TK Kosaka was perhaps the pioneering Japanese MMA fighter to make a BIG statement in that American cage called the UFC.

Over The Fence
Of course by now everyone knows that Conde Koma, Maeda crossed the Pacific and landed in Brazil in what would become a true story of positive adaptation towards MMA’s evolution. He passed on the secret art of jiu jitsu to his gracious hosts in a new world. Almost a century later, Japanese fighters have been sporadically infiltrating the U.S. MMA scene in events such as KOTC or Ring of Fire, MFC, ROTR, etc… But recently, for those of you who have been paying close attention, you might have noticed that they are crossing into these frontiers over the fence of the octagon. It’s not just them but the Brazilians keep coming and setting up communes disguised as jiu jitsu dojos as well. Eu zombo! And don’t forget bout them Canadiens, eh!

Crossing The Pacific
Some of the UFC fighters from the Land of the Rising Sun that immediately come to mind are Tsuyoshi Kosaka, Caol Uno and Genki Sudo. They are also perhaps the most famous and successful of all Japanese MMA fighters who have stepped into the octagon. In the end they fared with rather average records. Uno wound up with a 3-3-1 record, although he did lose to the very best 155 lbs. fighters from that era, including Jens Pulver, BJ Penn, and an up and coming Hermes Franca. In the end Uno was left in limbo in what was perhaps one of the greatest MMA duels of all times against the formidable BJ Penn. The fight wound up a draw and then Zuffa dropped the division for about four years. Even legends like Yuki Kondo did not fare well at all in the octagon with a 1-2 record, and Hayato "Mach" Sakurai lost a title fight in his only octagon appearance against Matt Hughes. Only a legend like Sakuraba could have had the luck to fight the same man twice in one event, as the fight was stopped prematurely and deemed a no contest.

Rewind
When Japanese Samurai first began crossing the ocean and over the octagon wall was on March 11, of 1994. This was when Minoki Ichihara stepped into UFC II. Not only would this be his only MMA fight ever, but he was also the smallest man in the tournament and wanted only the honor of fighting Royce Gracie. The rest is MMA History 101; as Royce would of course go on to win the second open weight UFC tournament. The next Japanese fighter to step in would also not fare well although he was extremely large and a former Sumo man, Koji Kitao. Unfortunately for Kitao he was punched in the nose and because of the heavy nosebleed and lack of communication (he spoke no English) when asked if his nose was broken he said, that he wanted to go on. Big John McCarthy stopped the battle by doctor’s stoppage. It would be a disappointing loss on May 17 of 1996 before the UFC discovered interpreters.

Kazushi Sakuraba, whose name was once sinonymous with MMA, was the first Japanese fighter ever to be victorious in the UFC.

UFC Japan
The UFC would then travel to Japan on December 21rst of 1997 for Ultimate Japan I, when Kazushi Sakuraba made his controversial debut against Marcus Silveira winning by an armlock in their second offering against each other the same night. What left an aftertaste of ambiguity on the first ever Japanese victory in the octagon was the initial bum call by the referee, which originally was deemed a victory for Silveira. On the same card Yoji Anjo lost a decision against big David “Tank” Abbott. This would be the first of three UFC’s in Japan.

Down In The Bayou
John Fogerty could have never foreseen what was to happen down on the Bayou on March 13 of 1998. Tsuyoshi Kosaka would not only defeat a rising legend, but he would become the first Japanese fighter in history to win in the UFC on foreign soil. Not only would TK win first in Louisiana against Kimo, but also he would follow suite in Brazil as well with a win over Pete “El Duro” Williams. With another win in between his wars against Bas Rutten and Pedro Rizzo, Kosaka proved that he was truly among the top MMA fighters in the world, and he was the first to do so in the UFC. Of course things did change when TK Kosaka stepped into the octagon demanding respect for the Japanese, in the heavyweight category to boot. With a 3-3 UFC record, Kosaka would depart from the UFC with a loss after a three-year octagon hiatus.

UFC J 2
On November 19 of 1999 Ultimate Japan returned once again in a tournament format plus some super fights. Kenichi Yamamoto won the tournament, but it was only Japanese fighters involved. Also on that card, Keichiro Yamamiya lost to a then rising jiu jitsu man named Eugene Jackson. Before this night began Japanese fighters had finally accumulated four victories in the octagon against foreign fighters, but still with four defeats. That night TK would lose to a prime time Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo in a bloody encounter. Together with Yamamiya’s loss, the proud samurai spirit had once again fallen behind statistically to 4-6. Yuki Kondo would then defeat Alexandre Dantas in September of the following year bringing it back up to 5-6 but history was now against them.

Perhaps the most successful Japanese fighter to step into the octagon, Caol Uno would fight twice for the five round155 lbs. title belt.

