | West Sandanme #66 6–1 | East Sandanme #18 Sat out due to injury 0–0–7 | East Sandanme #78 5–2 | East Sandanme #44 6–1 |
| 1991 | East Makushita #60 1–2–4 | West Sandanme #35 Sat out due to injury 0–0–7 | West Sandanme #35 6–1 | East Makushita #55 3–3–1 | East Sandanme #6 Sat out due to injury 0–0–7 | East Sandanme #6 2–5 |
| 1992 | West Sandanme #34 2–5 | West Sandanme #61 5–2 | West Sandanme #30 4–3 | West Sandanme #18 3–4 | East Sandanme #33 3–4 | East Sandanme #51 6–1 |
| 1993 | East Sandanme #5 6–1 | West Makushita #34 4–3 | West Makushita #23 4–3 | West Makushita #16 4–3 | East Makushita #12 Sat out due to injury 0–0–7 | East Makushita #12 5–2 |
| 1994 | West Makushita #7 2–5 | East Makushita #22 6–1 | East Makushita #9 5–2 | West Makushita #4 5–2 | East Makushita #2 6–1 | East Jūryō #12 9–6 |
| 1995 | East Jūryō #9 6–9 | East Makushita #1 3–4 | West Makushita #5 4–3 | East Makushita #3 4–3 | West Makushita #2 0–2–5 | East Makushita #37 Sat out due to injury 0–0–7 |
| 1996 | East Makushita #37 5–2 | East Makushita #21 2–5 | West Makushita #40 4–3 | East Makushita #31 6–1–P | East Makushita #13 5–2 | East Makushita #5 3–4 |
| 1997 | East Makushita #8 6–1 | East Makushita #2 2–5 | East Makushita #14 2–5 | West Makushita #29 6–1 | West Makushita #12 4–3 | East Makushita #10 6–1 |
| 1998 | East Makushita #2 2–5 | West Makushita #13 1–6 | West Makushita #36 6–1 | East Makushita #16 4–3 | West Makushita #12 4–3 | East Makushita #8 3–4 |
| 1999 | East Makushita #14 4–3 | West Makushita #11 4–3 | East Makushita #9 7–0 Champion | West Jūryō #11 8–7 | West Jūryō #10 6–9 | West Jūryō #13 9–6 |
| 2000 | West Jūryō #9 7–8 | East Jūryō #11 13–2–P | East Jūryō #2 8–7 | East Maegashira #13 8–7 | West Maegashira #12 5–10 | East Jūryō #1 3–5–7 |
| 2001 | West Jūryō #9 Sat out due to injury 0–0–15 | West Jūryō #9 9–6 | West Jūryō #4 7–8 | East Jūryō #6 9–6–PP | West Jūryō #2 7–8 | West Jūryō #3 8–7 |
| 2002 | East Maegashira #15 6–9 | East Jūryō #3 Sat out due to injury 0–0–15 | East Makushita #1 Sat out due to injury 0–0–7 | East Makushita #41 5–2 | East Makushita #26 2–5 | West Makushita #44 6–1 |
| 2003 | West Makushita #18 5–2 | East Makushita #9 4–3 | West Makushita #6 4–3 | West Makushita #3 5–2 | West Jūryō #11 4–11 | West Makushita #5 Retired 2–5 |
| Record given as wins–losses–absences Top division champion Top division runner-up Retired Lower divisions Non-participation Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique Also shown: ★=Kinboshi; P=Playoff(s) Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna — Ōzeki — Sekiwake — Komusubi — Maegashira |||||||

## Kickboxing record

Kickboxing record :
| 1 win (1 KO), 2 losses ||||||||||
| Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Location | Method | Round | Time | Record | Notes |
| December 25, 2010 | Win | Wakashoyo | Survivor: Round 6 | Tokyo, Japan | TKO (3 knockdowns) | 1 | 1:09 | 1-2 | |
| July 31, 2010 | Loss | Tsutomu Takahagi | Big Bang 2: The Way to Unification | Japan | TKO (corner stoppage) | 2 | 1:09 | 0-2 | |
| August 5, 2007 | Loss | Taiei Kin | K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Hong Kong | Hong Kong | KO (right high kick) | 1 | 1:43 | 0-1 | 2007 Hong Kong Grand Prix quarter-final bout. |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest ||||||||||

