Hidehiko Yoshida - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

is a Japanese

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...

gold-medalist judoka and retired 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...

. He is a long time veteran of Japan's Pride Fighting Championships, competing 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....

and heavyweight

Heavyweight (MMA)

The heavyweight division in mixed martial arts generally groups fighters between .Although many ambiguities exist within the lower weight classes regarding division naming and weight limits, the Heavyweight division is, for the most part, uniform...

divisions, also managing to fight in the semi-finals in the Pride 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix. Yoshida holds notable wins against Don Frye

Don Frye

Donald Frye is a retired American mixed martial artist, actor, and professional wrestler. Frye rose to fame fighting in early Ultimate Fighting Championship events, winning the UFC 8 and Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournaments...

, Kiyoshi Tamura

Kiyoshi Tamura

is a Japanese middleweight professional wrestler and mixed martial artist.Once a student of legendary Pro Wrestler Akira Maeda, Tamura is known for his skill in catch wrestling as well as his ability to deliver exciting and realistic professional wrestling bouts....

, Mark Hunt

Mark Hunt

Mark Hunt ; is a New Zealand kickboxer and mixed martial artist of Samoan descent, currently living in Sydney, Australia. Hunt competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is known for his raw strength, iron chin and knockout power. He won the K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Final...

, Tank Abbott

Tank Abbott

David Lee Abbott is an American mixed martial arts fighter and former professional wrestler. He has described his fighting style, which he developed brawling in the bars and streets of Huntington Beach, California, as "street fighting"...

, Naoya Ogawa

Naoya Ogawa

Naoya Ogawa is a Japanese former world judo champion, Olympic silver medalist, professional wrestler and mixed martial artist...

and Maurice Smith. Yoshida also had two famous fights with Royce Gracie

Royce Gracie

Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...

that resulted in a win and a time-limit draw.

Biography

Hidehiko Yoshida was born in Obu

Obu, Aichi

is a city located in Aichi, Japan.As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 77,324 and the density of 2,295.84 persons per km². The total area is 33.68 km².The city was founded on September 1, 1970.-External links:*...

, Aichi, 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...

. He won the gold medal in Judo

Judo

is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...

(78 kg class) at the 1992 Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

Olympics

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

and competed in PRIDE Fighting Championships. He is known for his power and strong chin, having never been knocked out in a mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts

bout until PRIDE Shockwave 2006

PRIDE Shockwave 2006

Pride Shockwave 2006 was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships on December 31, 2006. In Japan, this event was called...

. His first submission defeat was to Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović

Mirko Filipovic

Mirko Filipović is a former Croatian heavyweight kickboxer, mixed martial artist, politician, and law enforcement officer. Filipović was a member of the Croatian Parliament from 2003 through 2007...

on 2 July 2006 when he submitted from repeated kicks to the leg. Yoshida is one of the few fighters who still wears a gi

Keikogi

or dōgi is a uniform for training, used in martial arts derived from Japan, or budō. . The prototype for the modern keikogi emerged in the late 19th century. The keikogi was developed by judo founder Kano Jigoro...

when he fights, although he sometimes has worn shorts.

Yoshida began his mixed martial arts career at PRIDE 23

PRIDE 23

Pride 23: Championship Chaos 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on November 24, 2002.- Jerrel Venetiaan vs. Hirotaka Yokoi:...

against Don Frye

Don Frye

whom he defeated by submission (armbar). He then defeated K-1 Japan Grand Prix champion and K-1 World GP runner-up Masaaki Satake

Masaaki Satake

is a Japanese former super heavyweight karateka, kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He was one of the pioneering heavyweight fighters in K-1, after being a member of Kazuyoshi Ishii's Seido-Kaikan school and organization.-Biography and career:...

as well as MMA legend Kiyoshi Tamura

Kiyoshi Tamura

. Yoshida's first loss was to the PRIDE Middleweight champion, 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...

