He scored wins over PFC veterans Maurice Smith in ’96 at the RINGS Budokan Hall show and Mikhail Illoukhine (Pictures) at RINGS Budokan ’97. Kohsaka fought 12 consecutive bouts for the RINGS promotion, including matches with Kiyoshi Tamura (Pictures), Volk Han, Willie Peeters and future training partner Frank Shamrock (Pictures) (a half-hour war well worth watching).
Many fans will remember Kohsaka for going toe-to-toe with Kimo Leopoldo (Pictures) in what was one of the highlights at UFC 16. TK went on to defeat Pete Williams in a questionable bout in Brazil and then fought Bas Rutten (Pictures) in the Dutchman’s Octagon debut at UFC 18. A decision was just 45 seconds away but Rutten put the hurt to TK and ended any chance of leaving it to the judges.
Kohsaka returned to beat Gladiator Training Academy fighter Tim Lajcik and made his next appearance at UFC 23/Japan 2 where he felt the sting of Pedro Rizzo (Pictures)’s heavy hands. Tsuyoshi went back and forth between the UFC and RINGS throughout 1999. Then he made the RINGS promotion home again and raised the level of competition.
His opponents included Gilbert Yvel (Pictures) (TK’s 1-2 against him), Christopher Haseman, current PFC heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) (TK won on a fluke cut), Renato Sobral (Pictures) (TK lost a decision), Randy Couture (Pictures) (TK lost a decision). He even took Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures) to a draw.
A return to the UFC happened in ’02 when he was brought in last-minute to face Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures) and took the former champion into the second round. He lost a decision to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pictures) in the DEEP promotion and beat Ricardo Morais (Pictures) in a MMA bout on a New Japan Pro Wrestling card.
It was then that TK began his run with Pancrase, eventually beating Ron Waterman (Pictures) to claim the super heavyweight King of Pancrase title. In PRIDE He faced Fedor in a rematch and lasted 10 minutes with the champ before the doctor stepped in. TK lost a decision (after being poked in the eye) to Mike Kyle (Pictures) in October of ’05 and the super heavyweight King of Pancrase title is currently listed as “vacant.”
SPERRY: Brazilian jiu-jitsu stylist Mario Sperry (Pictures) is one of the leaders of the Brazilian Top Team. “The Zen Machine” is a three-time World Jiu-Jitsu (Mundial) Champion; two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Absolute (Brasileiro) Champion; 1998 Abu Dhabi 98-kg Absolute Division Champion; 1999 Abu Dhabi Superfight Champion; and 2000 Abu Dhabi Superfight champion.
Sperry trains with Murilo Bustamante (Pictures), Ricardo Arona (Pictures), “Minotauro” and “Minotoro” Nogueira and carries a record of 11-3 in MMA. He will be making his seventh appearance (4-2) in the PFC.
Sperry began training Brazilian jiu-jitsu with Carlson Gracie Sr. at the age of 13 and lost just one bout as a blue belt. He was awarded the Brazilian State Championship and Blue Belt of the Year award by the Brazilian Federation of Jiu-Jitsu.
His nickname, “Zen Machine,” came from his blue belt days when “Ze Machine” would compete in multiple divisions at the same time and could be seen running around the event to make all of his fights. Eventually it evolved to “Zen Machine” because of his calm fighting state. He is also the first competitor to ever make a Gracie family member submit. Sperry faced Royler Gracie (Pictures) in the 1998 Brazilian State Finals and defeated him in four minutes.
Sperry started fighting in local Brazilian events but got international exposure in John Perretti’s short-lived Battlecade: Extreme Fighting event. There he walked through an inexperienced Rudyard Moncayo to face unknown Russian grappler Igor Zinoviev. Sperry’s purported 272-1 record was spoiled as Zinoviev landed a well-placed knee to the forehead, cutting him open and forcing a halt to the bout.
The Brazilian returned to the MARS show and defeated K-1 veteran Andrey Dudko before competing in Australia's Caged Combat. There he defeated Christopher Haseman and Vernon White (Pictures) to win the tournament title. Sperry didn’t return to fighting until the Colosseum 2000 show in a bout with Hiromitsu Kanehara (Pictures). Sperry continuously worked for the takedown and eventually won a decision.
He resurfaced at PRIDE 17 to face Igor Vovchanchyn (Pictures) and submitted the indestructible Ukrainian fighter in less than three minutes. At PRIDE 20, Murilo Rua (Pictures) defended the Chute Boxe camp’s honor and took a decision victory. Sperry was pounded by “Ninja” and was lucky to last long enough for it to go to the judges.
He followed with wins over Wataru Sakata and Andrei Kopylov before being knocked out by Yuki Kondo (Pictures) at the Shockwave 2003 show. Sperry fought former "Cro Cop” trainer Mike Bencic (Pictures) at PRIDE Bushido 2 and knocked him out in just 11 seconds. At PRIDE 29, Sperry looked impressive, stopping heavyweight grappler Hirotaka Yokoi (Pictures) with knees to the head late in the first round.
MY PICK: Probably Sperry. This bout could be one of the most entertaining bouts of the night. Kohsaka is no joke on the ground and gave Nogueira everything he could handle on the mat. Keep in mind TK holds victories over Couture, Sobral and Brazilian giant Morais. Sperry, who is rapidly approaching 40, is still a presence in this sport but he’ll be in there against a very experienced submission grappler. This will not be easy for “Ze Mario.” The longer the bout goes the more things look good for Kohsaka. Sperry by split decision in a close one.