# List of Shooto champions

This is a list of Shooto world champions at each weight class. Shooto is a Japan-based mixed martial arts (MMA) promoting and sanctioning organization founded first in 1985 as a particular fighting system, and then in 1989 as an MMA promotion.
Shooto used to promote different weight classes than the Association of Boxing Commissions, which are used by most MMA promotions. On January 1, 2015, weight limits were changed to the divisions established by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Then, on January 1, 2017, the names of the weight classes were also changed to the names established by NSAC.

## Current champions

Men :
| Division | Champion | Since | Defenses |
| Middleweight | Vacant | April 14, 2012 | — |
| Welterweight | Hernani Perpetuo | August 25, 2013 | 0 |
| Lightweight | Yamato Nishikawa | September 20, 2021 | 0 |
| Featherweight | Sasuke | July 25, 2021 | 2 |
| Bantamweight | Tatsuya Ando | March 21, 2022 | 0 |
| Flyweight | Jo Arai | November 19, 2023 | 0 |
| Strawweight | Jo Arai | September 19, 2022 | 1 |
Women :
| Division | Champion | Since | Defenses |
| Strawweight | Emi Fujino | May 18, 2024 | 0 |
| Super Atomweight | Ayaka Watanabe | May 21, 2023 | 0 |
| Atomweight | Chihiro Sawada | November 27, 2022 | 1 |

## Men's championships
### Middleweight Championship

Weight limit of 83.9 kg (185 lb) The weight limit was 83 kg (183 lb) prior to January 1, 2015. The Middleweight Championship was known as the Light Heavyweight Championship prior to January 1, 2017.
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign (total) | Defenses |
| 1 | Kenji Kawaguchi def. Manabu Yamada | Shooto: Shooto Tokyo, Japan | May 31, 1991 | 1,803 days | 1. def. Satoshi Honma on October 17, 1991 2. def. Manabu Yamada on July 23, 1992 3. drew with Satoshi Honma on November 27, 1992 |
| 2 | Erik Paulson | Shooto: Vale Tudo Junction 3 Tokyo, Japan | May 7, 1996 | 1,605 days | 1. def. Masanori Suda on August 29, 1998 |
| Paulson vacated the title on September 28, 2000 when he retired from the sport. ||||||
| 3 | Masanori Suda def. Lance Gibson | Shooto: Treasure Hunt 1 Tokyo, Japan | January 12, 2002 | 1,497 days | 1. def. Egan Inoue on May 9, 2003 2. drew with Dustin Denes on July 9, 2004 |
| Suda vacated the title on February 17, 2006, at his retirement ceremony. ||||||
| 4 | Shiko Yamashita def. Dustin Denes | Absolute Fighting Championships 16 Boca Raton, FL, US | April 22, 2006 | 449 days | |
| 5 | Siyar Bahadurzada | Shooto: Back To Our Roots 4 Tokyo, Japan | July 15, 2007 | 1,735 days | 1. def. Leandro Silva on August 27, 2009 2. def. Carlos Alexandre Pereira on August 6, 2010 |
| Bahadurzada vacated the title on April 14, 2012 after signing with the UFC. ||||||