, first by unanimous decision at the Final Conflict event on November 9, 2003, and later by very close split decision at the Total Elimination event on April 23, 2005. Another opponent was Royce Gracie

Royce Gracie

, a well-known Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...

fighter and winner of three of the first four UFC tournaments. In their first encounter, a Judo vs. Brazilian Jujitsu match Yoshida won by a gi choke however Gracie claimed he was fully conscious. As a result, Gracie requested for a rematch in which the referee could not stop the fight. The rematch, which took place at PRIDE's Shockwave 2003 event on December 31, 2003, technically resulted in a draw since neither fighter submitted or was knocked out within the time allotted. In August 2005, he defeated David "Tank" Abbott by submission. At the end of the same year, Yoshida defeated fellow Japanese judoka Naoya Ogawa

Naoya Ogawa

Naoya Ogawa is a Japanese former world judo champion, Olympic silver medalist, professional wrestler and mixed martial artist...

by an armbar in a highly anticipated MMA bout at PRIDE Shockwave 2005

PRIDE Shockwave 2005

Pride Shockwave 2005 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on December 31, 2005. In Japan, the event was called "Otoko Matsuri 2005 – Itadaki"...

with each fighter receiving a payment of $2 million USD which remains one of the most expensive fight in MMA history.

In March 2008, Yoshida lost by submission to Josh Barnett

Josh Barnett

Joshua Lawrence Barnett is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who currently fights in the heavyweight division of Strikeforce. Barnett has been an accomplished fighter in mixed martial arts, winning the UFC Heavyweight Championship and the King of Pancrase Openweight...

, a former training partner, at World Victory Road

World Victory Road

World Victory Road is a defunct Japanese Mixed Martial Arts organization which promoted the Sengoku Raiden Championship in Japan. The organization was formed in 2007 following the purchase of Pride FC by Zuffa. It operated in conjunction with the Japan Mixed Martial Arts Federation...

's inaugural show Sengoku and in June he defeated former UFC Heavyweight Champion Maurice Smith by neck crank in the first round of Sengoku - Third Battle.

Yoshida was defeated by Sanae Kikuta via split decision on January 4, 2009 at World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Rebellion 2009.

Yoshida defeated Satoshi Ishii

Satoshi Ishii

is a Japanese judoka and mixed martial artist noted for winning a gold medal in Olympic Judo at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China, a silver medal at the 2006 Asian Games and two All-Japan Judo Championships...

at Dynamite!! 2009

Dynamite!! 2009

Dynamite!! 2009 was a mixed martial arts and kickboxing events promoted by Fighting and Entertainment Group, held in the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on December 31, 2009. The event included bouts that encompass the DREAM, Sengoku Raiden Championship, K-1, and K-1 World MAX banners...

Retirement fight

Yoshida participated in an event called ASTRA for his last fight on April 25, 2010 as a response to his frustration with his previous promotion. Yoshida lost the fight via unanimous decision to Kazuhiro Nakamura

Kazuhiro Nakamura

Kazuhiro Nakamura is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing as a middleweight in DREAM. His primary style is judo, in which he holds a 3rd dan black belt under Hidehiko Yoshida...

, a long-time student of his dojo.

Judo

1992 Barcelona Olympic Games
Judo at the 1992 Summer Olympics
The Judo competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics was contested in fourteen weight classes, seven each for men and women. The seven men's weight classes continued to be those first used in 1980. This was the first Olympic competition to award medals to women judoka; women competed in 1988 as a...

78 kg class gold medalist
1996 Atlanta Olympic Games
Judo at the 1996 Summer Olympics
This page shows the final results of the Judo Competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.Kye Sun-Hui surprised spectators by winning gold in the women's extra-lightweight event. She had obtained a wildcard entry to the Games.-Men's events:...

86 kg 5th place
1999 World Judo Championship 90 kg class gold medalist
1995 World Judo Championship 86 kg class silver medalist
1993 World Judo Championship 78 kg class silver medalist
1991 World Judo Championship 78 kg class bronze medalist

Mixed martial arts

PRIDE Fighting Championships
- 2003 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Semi-Finalist
  PRIDE Final Conflict 2003
  Pride Final Conflict 2003 was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on November 9, 2003 and had over 67,450 people in the audience. This event was host to the semi-finals and finals of the 2003 Pride Middleweight Grand...

