Hayato Sakurai

A Japanese mixed martial arts fighter, Hayato "Mach" Sakurai was born on the 24th of August, 1975 in Japan. His nickname, "Mach" is pronounced as ma-ha in Japanese. He was given this nickname as it was a tribute to Higo Shigehisashi who was well known as Mach Hayato, a Japanese professional wrestler.  Hayato has a professional MMA record of 30-7-2. He has defeated other mixed martial arts fighters such as Frank Trigg, Caol Uno, Jens Pulver, Dave Menne and many others.

In 1996, Hayato Sakurai made his first appearance with the Shooto Organization. He went undefeated in the next twenty bouts, over the next few years. Hayato Sakurai stood second, in 1999, in the  Abu Dhabi Combat Club submission wrestling annual competition. Looking at his performance, it was claimed that he would the Shooto organization's middleweight title. However, in 2001, Anderson Silva, Brazilian middleweight champion defeated Hayato Sakurai. Unfortunately, Sakurai met with a harsh car accident while in the US. Thereafter he fought Matt Hughes, UFC welterweight champ, but was defeated when in lost in the fourth round.

After his accident, Hayato Sakurai became extremely unpredictable and inconsistent in his performance. Very often he was defeated by lower ranked opponents. Many say that after the accident, Sakurai lost his spirit, will and focus. Moreover his defeats at the hands of Silva and Hughes did not help either. 

The year 2005, saw a remarkable change in Sakurai. He began training with Matt Hume as his coach, and AMC Pankration. He regained his composure and mental focus and was able to win at four important tough competitions. Jens Pulver, former UFC Champion  and former Shooto champion Joachim Hansen felt victims to his defeat. At his first ever PRIDE fighting championship, Sakurai fought against ace mixed martial art's Takanori Gomi. Three weeks before his match, Sakurai had a torn ACL, however this was known only to his coach. He nevertheless, went on with the fight, gaining upper hand and control initially. He hammered Gomi with his brutal leg-kicks. Sakurai also performed a Judo throw at Gomi, which threw him at the ropes of the ring. Following which Gomo, showered many strikes on Sakurai. And thereafter, Sakurai was eventually knocked out in the first round itself.

Thereafter, Sakurai continued with many impressive performances. At Bushido 12, in August 2006. Sakurai fought an impressive fight against  Luciano Azevedo. Many attempts were made by both sides to defeat each other. Sakurai continued to defend against Azevedo's takedown's and landed his knee on Azevedo's left eye. The match was cut and disqualified. At PRIDE 33, was Sakurai's last fight. This fight was against Mac Danzig, lightweight champion. In a memorable victory, Sakurai won in the second round via a knockout.

Hayato Sakurai, shines amongst all of Japanese lightweight fighters. With is incredible skills and grappling tactics, he stands out amongs the rest. His showmanship, speed and immensely strong strikes and grapples, his amazing talent and demonstrations, make him one of the finest fighters in the world.