### Welterweight Championship

Weight limit of 77.1 kg (170 lb) The weight limit was 77 kg (169.8 lb) prior to January 1, 2015. The Welterweight Championship was known as the Middleweight Championship prior to January 1, 2017.
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign (total) | Defenses |
| 1 | Yasuto Sekishima def. Yoshimasa Ishikawa | Shooto: Shooto Tokyo, Japan | May 12, 1990 | 448 days | 1. drew with Naoki Sakurada on November 28, 1990 |
| 2 | Yoshimasa Ishikawa | Shooto: Shooto Tokyo, Japan | August 3, 1991 | ? days | |
| Ishikawa vacated the title in 1991 to compete as a lightweight. ||||||
| 3 | Naoki Sakurada def. Yasuto Sekishima | Shooto: Shooto Osaka, Japan | October 17, 1991 | 1,920 days | 1. def. Kazuhiro Kusayanagi on September 25, 1992 |
| Sakurada vacated the title on January 18, 1997, when he retired. ||||||
| 4 | Hayato "Mach" Sakurai | Shooto: Las Grandes Viajes 3 Tokyo, Japan | May 13, 1998 | 1,201 days | 1. def. Tetsuji Kato on March 17, 2000 |
| 5 | Anderson Silva | Shooto: To The Top 7 Osaka, Japan | August 26, 2001 | 136 days | |
| Silva vacated the title on January 9, 2002, after signing with Pride. ||||||
| 6 | Jake Shields def. Ray Cooper | Shooto Hawaii: Soljah Fight Night Honolulu, HI, US | July 9, 2004 | 158 days | |
| 7 | Akira Kikuchi | Shooto: Year End Show 2004 Tokyo, Japan | December 14, 2004 | 430 days | |
| 8 | Shinya Aoki | Shooto: The Victory of the Truth Tokyo, Japan | February 17, 2006 | 1,554 days | 1. def. Akira Kikuchi on February 17, 2007 |
| Aoki vacated the title on May 21, 2010 after years of not defending it, fighting for other promotions, and fighting primarily as a lightweight. ||||||
| 9 | Luis Ramos def. Igor Fernandes | Shooto Brazil 17 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | August 6, 2010 | 368 days | |
| Ramos vacated the title on August 9, 2011, after signing with the UFC. ||||||
| 10 | Hernani Perpetuo def. Tommy Depret | Shooto: Gig Tokyo 15 Tokyo, Japan | August 25, 2013 | 4,218 days (incumbent) | |

### Lightweight Championship

Weight limit of 70.3 kg (155 lb) The weight limit was 70 kg (154.3 lb) prior to January 1, 2015. The Lightweight Championship was known as the Welterweight Championship prior to January 1, 2017.
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign (total) | Defenses |
| 1 | Yuichi Watanabe def. Kazuhiro Kusayanagi | Shooto: Shooto Tokyo, Japan | March 29, 1991 | 149 days | |
| Watanabe vacated the title on August 25, 1991 for unknown reasons. ||||||
| 2 | Tomonori Ohara def. Yoshimasa Ishikawa | Shooto: Shooto Osaka, Japan | October 17, 1991 | ? days | 1. def. Yomohiro Tanaka on September 25, 1992 |
| Ohara announced his retirement in November 1992 and thus vacated the title. ||||||
| 3 | Yuki Nakai def. Kazuhiro Kusayanagi | Shooto: Vale Tudo Access 2 Tokyo, Japan | November 7, 1994 | ? days | |
| Nakai suffered an eye injury at Vale Tudo Japan 1995 which forced him into retirement in April 1995. ||||||
| 4 | Caol Uno def. Rumina Sato | Shooto: 10th Anniversary Event Yokohama, Japan | May 29, 1999 | 568 days | 1. def. Rumina Sato on December 17, 2000 |
| Uno vacated the title on December 17, 2000 to compete in the UFC. ||||||
| 5 | Takanori Gomi def. Rumina Sato | Shooto: To The Top Final Act Urayasu, Japan | December 16, 2001 | 602 days | 1. def. Dokonjonosuke Mishima on December 14, 2002 |
| 6 | Joachim Hansen | Shooto: 8/10 in Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium Yokohama, Japan | August 10, 2003 | 126 days | |
| 7 | Vítor Ribeiro | Shooto: Year End Show 2003 Urayasu, Japan | December 14, 2003 | 366 days | |
| 8 | Tatsuya Kawajiri | Shooto: Year End Show 2004 Tokyo, Japan | December 14, 2004 | 770 days | 1. def. Joachim Hansen on February 17, 2006 |
| Kawajiri vacated the title on January 23, 2007, after suffering a knee injury which prevented him from defending his title in the mandatory time period per Shooto regulations. ||||||
| 9 | Takashi Nakakura def. Ganjo Tentsuku | Shooto: Shooto Tradition 1 Tokyo, Japan | May 3, 2008 | 506 days | |
| Nakakura vacated the title on September 21, 2009, declaring that he wasn't ready to properly defend it after losing a non-title fight to Takanori Gomi. ||||||
| 10 | Willamy Freire def. Kenichiro Togashi | Vale Tudo Japan 2009 Tokyo, Japan | October 30, 2009 | 212 days | 1. def. Yusuke Endo on May 30, 2010 |
| Freire vacated the title on May 30, 2010 to compete in the UFC. ||||||
| 11 | Kuniyoshi Hironaka def. Kotetsu Boku | Shooto: Shootor's Legacy 3 Tokyo, Japan | July 18, 2011 | 1,595 days | 1. def. Giovani Diniz on May 18, 2012 2. def. Yoshihiro Koyama on September 29, 2013 |
| Hironaka vacated the title on November 29, 2015 for unknown reasons. ||||||
| 12 | Koshi Matsumoto def. Yuki Kawana | Mobstyles Present Fight & Mosh Tokyo, Japan | April 23, 2016 | 1,394 days | 1. def. Yuki Okano on March 25, 2018 2. def. Naoyuki Kotani on May 6, 2019 |
| Matsumoto vacated the title in February 16, 2020, when he signed with ONE Championship. ||||||
| 13 | Yuki Kawana def. Captain Africa | Professional Shooto 2020 Vol.4 in Osaka Osaka, Japan | July 12, 2020 | 435 days | |
| 14 | Yamato Nishikawa def. Yuki Kawana | Professional Shooto 2021 Vol.6 Tokyo, Japan | September 20, 2021 | 1,270 days (incumbent) | |