Tokyo Sports Grand Prix
- Topic Award (2002)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Fight of the Year (2003) vs. 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...
  
  on November 9

Mixed martial arts record

|-
|Loss
| style="text-align:center;"|9-8-1
|

Kazuhiro Nakamura

Kazuhiro Nakamura is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing as a middleweight in DREAM. His primary style is judo, in which he holds a 3rd dan black belt under Hidehiko Yoshida...

|Decision (unanimous)
|Astra (event)

Astra (event)

ASTRA was a mixed martial arts event promoted by Japanese entertainment group J-Rock. This event took place on April 25, 2010, at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. It served as a farewell event for legendary Japanese judoka and mixed martial artist Hidehiko Yoshida...

|
| style="text-align:center;"|3
| style="text-align:center;"|5:00
|Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
|Win
| style="text-align:center;"|9-7-1
|

Satoshi Ishii

|Decision (unanimous)
|Dynamite!! 2009

Dynamite!! 2009

|
| style="text-align:center;"|3
| style="text-align:center;"|5:00
|Saitama, Japan
|
|-
|Loss
| style="text-align:center;"|8-7-1
|

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...

|Decision (split)
|World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku no Ran 2009

World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku no Ran 2009

World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku no Ran 2009 was an mixed martial arts-event promoted by World Victory Road. It took place on January 4, 2009, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City, Japan, and hosted the creation of the first two Sengoku Champions.-Results:*Light heavyweight...

|
| style="text-align:center;"|3
| style="text-align:center;"|5:00
|Saitama, Japan
|
|-
|Win
| style="text-align:center;"|8-6-1
|

Maurice Smith
|Submission (neck crank)
|World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 3

World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 3

World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 3 was a mixed martial arts event promoted by World Victory Road. The event took place on June 8, 2008 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City, Japan.-Results:...

|
| style="text-align:center;"|1
| style="text-align:center;"|3:23
|Saitama, Japan
|
|-
|Loss
| style="text-align:center;"|7-6-1
|

Josh Barnett

|Submission (heel hook)
|World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 1

World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 1

World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 1, billed as "Sengoku Vanguard" in Japan, was the inaugural mixed martial arts event promoted by the World Victory Road...

|
| style="text-align:center;"|3
| style="text-align:center;"|3:23
|Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
|Loss
| style="text-align:center;"|7-5-1
|

James Thompson

James Thompson (fighter)

James Thompson is an English mixed martial artist. He fights as a heavyweight and has appeared in such promotions as Elite Xtreme Combat , Pride Fighting Championship, and Cage Rage. He is known for rushing his opponents at the start of the bout.-Biography:James Thompson grew up in Rochdale,...

|TKO (strikes)
|Pride Shockwave 2006

PRIDE Shockwave 2006

Pride Shockwave 2006 was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships on December 31, 2006. In Japan, this event was called...

|
| style="text-align:center;"|1
| style="text-align:center;"|7:50
|Saitama, Japan
|
|-
|Loss
| style="text-align:center;"|7-4-1
|

Mirko Filipović

Mirko Filipovic

|TKO (leg kicks)
|Pride Critical Countdown Absolute

PRIDE Critical Countdown Absolute

Pride Critical Countdown Absolute 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 1, 2006.-Background:...

|
| style="text-align:center;"|1
| style="text-align:center;"|7:38
|Saitama, Japan
|PRIDE 2006 Openweight Grand Prix quarter-final.
|-
|Win
| style="text-align:center;"|7-3-1
|

Yōsuke Nishijima

Yosuke Nishijima

Yōsuke "Yōsukezan" Nishijima is a Japanese professional boxer who has also competed in kickboxing and mixed martial arts.-Career:...

