Yoshihiro Sato
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
kickboxer competing in K-1
at middleweight
(-70 kg). He is the former world champion of Muay Thai
in WKA and WPKC, and he won the Japanese national tournament of K-1
twice in 2006 and 2007. His official nickname is "Mugen Sniper" which means Infinite Sniper.
, Japan
on January 25, 1981. He started learning kickboxing
in 1994 when he was in his 2nd year of junior high school. Originally, Sato had been going to visit a boxing
gym with his friend, but he argued and fought just before visiting. Sato was defeated completely in the fight. For this incident, he visited "Nagoya JK Factory", a kickboxing gym near to Sato's house, and started learning kickboxing. He won the Glove karate open championship tournament when he was just 16 years years old, still in his 2nd year of high school. He also won the championship the next year in 1997.
from NJKF in June 2001. He won the title of WKA World Muay Thai Welterweight by KO Milan Stevic in Germany on 23 November 2001. It was the first time for him to fight in the oversea.
. He lost to Virgil Kalakoda in a K-1 Superfight in the K-1 MAX Finals in what is considered to have been a controversial decision. On October 12, 2005, he defeated Kaoklai Kaennorsing, the only fighter who has fought in both K-1's heavyweight division and in K-1 MAX. On February 4, 2006 he defeated Akeomi Nitta, Ryuki Ueyama and Tatsuji to win the K-1 MAX Japan Grand Prix 2006 tournament. On February 5, 2007 he won the K-1 MAX Japan Grand Prix 2007 tournament. In April 2007 he lost to Dutch fighter Andy Souwer by decision. His latest fight was on July 7, 2008 in which he defeated Buakaw Por. Pramuk by KO in the 3rd round in the Quarterfinals for the K-1 MAX Finals and he is set to fight Masato on October 10, 2008.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
kickboxer competing in K-1
K-1
K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
at middleweight
Middleweight
Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
(-70 kg). He is the former world champion of Muay Thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
in WKA and WPKC, and he won the Japanese national tournament of K-1
K-1
K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
twice in 2006 and 2007. His official nickname is "Mugen Sniper" which means Infinite Sniper.
Amateur era
He was born in Nagoya, AichiNagoya, Aichi
is the third-largest incorporated city and the fourth most populous urban area in Japan.Located on the Pacific coast in the Chūbu region on central Honshu, it is the capital of Aichi Prefecture and is one of Japan's major ports along with those of Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Yokohama, Chiba, and Moji...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on January 25, 1981. He started learning kickboxing
Kickboxing
Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....
in 1994 when he was in his 2nd year of junior high school. Originally, Sato had been going to visit a boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
gym with his friend, but he argued and fought just before visiting. Sato was defeated completely in the fight. For this incident, he visited "Nagoya JK Factory", a kickboxing gym near to Sato's house, and started learning kickboxing. He won the Glove karate open championship tournament when he was just 16 years years old, still in his 2nd year of high school. He also won the championship the next year in 1997.
Fight as a professional kickboxer
He passed the examination for professional kickboxing of New Japan Kickboxing Federation (NJKF) in 1998. He won his first match against Isao Miyamoto by decision on December 25, 1998. He changed his weight class from lightweight to welterweight in April 2000. He moved to All Japan Kickboxing FederationAll Japan Kickboxing Federation
All Japan Kickboxing Federation was the Japan-based sanctioning and promoting body of professional kickboxing. It was established in 1987 and it was dissolved in 2009. The informal name was "Zen Nihon Kikku...
from NJKF in June 2001. He won the title of WKA World Muay Thai Welterweight by KO Milan Stevic in Germany on 23 November 2001. It was the first time for him to fight in the oversea.
Entry to K-1
He beat William Diender (Netherlands) by decision On May 3, 2005. It was the first match in K-1K-1
K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
. He lost to Virgil Kalakoda in a K-1 Superfight in the K-1 MAX Finals in what is considered to have been a controversial decision. On October 12, 2005, he defeated Kaoklai Kaennorsing, the only fighter who has fought in both K-1's heavyweight division and in K-1 MAX. On February 4, 2006 he defeated Akeomi Nitta, Ryuki Ueyama and Tatsuji to win the K-1 MAX Japan Grand Prix 2006 tournament. On February 5, 2007 he won the K-1 MAX Japan Grand Prix 2007 tournament. In April 2007 he lost to Dutch fighter Andy Souwer by decision. His latest fight was on July 7, 2008 in which he defeated Buakaw Por. Pramuk by KO in the 3rd round in the Quarterfinals for the K-1 MAX Finals and he is set to fight Masato on October 10, 2008.
Kickboxing record
| Professional Kickboxing record | |
|---|---|
Legend: |
|
Titles
- Amateur
- 1996 Glove Karate Open championship winner
- 1997 Glove Karate Open championship winner
- Professional
- WKAWKAWKA is a three-letter acronym with multiple meanings, as described below:*World Kickboxing Association *World Karting Association*World Kick Boxing Association *Wanaka Airport, New Zealand...
Muay Thai World WelterweightWelterweightWelterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
champion (Defence: 1) - WPKC Muay Thai World Super welterweight champion (Defence: 1)
- K-1 World MAX 2006 Japan Tournament winner
- K-1 World MAX 2007 Japan Tournament winner
- K-1 World MAX 2010 runner up
- WKA
See also
- List of K-1 events
- List of male kickboxers
- List of kickboxing organizations