### Featherweight Championship

Weight limit of 65.8 kg (145 lb) The weight limit was 65 kg (143.3 lb) prior to January 1, 2015. The Featherweight Championship was known as the Lightweight Championship prior to January 1, 2017.
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign (total) | Defenses |
| 1 | Kenichi Tanaka def. Kazuhiro Sakamoto | Shooto: Shooto Tokyo, Japan | September 8, 1990 | 265 days | |
| 2 | Kazuhiro Sakamoto | Shooto: Shooto Tokyo, Japan | May 31, 1991 | 301 days | 1. def. Hiroyuki Kanno on October 17, 1991 |
| 3 | Noboru Asahi | Shooto: Shooto Tokyo, Japan | March 27, 1992 | 2,718 days | 1. drew with Kenichi Tanaka on July 23, 1992 2. drew with Uchu Tatsumi on March 28, 1999 |
| 4 | Alexandre Franca Nogueira | Shooto: Renaxis 4 Tokyo, Japan | September 5, 1999 | 2,436 days | 1. def. Uchu Tatsumi on August 27, 2000 2. def. Tetsuo Katsuta on September 2, 2001 3. def. Katsuya Toida on December 16, 2001 4. def. Hiroyuki Abe on December 14, 2002 5. drew with Stephen Palling on August 10, 2003 6. def. João Roque on March 11, 2005 |
| Nogueira vacated the title on May 7, 2006, after suffering a knee injury which prevented him from defending his title in the mandatory time period per Shooto regulations. ||||||
| 5 | Lion Takeshi def. Antonio Carvalho | Shooto: The Devilock Tokyo, Japan | May 12, 2006 | 371 days | |
| 6 | Akitoshi Tamura | Shooto: Back To Our Roots 3 Tokyo, Japan | May 18, 2007 | 315 days | |
| 7 | Hideki Kadowaki | Shooto: Back To Our Roots 8 Tokyo, Japan | March 28, 2008 | 246 days | |
| 8 | Lion Takeshi (2) | Shooto: Shooto Tradition 4 Tokyo, Japan | November 29, 2008 | 547 days (918 days) | 1. def. Rumina Sato on May 10, 2009 |
| 9 | Hatsu Hioki | Shooto: The Way of Shooto 3: Like a Tiger, Like a Dragon Tokyo, Japan | May 30, 2010 | 366 days | |
| Hioki vacated the title on May 31, 2011 to compete in the UFC. ||||||
| 10 | Yutaka Saito def. Yoshifumi Nakamura | Professional Shooto Tokyo, Japan | January 11, 2016 | 1,906 days | 1. def. Caol Uno on April 23, 2017 |
| Saito vacated the title on March 31, 2021 to compete in Rizin. ||||||
| 11 | Sasuke def. Ryoji Kudo | Professional Shooto 2021 Vol.5 Tokyo, Japan | July 25, 2021 | 1,327 days (incumbent) | 1. def. Tateo Iida on March 19, 2023 2. def. Hanzo Tanaka on December 2, 2023 |

