Daijiro Matsui is a 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...

ese mixed martial artist

Mixed martial arts

Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

 who competes in the light heavyweight

Light Heavyweight (MMA)

The light heavyweight division in mixed martial arts generally refers to competitors weighing between 186 and 205 lb . It sits between the lighter middleweight division, and the heavyweight division....

 division. He has fought in a number of organizations including the Pride Fighting Championships and the Cage Rage Championships.

Career

Matsui made his mark in MMA mostly in PRIDE Fighting Championships, where he had a number of entertaining matches and respectable efforts, but few wins. Matsui's most well known victory came when he defeated Jose "Pele" Landi-Jons

Jose Landi-Jons

José "Pelé" Landi-Jons is a Cuban-Brazilian mixed martial artist and vale tudo fighter known for his eccentric attitude and exciting style of fighting. Pelé's style is primarily Muay Thai, but he also practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in which he holds a black belt. Pelé was born in Cuba and at the...

 by majority decision in an incredible come from behind victory. "Pele" knocked down Matsui, and it appeared that Matsui was unconscious, however Matsui was able to rally back and gain a decision victory. Matsui also holds a notable win over Quinton Jackson

Quinton Jackson

Quinton Ramone Jackson ;, also known as Rampage Jackson, is an American mixed martial artist and actor. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Jackson rose to prominence in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships where he was noted for his powerful body slams including a knockout victory over...

, a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and elite PRIDE superstar. Matsui is known for his unorthodox striking when in tight situations, a good example being the shoulder strike

Shoulder strike

A shoulder strike is a strike with the anterior part of the shoulder. The shoulder strike can be used against the head of the opponent in close positions such as in a clinch or ground fighting, but is generally not considered to have knockout power.-External links:* . Section 3.2 discusses how...

 from the guard. Since 2004 he fought in smaller promotions, including Cage Rage

Cage Rage

Cage Rage Championships, also known as Cage Rage, was a United Kingdom-based, mixed martial arts promotion that premiered on 7 September 2002 in London. Cage Rage went bankrupt and is now no longer trading...

 and Pancrase

Pancrase

Pancrase is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase is taken from Pankration, a sport in the ancient Olympic games. Suzuki and Funaki are particularly skilled in the art of catch wrestling and based the...

, and has found somewhat better success in these smaller arenas.

He trained under Nobuhiko Takada

Nobuhiko Takada

Nobuhiko Takada is a Japanese mixed martial arts fighter and professional wrestler. He is best known for helping to popularize shoot-style professional wrestling, as one of the biggest stars of the Universal Wrestling Federation and Union of Wrestling Force International in the '80s and '90s. He...

. Matsui has recently left the Takada Dojo with longtime training partner Kazushi Sakuraba

Kazushi Sakuraba

is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler. He has competed in pro-wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling, UWFi and Kingdom Pro Wrestling. He has fought in MMA competition in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1 Hero's and Dream...

.

Mixed martial arts record

|-
|Win
|11-23-4
|  Il Chul Park
|Decision
|Gladiator - Japan-Korea International Friendship Rally
| 2009-11-3
| 2
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Loss
|10-23-4
|  Daniel Madrid
|Submission
|Art of War 14
| 2009-09-26
| 2
|4:19
|
|
|-
|Loss
|10-22-4
|  Min Suk Heo
|TKO
|DEEP - Grachan 2
| 2009-07-12
| 1
|3:08
|
|
|-
|Loss
|10-21-4
|  Ichiro Kanai
|Submission
|Pancrase - Shining 10
| 2008-12-7
| 1
|2:25
|
|
|-
|Loss
|10-20-4
|  Eun Soo Lee

Eun Soo Lee

Lee Eun-Soo , often anglicised to Eun-Soo Lee, is a South Korean mixed martial artist and former Spirit MC Heavyweight Champion. Eun vacated the title when he signed with PRIDE FC in 2006. Soo-Lee is currently contracted to fight for M-1 Global...

