Akira Maeda
On 21 February 1999 Karelin defeated Akira Maeda in a shoot wrestling contest put on by RINGS that drew a gate of over $1 million. The match gained widespread media coverage, including mentions in "The New York Times" and "Sports Illustrated". The match took place in the Maeda-owned professional wrestling organization "RINGS". Though widely considered to have been a shoot style wrestling contest, the match is counted as an official mixed martial arts (MMA) match in Sherdog's record database.