Taito Gunji
Gunji Taito (軍司 泰斗, born 17 January 1999) is a Japanese kickboxer, currently competing in the featherweight division of K-1, where he is the current featherweight champion. A professional competitor since 2015, Gunji held the Krush Bantamweight title from September 2017 until June 2018, and is a two-time Krush Super Bantamweight title challenger. As of August 2021, he is the #7 ranked super flyweight in the world according to Combat Press. He was ranked in the Combat Press flyweight top ten between September 2020, when he peaked at #5, until March 2021, when he moved up in  weight. Combat Press previously ranked him in their strawweight top ten between May and December 2019, peaking at #6 in May and June. Kickboxing career. Amateur career. Gunji made his kickboxing debut by participating in the 2014 K-1 Challenge B-Class tournament. He won the two-minute quarterfinal and semifinal bouts against Tatsuki Kitayama and Koki by decision, and faced Akihiro Kaneko in the finals. He beat Kaneko by decision. Two months later, Gunji took part in the 2014 K-1 Challenge A-Class tournament, and faced Natsuki Mizukoshi in the semifinals. He beat Mizukoshi by decision, and took on Masahiro  Osawa in the finals. Gunji beat Osawa in the same manner, winning by decision. On August 15, 2015, Gunji entered the K-1 Koshien tournament, open to highschool aged kickboxers. He beat Takumi Naito by unanimous decision in the second round and Issei Ichiki by majority decision in the quarterfinals. Gunji lost to Tatsuya Tsubakihara in the semifinals by split decision, after two additional rounds were contested. A year later, on July 30, 2016, Gunji participated in the 2016 K-1 Koshien tournament. He beat Kouka Minowa by unanimous decision in the second round, and notched knockouts of Shizuma Nakashima and Issei  Ichiki in the quarterfinal and semifinal respectively. Gunji fought a rematch with Tatsuya Tsubakihara in the tournament finals, winning by unanimous decision. Bantamweight career. Early career. Gunji made his professional debut against Katsuhiro at Krush 51 on February 6, 2015. He won the bout by majority decision, with scores of 29-29, 30-29 and 29-28. Gunji was then scheduled to face Takuya Suzuki at Krush 54 on May 4, 2015. The fight ended in a majority draw, with two of the judges scoring the fight 29-29, while the third judge scored it 30-28 for Gunji. Gunji  faced Yoshiki at Krush 60 on November 14, 2015. He won the fight by a first-round knockout, dropping his opponent with a head kick mid-way through the round. Gunji was scheduled to fight the future pound for pound great Yoshiki Takei at Krush 63 on February 5, 2016. Takei won by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 28-27 for him, thus handing Gunji his first professional loss. Gunji rebounded from this loss with two consecutive stoppage victories. He first beat Hiroto Ishitsuka by a first-round knockout at Krush 66 on June 12, 2016 . This was followed by a first-round knockout of Reiji Kasami at Krush 72 on January 15, 2017. Gunji extended his winning streak to three fights with a unanimous decision victory against Taisuke Degai at Krush 74 on March 3, 2017. Gunji was scheduled to face Tatsuya Tsubakihara for the third time in his career at KHAOS 2 on May 13, 2017. They had met twice previously, as amateurs, with each winning a decision. Tsubakihara won their first professional meeting by majority decision, with scores of 30-29, 29-29 and 30-29. Krush Bantamweight champion. Gunji was scheduled to  fight Ryusei for the vacant Krush Bantamweight title at Krush 80 on September 8, 2017. Gunji throughouly dominated Ryusei, knocking him down twice in the first round and once in the second round. He won the fight by a wide unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 30-24 in his favor. Gunji was scheduled to fight Shota Oiwa at K-1 SURVIVAL WARS 2017 on December 27, 2017. He won the fight by unanimous decision, knocking Oiwa down twice in the first round, with scores of 30-27, 29-26 and 30-26. He fought another non-title  bout against Takumi Tosaka at on March 21, 2018. