Kazushi Sakuraba spent the better part of two decades entertaining audiences, tackling the impossible and torturing MMA’s First Family. The Japanese icon made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 1996 and for better or worse remained active deep into his 40s, absorbing hellacious beatings and accumulating unnecessary mileage. Sakuraba rose out of the ashes of Nobuhiko Takada’s failed MMA career and became one of the sport’s unlikeliest superstars. A professional wrestler and skilled submission grappler, he successfully merged the two disciplines, emerged from the early days of Pride Fighting Championships and helped lift the Japanese promotion to unprecedented heights. A rivalry with the Gracies remains the centerpiece of Sakuraba’s career. He became known as “The Gracie Hunter” during a remarkable 13-month stretch from November 1999 to December 2000, when he defeated Royler Gracie, Royce Gracie, Renzo Gracie and Ryan Gracie. The crown jewel of the series was Sakuraba’s epic 90-minute showdown with Royce in the Tokyo Dome on May 1, 2000. Their struggle ended when Rorion Gracie threw in the towel on his younger brother’s behalf after six grueling 15-minute rounds before 38,429 fans.
Though Sakuraba lingered in the sport well past his prime, he was a transcendent fighter during his heyday and a pivotal figure in the growth and spread of mixed martial arts. Here are some of the numbers that have come to define him:
1: Ultimate Fighting Championship win on his resume. Sakuraba submitted Marcus Silveira with an armbar at UFC 15.5 on Dec. 21, 1997 in Yokohama, Japan.
2: Countries in which Sakuraba has competed as a professional mixed martial artist. They are the United States and Japan.
3: Career losses by submission. Yan Cabral, Jason Miller and Kimo Leopoldo were the perpetrators.
4: Wins over former UFC champions. Sakuraba defeated Kevin Randleman, Quinton Jackson, Vitor Belfort and Carlos Newton.
8: Sakuraba fights that have gone the distance. He is 3-4-1 in those bouts.
10: Career defeats by knockout. He suffered his first such setback in the 2000 Pride open weight grand prix semifinals, where he was forced to bow out of a match with Igor Vovchanchyn due to exhaustion.
16: First-round finishes to his credit. Sakuraba registered the quickest stoppage of his career on April 23, 2005, when he disposed of Dong Sik Yoon with punches in 38 seconds at Pride Total Elimination 2005.
19: Wins by submission. They account for 73 percent of his career total. Sakuraba has submitted eight opponents via armbar, five via kimura, two via kneebar, one via neck crank, one via triangle armbar, one via rear-naked choke and one via Achilles’ lock.
48: Years of age. Sakuraba was born on July 14, 1969 -- exactly two weeks before UFC President Dana White -- in Showa, Japan.
359: Combined wins between the 15 men who have defeated Sakuraba. Only the great Wanderlei Silva has beaten him more than once, and he did so on three occasions.