|Decision
|DEEP - Gladiator
| 2008-08-16
| 3
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Loss
|10-19-4
|  Yuichi Nakanishi
|Decision
| DEEP - 35 Impact
| 2008-05-19
| 2
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Win
|10-18-4
|  Young Choi
|Decision
| DEEP - 34 Impact
| 2008-02-22
| 3
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Loss
|9-18-4
|  Carlos Toyota
|TKO
| DEEP - clubDEEP Kanazawa
| 2007-12-09
| 2
|2:22
|
|
|-
|Loss
|9-17-4
|  Mark Weir

Mark Weir

Mark Anthony Weir is an English mixed martial artist usually fighting in the middleweight division at 185 lbs. He has fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and Pride Fighting Championships, and is the former Cage Rage British middleweight champion- Biography :Mark Weir lives in...

|Decision
| Cage Rage 21

Cage Rage 21

Cage Rage 21: Judgement Day was a mixed martial arts event held by the Cage Rage Championships on April 21, 2007 at the Wembley Arena in London, England. It was televised on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ion Television in the United States....

| 2007-04-21
| 3
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Win
|9-16-4
|  Tom Watson

Tom Watson (fighter)

Tom "Kong" Watson is an English mixed martial artist, currently fighting at middleweight and training at Tristar Gym in Montreal, Canada and Jackson's Submission Fighting in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is known for his unorthodox entrances, dancing to the ring in a gorilla mask...

|Submission
| Cage Rage 20

Cage Rage 20

Cage Rage 20: Born 2 Fight was a mixed martial arts event held by the Cage Rage Championships on February 10, 2007 at the Wembley Arena in London, England...

| 2007-02-10
| 1
|0:59
|
|
|-
|Loss
|8-16-4
|  Flavio Luiz Moura
|Decision
| DEEP: 26th Impact
| 2006-10-10
| 3
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Loss
|8-15-4
|  Yuki Kondo

Yuki Kondo

is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He has a background in Shorinji Kempo and he is a 2nd dan. He was born in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. Kondo is a Pancrase and Pride Fighting Championships veteran, as well as three-time veteran in the UFC. Kondo has fought over 60 times for the Pancrase...

|Decision
| Pancrase: Blow 6
| 2006-08-27
| 3
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Loss
|8-14-4
|  Pierre Guillet
|TKO
| Cage Rage 17

Cage Rage 17

Cage Rage 17: Ultimate Challenge was a mixed martial arts event held by the Cage Rage Championships on July 1, 2006 at the Wembley Arena in London, England....

| 2006-07-01
| 2
|4:08
|
|-
|Win
|8-13-4
|  Curtis Stout
|Decision
| Cage Rage 15

Cage Rage 15

Cage Rage 15: Adrenalin Rush was a mixed martial arts event held by the Cage Rage Championships on February 4, 2006 at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, England...

| 2006-02-04
| 3
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Draw
|7-13-4
|  Alex Reid

Alex Reid (MMA)

Alexander Aristides Reid is an English mixed martial artist, kickboxer and actor who used the nickname The Reidernator. Reid has fought for Cage Rage, BAMMA and Cage Rage UK...

|Draw
| Cage Rage 14

Cage Rage 14

Cage Rage 14: Punishment was a mixed martial arts event held by the Cage Rage Championships on December 3, 2005 at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, England. The event was televised on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom....

| 2005-12-03
| 3
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Win
|7-13-3
|  Daisuke Watanabe
|TKO
| Pancrase: 2005 Neo-Blood Tournament Finals
| 2005-08-27
| 2
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Draw
|6-13-3
|  Elvis Sinosic

Elvis Sinosic

Elvis Sinosic is a retired Australian professional mixed martial artist.-Biography:Born in Canberra, Elvis Sinosic now resides in Sydney, where he practises his martial arts training. Elvis was born to Croatian parents and is proud of his Croatian heritage...

|Draw
| Pancrase: Spiral 5
| 2005-07-10
| 2
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Loss
|6-13-2
|  Brian Foster
|KO
| Shoot Boxing: Ground Zero Fukuoka
| 2005-01-23
| 1
|2:28
|
|
|-
|Loss
|6-12-2
|  Paulo Filho