### Bantamweight Championship

Weight limit of 61.2 kg (135 lb) The weight limit was 60 kg (132.3 lb) prior to January 1, 2015. The Bantamweight Championship was known as the Featherweight Championship prior to January 1, 2017.
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign (total) | Defenses |
| 1 | Mamoru Yamaguchi def. Jin Akimoto | Shooto: R.E.A.D. Final Urayasu, Japan | December 17, 2000 | 343 days | |
| 2 | Masahiro Oishi | Shooto: To The Top 10 Tokyo, Japan | November 25, 2001 | 623 days | 1. drew with Hisao Ikeda on September 16, 2002 |
| 3 | Ryota Matsune | Shooto: 8/10 in Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium Yokohama, Japan | August 10, 2003 | 858 days | 1. def. Kentaro Imaizumi on November 12, 2004 |
| Matsune vacated the title on December 15, 2005, after suffering a knee injury which prevented him from defending his title in the mandatory time period per Shooto regulations. ||||||
| 4 | Akitoshi Hokazono def. Kenji Osawa | Shooto 2006: 7/21 in Korakuen Hall Tokyo, Japan | July 21, 2006 | 554 days | |
| Hokazono vacated the title on January 26, 2008, when he retired. ||||||
| 5 | Masakatsu Ueda def. Koetsu Okazaki | Shooto: Back To Our Roots 8 Tokyo, Japan | March 28, 2008 | 724 days | 1. drew with Marcos Galvao on September 28, 2008 2. def. So Tazawa on March 20, 2009 3. def. Eduardo Dantas on July 19, 2009 |
| 6 | Shuichiro Katsumura | Shooto: The Way of Shooto 2: Like a Tiger, Like a Dragon Tokyo, Japan | March 22, 2010 | 403 days | |
| 7 | Koetsu Okazaki | Shooto: Shooto Tradition 2011 Tokyo, Japan | April 29, 2011 | 385 days | |
| 8 | Hiromasa Ougikubo | Great East Japan Earthquake Reconstruction Support Charity Tokyo, Japan | May 18, 2012 | 302 days | |
| 9 | Kyoji Horiguchi | Shooto: 2013 2nd Round Tokyo, Japan | March 16, 2013 | 948 days | 1. def. Shintaro Ishiwatari on June 22, 2013 |
| Horiguchi vacated the title on October 20, 2015 to compete in the UFC. ||||||
| 10 | Shoko Sato def. Keita Ishibashi | Professional Shooto Urayasu, Japan | October 15, 2017 | 1,142 days | 1. def. Tristan Grimsley on July 15, 2018 2. def. Yo Saito on November 17, 2018 |
| — | Ryo Okada def. Kazuma Kuramoto for interim title | Professional Shooto 2020 Vol.3 Tokyo, Japan | May 31, 2020 | — | |
| Sato vacated the title on November 30, 2020, in order to compete with ONE Championship. ||||||
| 11 | Ryo Okada promoted to undisputed champion | — | November 30, 2020 | 476 days | 1. def. Takafumi Otsuka on March 20, 2021 |
| 12 | Tatsuya Ando | Professional Shooto 2022 Vol.2 Tokyo, Japan | March 21, 2022 | 1,088 days (incumbent) | |

