page_title: Kazushi Sakuraba
hierarchical_section_title: Kazushi Sakuraba
caption_attribution_description: 日本語: 2015年3月22日 ベイコム総合体育館「Road to INVASION ATTACK 2015」桜庭和志
context_page_description: Kazushi Sakuraba is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, currently signed to Rizin Fighting Federation. He has competed in traditional puroresu for New Japan Pro-Wrestling and shoot-style competition for UWFi and Kingdom Pro Wrestling. He has fought in MMA competition in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Pride Fighting Championships, Hero's and Dream. He is known as the "Gracie Hunter" or the "Gracie Killer" due to his wins over four members of the famed Gracie family: Royler Gracie, Renzo Gracie, Ryan Gracie, and Royce Gracie. In particular, Sakuraba is famous for his initial fight with Royce, which lasted ninety minutes and ended after Royce was unable to continue due to damage received from Sakuraba.
context_section_description: Kazushi Sakuraba (桜庭 和志, Sakuraba Kazushi, born July 14, 1969) is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, currently signed to Rizin Fighting Federation. He has competed in traditional puroresu for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and shoot-style competition for UWFi and Kingdom Pro Wrestling (KPW). He has fought in MMA competition in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Pride Fighting Championships, Hero's and Dream. He is known as the "Gracie Hunter" or the "Gracie Killer" due to his wins over four members of the famed Gracie family: Royler Gracie, Renzo Gracie, Ryan Gracie, and Royce Gracie. In particular, Sakuraba is famous for his initial fight with Royce, which lasted ninety minutes and ended after Royce was unable to continue due to damage received from Sakuraba.
  Known for his excellent skills in catch wrestling, he is considered to be one of the greatest mixed martial art fighters of all time, and also holds notable victories over 7 UFC champions, 3 Pancrase Champions, a DREAM champion, a King of the Cage champion and Battlecade Extreme Fighting champion; former Welterweight Champion Carlos Newton, two former Light heavyweight champions Vitor Belfort and Quinton Jackson, former Heavyweight Champion Kevin Randleman, 3-time UFC Tournament champion Royce Gracie, former Superfight champion and King of Pancrase Ken Shamrock, former  King of Pancrase Masakatsu Funaki, DREAM Super Hulk Tournament Champion Ikuhisa Minowa, former King of the Cage Light Heavyweight champion Vernon White, and former Battlecade Extreme Fighting champion Marcus Silveira. He is also the first of only two Japanese champions in UFC history.
  Sakuraba is the founder of the submission wrestling promotion Quintet, where he has competed since 2018.
caption: Sakuraba in March 2015
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