Paulo Filho

Paulo Fernando de Souza Leite Filho, better known as simply Paulo Filho , is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist as well as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo practitioner, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil...

|Decision
| Gladiator Fighting Championships: Day 2
| 2004-06-27
| 3
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Loss
|6-11-2
|  Ryo Chonan

Ryo Chonan

is a Japanese mixed martial artist, currently fighting in DEEP where he was the 3rd DEEP middleweight champion. He has previously competed in PRIDE Fighting Championships and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is noted for being one of two fighters to finish Anderson Silva in an MMA fight at...

|Decision
| DEEP: 13th Impact
| 2004-01-22
| 3
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Win
|6-10-2
|  Kazuki Okubo
|Decision
| PRIDE 24

PRIDE 24

Pride 24: Cold Fury 3 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Marine Messe Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan on December 23, 2002.- Daijiro Matsui vs. Kazuki Okubo:...

| 2002-12-23
| 3
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Win
|5-10-2
|  Rory Singer

Rory Singer

Rory Michael Singer is an American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a middleweight.Although Rory had begun making a name for himself as a 185 pound prospect; his big break came after meeting the producers of TUF. They were filming Forrest Griffin at The HardCore Gym for his fight...

|Decision
| PRIDE The Best Vol.3

PRIDE The Best Vol.3

Pride The Best Vol. 3 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Differ Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on October 20, 2002.- Kim Jong Wang vs. "Giant Ochiai" Takayuki Okada:...

| 2002-10-20
| 2
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Loss
|4-10-2
|  Jerrel Venetiaan
|Decision
| PRIDE Shockwave

PRIDE Shockwave

PRIDE Shockwave was a mixed martial arts and kickboxing event co-promoted by the PRIDE Fighting Championships and K-1 promotions on August 28, 2002. It was held at the Tokyo National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. This event holds the Pride FC attendance record with 91,107 spectators...

| 2002-08-28
| 3
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Loss
|4-9-2
|  Rodrigo Gracie

Rodrigo Gracie

Rodrigo Gracie is a former Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and a 1998 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship Gold Medalist.- Biography :...

|Submission
| PRIDE 19

PRIDE 19

Pride 19: Bad Blood was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on February 24, 2002.-Results:...

| 2002-02-24
| 3
|0:28
|
|
|-
|Win
|4-8-2
|  Quinton Jackson

Quinton Jackson

Quinton Ramone Jackson ;, also known as Rampage Jackson, is an American mixed martial artist and actor. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Jackson rose to prominence in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships where he was noted for his powerful body slams including a knockout victory over...

|Disqualification
| PRIDE 18

PRIDE 18

Pride 18: Cold Fury 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Marine Messe Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan on December 23, 2001.-Results:...

| 2001-12-23
| 1
|0:14
|
|
|-
|Loss
|3-8-2
|  Murilo Rua

Murilo Rua

Murilo Rua is a former Brazilian mixed martial artist who fought in Pride Fighting Championships. Nicknamed Ninja, he is the older brother of former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. He is known for his well-rounded fighting skills, in particular Muay Thai and Brazilian...

|TKO
| PRIDE 16

PRIDE 16

Pride 16: Beasts From the East was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships on September 24, 2001 at the Osaka Castle Hall in Japan. The fight card featured 7 fights that night, including the return of Don Frye to MMA...

| 2001-09-24
| 3
|0:51
|
|
|-
|Loss
|3-7-2
|  Ebenezer Fontes Braga

Ebenezer Fontes Braga

Ebenezer "Pitbull" Fontes Braga is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist. He competed in the Light Heavyweight division...

|Decision
| PRIDE 15

PRIDE 15

Pride 15: Raging Rumble was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on July 29, 2001.-Results:...

| 2001-07-29
| 3
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Win
|3-6-2
|  Jose Landi-Jons

Jose Landi-Jons

José "Pelé" Landi-Jons is a Cuban-Brazilian mixed martial artist and vale tudo fighter known for his eccentric attitude and exciting style of fighting. Pelé's style is primarily Muay Thai, but he also practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in which he holds a black belt. Pelé was born in Cuba and at the...