### Flyweight Championship

Weight limit of 56.7 kg (125 lb) The weight limit was 56 kg (123.5 lb) prior to January 1, 2015. The Flyweight Championship was known as the Bantamweight Championship prior to January 1, 2017.
| No. | Name | Date | Defenses |
| 1 | Mamoru Yamaguchi def. Yasuhiro Urushitani | December 14, 2003 | 1. drew with Robson Moura on September 26, 2004 2. drew with Shinichi Kojima on March 24, 2006 |
| 2 | Shinichi Kojima | October 14, 2006 | 1. drew with Yasuhiro Urushitani on March 16, 2007 2. def. Mamoru Yamaguchi on July 18, 2008 3. def. Yuki Shoujou on March 20, 2009 |
| Kojima vacated the title on February 27, 2010 after suffering an ACL injury in his right knee which prevented him from defending his title in the mandatory time period per Shooto regulations. ||||
| 3 | Yasuhiro Urushitani def. Ryuichi Miki | May 30, 2010 | 1. def. Yuki Shoujou on July 18, 2011 |
| Urushitani vacated the title on December 10, 2011 to compete in the UFC. ||||
| Ryuichi Miki drew with Yosuke Saruta for the vacant title on July 27, 2013. ||||
| 4 | Ryuichi Miki def. Yosuke Saruta | November 9, 2013 | |
| 5 | Masaaki Sugawara | May 3, 2015 | |
| 6 | Hiromasa Ougikubo | April 23, 2016 | 1. def. Tadaaki Yamamoto on October 15, 2017 2. def. Kiyotaka Shimizu on May 6, 2019 |
| — | Ryuya Fukuda def. Yoshiro Maeda for the interim title. | July 12, 2020 | |
| Ougikubo vacated the title on January 31, 2021. Fukuda was promoted to undisputed status. ||||
| 7 | Ryuya Fukuda promoted to undisputed champion | January 31, 2021 | |
| 8 | Tatsuro Taira | July 3, 2021 | |
| Taira vacated the title on May 21, 2023 to compete for the UFC. ||||
| 9 | Jo Arai def. Wataru Yamauchi | November 19, 2023 | |

### Strawweight Championship

Weight limit of 52.2 kg (115 lb) The weight limit was 52 kg (114.6 lb) prior to January 1, 2015. The Strawweight Championship was known as the Flyweight Championship prior to January 1, 2017.
| No. | Name | Date | Defenses |
| 1 | Rambaa Somdet def. Noboru Tahara | November 23, 2009 | 1. def. Hiroyuki Abe on July 19, 2010 |
| Somdet vacated the title on April 16, 2011 due to a partially torn left bicep. ||||
| 2 | Junji Ikoma def. Junji Sarumaru | April 29, 2011 | |
| 3 | Mikihito Yamagami | November 5, 2011 | 1. def. Junji Sarumaru on September 30, 2012 |
| Yamagami vacated the title in December 2013 when he moved up in weight. ||||
| 4 | Shinya Murofushi def. Junji Sarumaru | January 13, 2014 | |
| 5 | Yoshitaka Naito | September 27, 2014 | 1. def. Ryuta Sawada on July 26, 2015 2. def. Junji Sarumaru on November 29, 2015 |
| Naito vacated the title on April 7, 2016 when he signed with ONE Championship. ||||
| 6 | Ryohei Kurosawa def. Ryuto Sawada | July 17, 2016 | |
| Kurosawa vacated the title in 2017. ||||
| 7 | Yosuke Saruta def. Ryuto Sawada | October 15, 2017 | 1. def. Itchaku Murata on May 13, 2018 |
| Saruta vacated the title on November 30, 2019, after signing with ONE Championship. ||||
| 8 | Hiroshi Minowa def. Yohei Komaki | January 26, 2020 | |
| — | Junji Sarumaru def. Ryohei Kurosawa for the interim title | November 7, 2021 | |
| Sarumaru was promoted to undisputed champion status on August 1, 2022, after Minowa vacated the title. ||||
| 9 | Junji Sarumaru promoted to undisputed champion | August 1, 2022 | |
| 10 | Jo Arai def. Junji Sarumaru | September 19, 2022 | 1. def. Shuto Aki on July 23, 2023 |