Ultimate Disaster
December 16, 2000 was the date for Ultimate Japan 3 AKA UFC 29. The third UFC - J featured Yuki Kondo against Tito Ortiz as the main card, and this sealed the end to a horrible showing for the Japanese fighters on that particular night. Daiju Takase, who was defeated by Jeremy Horn in his UFC debut in July of 99, had also lost to Keichiro Yamamoto in UFC - J Tournament, and now in his third UFC bout at a much lighter weight he was taken out by strikes in the first round by Fabiano Iha. In the following bout, Matt Lindland took out Yoji Anjo in his second UFC showing in the first round.
It’s interesting to note that Kenichi Yamamoto (winner of UFC J Tournament) was “pressured” to fight against Pat Miletich in this final Ultimate Japan at an extremely difficult weight for him to reach. Not only did Yamamoto have to cut more than forty pounds to make weight, but also at the last minute they changed the rules of the match. This was the only UFC match in history to allow knees to a downed opponent. Needless to say it was a sad day for Japan with a 0-4 showing in one night inside the octagon, making it 5-10 overall.

No Title Championships
A year later, 2001 would mark the arrival of Caol Uno who would temporarily help out the Japanese cause along with Genki Sudo, but neither could fight against the quick sand like odds already staked statistically against them. In two title shots, Uno fought to a decision loss in five rounds to Jens Pulver and then came the awing five round Draw against BJ Penn. Meanwhile Hayato “Mach” Sakurai had lost his title shot against the longest reigning Welterweight champion in the fourth, and on the same card Jutaro Nakao fell victim to a decision against Sean Sherk. Meanwhile Yuki Kondo kept having bad luck with two loses to follow his victorious octagonal debut. A couple other Japanese fighters came and went, and finally a new era was commencing with SEG having segued into Zuffa.

In what would be his final UFC appearance, Genki Sudo always turned it on for the fans. But was his prescence in the UFC like throwing "pearls to swine."

Fast Forward/Big Promises
After promising so much content for the year 2006, Zuffa realized that their talent pool was running thin. Maybe running thin is not the right description, as there is always new talent coming up, especially now in the era of extreme sports, which is where Zuffa marketed their brand of MMA. Watered down might be a better way to say it. By the time UFC 68 came around, many fans fell asleep or could have cared less, except for the “return” theme of former champions. Zuffa set a new attendance record for themselves, but they took it to Columbus, Ohio, test capital of the U.S.A. Of course you got a lot of hungry fans in the great Midwest that can’t travel to Cali or Vegas, since even North Eastern events are a rare happening now a days.

Genki would have had a perfect career in the octagon if it wasn't for a badly timed Dr.'s check initiated by the referee. For those who saw that fight, Sudo won without a doubt.

Almost Perfect
Genki Sudo was perhaps the last of the last great Japanese fighters to depart from the UFC in April of 2004. He retired with a 2-1 UFC record, the “1” being an extremely controversial decision loss generated by a medical check for Duane Ludwig in the final minute of the match. Ludwig had been bludgeoned throughout and was awarded the victory for his performance in the final minute of the fight. The UFC had to re-examine its rules after this controversial decision, and then implemented the “restart from the same position”. Since Genki’s departure from the octagon, the new wave of Japanese fighters began arriving about a year and later, silently entering the octagon like ninjas. At least Sudo proved that things were turning around for the Japanese fighters with a nearly perfect UFC performance blemished only by idiot judges.

Un Televised
They may be out of most fans sight, but success will bring them to mind, or out of the invisible? For those who have been watching the UFC on PPV or Spike TV you have had less than a handful of a glimpse of the talent that is crossing from the land of the rising sun. It all began back about a year later (post Sudo) on June 4, 2005 at the Boardwalk Hall in glorious AC, New Jersey as Nick Diaz took out the very tough PANCRASEism star Koji Oishi. Oishi stood tough against Diaz throughout, but Diaz imposed himself with his larger physique and power towards a KO victory at 1:24 of Round 1. One thing that must be noted, each time a Japanese fighter steps into the Octagon, they are always matched against extremely tough opponents. Is this coincidence? On October 7, 2005 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut Marcio Cruz choked out yet another Japanese Octagon hopeful in Keigo Kunihara with a Mata Leon. The next wave of Japanese fighters was already off to a slow start.

UFN
The next time was the first time it happened on an UFN card on August 17, 2006 at the Red Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada as Dean Lister got by Yuki Sasaki, who once graced the Pancrase stage, by unanimous decision. The most recent appearance by a Japanese fighter in a UFN card was at the December 13, 2006 Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, UFN 7 show in which an extremely tough Brock Larson unanimously took the judges’ cards over a previously undefeated Keita Nakamura from Shooto.