|Decision
| PRIDE 14

PRIDE 14

PRIDE 14: Clash of the Titans was a mixed martial arts event held by the PRIDE Fighting Championships. It took place at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan on May 27, 2001.-Results:...

| 2001-05-27
| 3
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Win
|2-6-2
|  Rick Kerns
|Decision
| KOTC Bombs Away
| 2001-04-29
| 2
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Loss
|1-6-2
|  Amir Rahnavardi
|Decision
| KOTC 5: Cage Wars
| 2000-09-16
| 3
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Loss
|1-5-2
|  Vitor Belfort

Vitor Belfort

Vítor Vieira Belfort is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Belfort was born in Rio de Janeiro and studied jiu-jitsu with the Gracie family, namely Carlson Gracie. He received a black belt under Carlson and currently trains with Xtreme Couture, fighting in...

|Decision
| PRIDE 10

PRIDE 10

Pride 10: Return of the Warriors was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at Seibu Dome in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan, on August 27, 2000...

| 2000-08-27
| 2
|10:00
|
|
|-
|Loss
|1-4-2
|  Todd Medina
|Decision
| KOTC 4: Gladiators
| 2000-06-24
| 2
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Loss
|1-3-2
|  Igor Vovchanchyn

Igor Vovchanchyn

Igor Yaroslavovich "Ice Cold" Vovchanchyn is a retired Ukrainian mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He won seven mixed martial arts tournaments, as well as acquiring a 37 fight unbeaten streak, and reaching the final of the Pride Grand Prix 2000....

|TKO
| PRIDE 9

PRIDE 9

Pride 9: New Blood was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Nagoya Rainbow Hall in Nagoya, Japan on June 4, 2000. Matt Serra was to fight on this card, but his opponent, Johil de Oliveira, was injured by a pyrotechnics explosion at the...

| 2000-06-04
| 1
|5:03
|
|
|-
|Loss
|1-2-2
|  Wanderlei Silva

Wanderlei Silva

Wanderlei César da Silva , nicknamed "The Axe Murderer", is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who has competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American based Ultimate Fighting Championship . Silva is known for his aggressive fighting style with the majority of his fights ending in...

|Decision
| PRIDE 8

PRIDE 8

Pride 8 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place on November 21, 1999, at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan.-Results:...

| 1999-11-21
| 2
|10:00
|
|
|-
|Win
|1-1-2
|  Bob Schrijber
|Disqualification
| PRIDE 7

PRIDE 7

Pride 7 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place on September 12, 1999, at Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan...

| 1999-09-12
| 1
|10:00
|
|
|-
|Loss
|0-1-2
|  Carlos Newton

Carlos Newton

Carlos Newton is a Canadian mixed martial artist and former UFC Welterweight Champion. He is considered one of the true pioneers in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. Known as the "The Ronin", he competed worldwide in the biggest MMA organizations including UFC, Pride FC, IFL, K-1, Shooto and most...

|Decision
| PRIDE 6

PRIDE 6

Pride 6 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan, on July 4, 1999. The first four matches were all won by judges decision. The event also featured a karate match between Hiroki Kurosawa and Nobuaki Kakuda...

| 1999-07-04
| 3
|5:00
|
|
|-
|Draw
|0-0-2
|  Sanae Kikuta

Sanae Kikuta

Sanae Kikuta is a Japanese mixed martial artist who rose to popularity fighting in the Pancrase organization, and currently fights for World Victory Road...

|Draw
| PRIDE 4

PRIDE 4

Pride 4 was a mixed martial arts event held by KRS-Pride . It took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, on October 11, 1998...

| 1998-10-11
| 3
|10:00
|
|
|-
|Draw
|0-0-1
|  Akira Shoji
|Draw
| PRIDE 3

PRIDE 3

Pride 3 was a mixed martial arts event held by KRS-Pride on June 24, 1998 at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. The English language commentary for this event was provided by Stephen Quadros and Bas Rutten....

| 1998-06-24
| 4
|10:00
|
|

External links

• Official PRIDE site