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Gunji made his first title defense against Akihiro Kaneko in the co-main event of Krush 89 on June 30, 2018. The fight was ruled a draw after the first three round. Accordingly, an extension round was fought, after which Kaneko was awarded a unanimous decision. Super Bantamweight career. Krush Super Bantamweight tournament. After losing his title, Gunji moved up from bantamweight (-53 kg) to super bantamweight (-55 kg). He was scheduled to face Riku Morisaka at Krush 93 on September 30, 2018, in  the quarterfinals of the Krush Super Bantamweight tournament. He beat Morisaka by majority decision, with two of the judges scoring the fight 30-28 for Gunji, while the third judge scored it 30-30. Advancing to the semifinals of the tournament, Gunji faced Tatsuya Tsubakihara for the fourth time in his career at Krush 96 on December 16, 2018. Tsubakihara had won their sole professional meeting by majority decision. Gunji won the closely contested bout by split decision, after an extra round was fought. Gunji met the undefeated Masashi Kumura in the tournament finals, held at Krush 98 on February  16, 2019. Kumura won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 30-29, 30-29 and 30-28. Gunji suffered a broken jaw during the bout, which forced him out of competition for the next ten months. Second title run. Gunji was scheduled to fight Masashi's brother Shuhei Kumura in the co-main event of Krush 106 on October 13, 2019. Gunji won the fight by unanimous decision. Gunji faced Suriyanlek Aor.Bor.Tor. Kampee in the co-main event of Krush 111 on February 24, 2020. He won the fight by unanimous decision, scoring a single knockdown  in the third round. His two fight winning streak earned Gunji the right to challenge the reigning Krush Super bantamweight champion Masashi Kumura, at Krush 117 on September 26, 2020. They previously fought at Krush 98, with Kumura winning by unanimous decision. Kumura won the rematch by unanimous decision, scoring a single knockdown in the third round with a well placed knee to the head of Gunji, as the latter was ducking out of an exchange. Featherweight career. Early featherweight career. Following his second failed title bid, Gunji moved up from super bantamweight (-55 kg) to featherweight (-57.5 kg). He  was scheduled to make his divisional debut against Yusho Kamemoto at K-1 World GP 2020 Winter's Crucial Bout on December 13, 2020. Gunji won the fight by a second-round knockout. He scored the first knockdown of the fight at the 1:32 minute mark of the second round, dropping his opponent with a right straight-left hook combination. Although Kamemoto was able to beat the eight-count, he was quickly knocked down again with a left hook, prompting the referee to stop the fight. Gunji was scheduled to face Riku Morisaka in a rematch at K-1: K'Festa 4 Day  1 on March 21, 2021. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 30-27, 30-26 and 30-26. Gunji was scheduled to face the reigning Krush Featherweight champion Takahito Niimi at on September 20, 2021. Gunji won the fight by a comfortable unanimous decision, with two judges scoring the bout 30-29 in his favor, while the third judge awarded him all three rounds of the fight. K-1 Featherweight champion. Gunji was scheduled to challenge the reigning K-1 Featherweight champion Tatsuya Tsubakihara at K-1 World GP 2021 Japan on December 4, 2021. Gunji and Tsubakihara had  fought twice as amateurs and twice as professionals, with Gunji earning the victory on two occasions. Gunji won the fight by split decision, after an extra round was fought. The fight was scored a split draw after the first three rounds were fought, which meant an extension round would be contested. He edged Tsubakihara in another close round, with two of the three judges awarding him a 10-9 scorecard. Gunji was booked to face Toma Tanabe in a non-title bout at on April 3, 2022. According to Gunji, he originally intended to defend his title against a foreign  opponent, but accepted a non-title bout against Tanabe as foreign competitors weren't able to enter Japan due to the COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Japanese government. At the weight-ins, Gunji missed weight, but was able to make the featherweight limit in his second attempt. The fight was ruled a majority draw following the first three rounds, with two judges scoring it an even 30–30 and 29–29 draw, while the third judge scored it 30–29 for Toma. An extension round was therefore fought, after which Gunji was awarded the unanimous decision. 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