Spunk
The fact that now Dokonjonosuke Mishima is on the televised portion of the Spike TV card for this UFN as he was in UFC 65 against Joe “Daddy” Stevenson, proves that international level MMA shows need more charismatic characters as well as fighters who are not only “victory minded” but rather “entertaining” and of course, Japanese fighters. This is a due or die battle for Mishima, a veteran who is no longer in his prime being offered to the up and coming hyped young stars of TUF. Ken Florian in particular is fond of using the elbows to cut and utilizes the fence both legally and not, as he displayed in the Sean Sherk bloodletting. For Mishima it is essential to utilize his speed and grappling to control the opponent’s upper body on the ground.

Former DEEP Champion Mishima definitely added spunk to the card in his first UFC, but fell victim to "Daddy's" guilloteen.

Many
What is most amazing about this ten-fight card is that four fights feature Japanese fighters. This has not happened since UFC Japan on December of 2000, which wound up being ugly for the Japanese fans and fighters alike. This time Keita Nakamura is taking on an extremely tough Drew Fickett in a fight, which will hopefully be televised. Also kicking off the show is Zest star Hiroki Kotani’s brother who studied to be a pastry chef. Naoyuki Kotani, will be debuting against undefeated Brazilian Tiago Tavarez. Meanwhile Kuniyoshi Hironaka returns after a decision loss to John Fitch on October 2006 to face powerful Forrest Petz. These are tough adversaries for the Japanese, and they will have to take the decision away from the judges’ hands if they wish to fare well.

The Great Japanese Hope
Finally we arrive to the target of all these words that came before. His name is Yushin Okami, and he is a rising UFC star who came in through the backdoor, taking on “low profile” preliminary bouts, while beating the odds and winning in all three UFC outings thus far. In his August 26, 2006 bout at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas Yushin Okami earned a unanimous decision from the American judges over Alan Belcher. Then on October 14, 2006 once again at the Mandalay Bay, Yushin Okami pounded out TUF standout Kalib Starnes at 1:40 in the final round of their bout. At this point Okami was standing in a position, which only TK had experienced before as a fighter from Nippon in the UFC octagon. After two fights in the octagon Kondo was 1-1, Uno 1-1, Sudo 1-1, Saku 1-1NC. For Kosaka the next opponent would be formidable, while Okami once again gnawed away at another TUF passer by named Rory Singer in the under card of Liddell Ortiz II. While the “Ice Man” partied all night long, the Japanese fighters victory went relatively unnoticed as he spiritedly celebrated being the first Japanese fighter ever to have a 3-0 record in the UFC. Of course, now Joe Silva and Dana wanna test his wits against the very fortunate Mike Swick. Having passed through the Pancrase, PRIDE, K-1 Hero’s, MARS and ROTR stages, if Okami is the real thing he will take out the popular and super confident American. Okami’s three losses have been to world-class fighters, and the only time he was taken out was against Amar Suloev, in Russia’s M-1. This was only thirteen months into his fight career, with six victories in the first year.

Will this be the next match up for the UFC Middleweight Belt? Will Japan and Brazil take over control of the octagon? And don't forget Canada, eh!

Turning Japanese
With the Fertitta brothers’ recent purchase of PRIDE, the question is, has the UFC finally dealt the ultimate blow to the mother of all Japanese MMA events, or are we all just turning Japanese? Like in the film “Soilent Green,” if we could let every MMA fan in the world experience both shows in a virtual like state, I think overwhelmingly, most people would choose the PRIDE experience. Although Zuffa decided to drop the pyro-techniques opting for a more “Boxing” like show, they need to remember that the masses love the spectacle. After all what could be a bigger spectacle than two consenting human beings fighting in a chain linked cage.

The Lesson
One thing Zuffa already learned is that you can buy a wounded horse and rehabilitate instead of shooting it, and it might make you millions. Now they are getting a little taste for the "foreign." Those boys from the town, which fought most fiercely against bussing “forced desegregation” are realizing that its good to actually mix up the cultures, giving the American fights fans a reasons to shout U.S.A. especially when the octagon is being invaded by “L’ Estranger.” But goddamnit it’s much more exciting.

Number 3 or Number 1

Yushin Okami could very well become the first Japanese fighter ever to be victorious in the UFC octagon more than three times. TK and Caol Uno both walked away with a couple of three’s in their UFC records 3-3. At 3-0 Okami is way ahead of the rest of the pack, although the caliber of opponents he has faced thus far are not at the same level as those TK, Caol, Yuki or Genki faced. What this very young Japanese veteran already has though is a tremendous amount of experience, tremendous athleticism, and he is in his prime at only twenty-five years of age. The question is, can he break the curse which Japanese fighters have been subjected to in the octagon’s past? Even more interesting is the fact that Okami fought against Anderson Silva slightly over a year ago in ROTR. Silva was disqualified for an illegal kick. Will we see a rematch between these two in the UFC, and will it be for the MW title?