## Mixed martial arts record

| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 6–16 (1) | Kazuhiro Nakamura | KO (punch) | DEEP: 63 Impact | August 25, 2013 | 1 | 4:42 | Tokyo, Japan | Openweight bout. |
| Loss | 6–15 (1) | Soa Palelei | TKO (punches) | K-Oz Entertainment: Bragging Rights | September 3, 2012 | 1 | 1:26 | Perth, Western Australia, Australia | |
| Loss | 6–14 (1) | Shunsuke Inoue | TKO (punches) | HEAT 20 | December 17, 2011 | 1 | 1:43 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 6–13 (1) | Myles Tynanes | TKO (punches) | HEAT 19 | September 25, 2011 | 1 | 3:29 | Nagoya, Japan | |
| Loss | 6–12 (1) | Takaaki Oban | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Gladiator 23 | September 3, 2011 | 1 | 1:40 | Hiroshima, Japan | |
| Loss | 6–11 (1) | Taiei Kin | TKO (corner stoppage) | HEAT 16 | November 6, 2010 | 1 | 4:01 | Osaka, Japan | |
| Loss | 6–10 (1) | Yoshihiro Nakao | TKO (punches) | Sengoku Raiden Championships 12 | March 7, 2010 | 2 | 3:27 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 6–9 (1) | Kim Min-Soo | KO (punches and knees) | The Khan 2 | November 27, 2009 | 1 | 1:12 | Seoul, South Korea | |
| Loss | 5–9 (1) | Lee Chang-Seob | TKO (punches) | HEAT 12 | November 1, 2009 | 1 | 0:53 | Nagoya, Japan | |
| Loss | 5–8 (1) | Cristiano Kaminishi | TKO (punches) | HEAT 11 | September 26, 2009 | 3 | 3:36 | Tokyo, Japan | Openweight bout. |
| NC | 5–7 (1) | Cristiano Kaminishi | No contest (groin strike) | HEAT 10 | July 18, 2009 | 1 | 0:54 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 5–7 | Ryuta Noji | KO (punches) | HEAT 9 | March 28, 2009 | 1 | 1:14 | Nagoya, Japan | |
| Win | 4–7 | Junpei Hamada | KO (punches) | HEAT 8 | December 14, 2008 | 1 | 0:52 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 3–7 | Cristiano Kaminishi | KO (head kick) | DEEP: 29 Impact | April 13, 2007 | 1 | 4:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 3–6 | Kim Ji-Fun | KO (punch) | HEAT 3 | March 23, 2007 | 1 | 4:58 | Nagoya, Japan | |
| Loss | 2–6 | Mostapha al-Turk | TKO (punches) | Cage Rage 18 | August 27, 2006 | 1 | 0:56 | London, England | |
| Win | 2–5 | Seiji Ogura | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Pancrase | August 27, 2006 | 1 | 1:37 | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Loss | 1–5 | Robert Berry | TKO (punches) | Cage Rage 17 | July 1, 2006 | 1 | 1:06 | London, England | |
| Loss | 1–4 | Zuluzinho | TKO (knees) | PRIDE 30 | October 23, 2005 | 1 | 1:31 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | Super Heavyweight bout. |
| Loss | 1–3 | James Thompson | KO (punch) | PRIDE Bushido 8 | July 17, 2005 | 1 | 1:21 | Nagoya, Japan | |
| Loss | 1–2 | Makoto Takimoto | Decision (unanimous) | PRIDE Shockwave 2004 | December 31, 2004 | 3 | 5:00 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 1–1 | Mal Foki | KO (punches) | PRIDE Bushido 5 | October 14, 2004 | 1 | 0:21 | Osaka, Japan | |
| Loss | 0–1 | Giant Silva | Submission (kimura) | PRIDE Total Elimination 2004 | April 25, 2004 | 1 | 4:04 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix Opening Round. |