The 5-foot-7 powerhouse boasts a 37-14-2 record across two decades of competition within many of the sport’s most prominent organizations, from Pride Fighting Championships, Shooto and One Championship to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Rizin Fighting Federation, Dream and Strikeforce. Kawajiri, 44, has not fought since being wiped out by a flying knee and follow-up punches from Patricky Freire in the quarterfinals of the Rizin lightweight grand prix on Oct. 12, 2019. It was his sixth defeat in eight outings.
Now more than three years removed from Kawajiri’s most recent appearance, here are five things you might not know about him:
1. His start was inauspicious.
Kawajiri lost his first fight as a professional on April 12, 2000, when he submitted to a rear-naked choke from Takumi Nakayama in the first round of their encounter under the Shooto banner. Just 21 years old at the time of his debut, he went 15-1-2 across his next 18 appearances.
2. World-class skills led to tangible accomplishment.
“Crusher” laid claim to the 154-pound championship in Shooto when he put away Vitor Ribeiro with punches in the second round of their December 2004 rematch. Kawajiri retained the title with a disqualification victory over Joachim Hansen a little more than a year later, then vacated it on Jan. 23, 2007 after a knee injury forced him to step away from competition.
3. Failure has not been foreign to him.
Kawajiri came away empty-handed in bids to capture championships in Dream and Strikeforce. He submitted to an Achilles lock from Shinya Aoki at Dream 15 on July 10, 2010 and succumbed to a volley of first-round elbow strikes from Gilbert Melendez at Strikeforce “Diaz vs. Daley” on April 9, 2011.
4. He prefers the comforts of home.
Only four of Kawajiri’s 37 career victories have taken place outside of his native Japan. He submitted Donald Sanchez with a triangle choke at ONE “War of the Lions” on March 31, 2012 in Kallang, Singapore, dispatched Sean Soriano with a rear-naked choke at UFC Fight Night 34 on Jan. 4, 2014 in Marina Bay, Singapore, took a unanimous decision from Dennis Siver at UFC Fight Night 69 on June 20, 2015 in Berlin and outpointed Jason Knight to a unanimous verdict at “The Ultimate Fighter 22” Finale on Dec. 11, 2015 in Las Vegas.
5. Old traditions excite him.
Kawajiri has fought on New Year’s Eve eight different times: 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2018. He owns a 5-3 record in those bouts, his wins over Luiz Azeredo, Kazunori Yokota, Josh Thomson, Kazuyuki Miyata and Michihiro Omigawa offset by losses to the aforementioned Melendez, Kron Gracie and Satoru Kitaoka.