## Women's championship history
### Women's Strawweight Championship

Weight limit of 52.2 kg (115 lb)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign (total) | Defenses |
| 1 | Emi Fujino def. Megumi Sugimoto | Professional Shooto 2024 Vol.4 Tokyo, Japan | May 18, 2024 | 299 days (incumbent) | |

### Women's Super Atomweight Championship

Weight limit of 50 kg (110 lb)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign (total) |
| 1 | Mina Kurobe def. Megumi Sugimoto | Professional Shooto 2020 Vol.5 Tokyo, Japan | August 1, 2020 | 462 days |
| 2 | Satomi Takano | Professional Shooto 2021 Vol.7 Tokyo, Japan | November 6, 2021 | 561 days |
| 3 | Ayaka Watanabe | Professional Shooto 2023 Vol.3 Tokyo, Japan | May 21, 2023 | 662 days (incumbent) |

### Women's Atomweight Championship

Weight limit of 47.6 kg (105 lb)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign (total) | Defenses |
| 1 | Chihiro Sawada def. Yuki Ono | Professional Shooto 2022 Vol.7 Tokyo, Japan | November 27, 2022 | 837 days (incumbent) | 1. def. Miku Nakamura on December 2, 2023 |

## Defunct title
### Heavyweight Championship

Weight limit of 120.2 kg (265 lb) The weight limit was 100 kg (220.5 lb) prior to January 1, 2015.
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign (total) | Defenses |
| 1 | Enson Inoue def. Joe Estes | Shooto: Reconquista 4 Tokyo, Japan | October 12, 1997 | 693 days | |
| Inoue vacated the title on September 5, 1999. ||||||

## Records
### Most wins in title bouts

The following includes all fighters with four or more championship and/or interim championship title wins.
| Title wins | Champion | Division | W | L | NC |
| 6 | Alexandre Franca Nogueira | Lightweight | 6 | 1 | |
| 4 | Kenji Kawaguchi | Light Heavyweight | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Hiromasa Ougikubo | Featherweight Bantamweight | 1 3 | 0 0 | 1 |

### Most consecutive title defenses

The following includes all Shooto champions who were able to consecutively defend their title three times or more. Fighters with the same number of title defenses are listed chronologically.
| Defenses | Champion | Division | Period |
| 6 | Alexandre Franca Nogueira | Lightweight | September 5, 1999 – May 7, 2006 |
| 3 | Kenji Kawaguchi | Light Heavyweight | May 31, 1991 – May 7, 1996 |
| 3 | BJ | Bantamweight | October 16, 2006 – March 1, 2010 |
| 3 | Masakatsu Ueda | Featherweight | March 28, 2008 – March 22, 2010 |
* ↑ Nogueira successfully defended the Shooto Lightweight Championship five times and retained the title once following a draw against Stephen Palling at Shooto: 8/10 in Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium.
* ↑ Kawaguchi successfully defended the Shooto Light Heavyweight Championship twice and retained the title once following a draw against Satoshi Honma on November 27, 1992.
* ↑ BJ successfully defended the Shooto Bantamweight Championship twice and retained the title once following a draw against Yasuhiro Urushitani at Shooto: Back To Our Roots 2.
* ↑ Ueda successfully defended the Shooto Featherweight Championship twice and retained the title once following a draw against Marcos Galvão at

### Multi-division champions

Fighters who have won championships in multiple weight classes. Tournament champions are not included.
| | Interim title |
| * | Simultaneous two division champion |
| No. | Champion | Division | Period | Defense |
| 1 | Mamoru | Featherweight | December 17, 2000 – November 25, 2001 | 0 |
| 1 | Mamoru | Bantamweight | December 14, 2003 – October 14, 2006 | 2 |
| 2 | Hiromasa Ougikubo | Featherweight | May 18, 2012 – March 16, 2013 | 0 |
| 2 | Hiromasa Ougikubo | Bantamweight | April 23, 2016 – January 31, 2021 | 2 |

### By nationality

The following include championship title holders by nationality.
| Country | Titles |
| Japan | 62 |
| Brazil | 6 |
| United States | 3 |
| Afghanistan | 1 |
| Thailand | 1 |
| Norway | 1 |