|Technical submission (triangle choke)
|Pride Total Elimination Absolute

PRIDE Total Elimination Absolute

Pride Total Elimination Absolute was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Osaka Dome in Osaka, Japan on May 5, 2006.-Background:...

|
| style="text-align:center;"|1
| style="text-align:center;"|2:33
|Osaka, Japan
|PRIDE 2006 Openweight Grand Prix opening round.
|-
|Win
| style="text-align:center;"|6-3-1
|

Naoya Ogawa

Naoya Ogawa is a Japanese former world judo champion, Olympic silver medalist, professional wrestler and mixed martial artist...

|Submission (armbar)
|Pride Shockwave 2005

PRIDE Shockwave 2005

|
| style="text-align:center;"|1
| style="text-align:center;"|6:04
|Saitama, Japan
|
|-
|Win
| style="text-align:center;"|5-3-1
|

Tank Abbott

|Submission (gi choke)
|Pride Final Conflict 2005

PRIDE Final Conflict 2005

Pride Final Conflict 2005 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. This event featured the much anticipated heavyweight title fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Mirko Cro Cop and also the final round of the 2005 Middleweight Tournament...

|
| style="text-align:center;"|1
| style="text-align:center;"|7:40
|Saitama, Japan
|
|-
|Loss
| style="text-align:center;"|4-3-1
|

Wanderlei Silva

|Decision (split)
|Pride Total Elimination 2005

PRIDE Total Elimination 2005

Pride Total Elimination 2005 was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships. This event marked the first round of the Middleweight tournament...

|
| style="text-align:center;"|3
| style="text-align:center;"|5:00
|Osaka, Japan
|
|-
|Loss
| style="text-align:center;"|4-2-1
|

Rulon Gardner

Rulon Gardner is an American Olympian who competed in the 2000 Olympic games, winning the gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling upon defeating Russian Aleksandr Karelin, who was previously undefeated in 13 years of international competition...

|Decision (unanimous)
|Pride Shockwave 2004

PRIDE Shockwave 2004

Pride Shockwave 2004 was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships. The event took place at the Saitama Super Arena on December 31st, 2004...

|
| style="text-align:center;"|3
| style="text-align:center;"|5:00
|Saitama, Japan
|
|-
|Win
| style="text-align:center;"|4-1-1
|

Mark Hunt

|Submission (armbar)
|Pride Critical Countdown 2004

PRIDE Critical Countdown 2004

Pride Critical Countdown 2004 was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships. It took place on June 20th, 2004, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.-Background:...

|
| style="text-align:center;"|1
| style="text-align:center;"|5:25
|Saitama, Japan
|
|-
| Draw
| style="text-align:center;"|3-1-1
|

Royce Gracie

|Draw
|Pride Shockwave 2003

PRIDE Shockwave 2003

Pride Shockwave 2003 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. Gary Goodridge announced he would retire from Pride. It took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on December 31, 2003.- Quinton Jackson vs. Ikuhisa Minowa:Jackson defeated Minowa by TKO ...

Wanderlei Silva

|Decision (unanimous)
|Pride Final Conflict 2003

PRIDE Final Conflict 2003

Pride Final Conflict 2003 was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on November 9, 2003 and had over 67,450 people in the audience. This event was host to the semi-finals and finals of the 2003 Pride Middleweight Grand...

|
| style="text-align:center;"|2
| style="text-align:center;"|5:00
|Tokyo, Japan
|PRIDE 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix semi-final.
|-
|Win
| style="text-align:center;"|3-0
|

Kiyoshi Tamura

|Submission (ezekiel choke)
|Pride Total Elimination 2003

PRIDE Total Elimination 2003

PRIDE Total Elimination 2003 was a mixed martial arts event held by PRIDE Fighting Championships. It took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on August 10, 2003. This event was host to the quarterfinals of the 2003 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix tournament...

|
| style="text-align:center;"|1
| style="text-align:center;"|5:06
|Saitama, Japan
|PRIDE 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix opening round.
|-
|Win
| style="text-align:center;"|2-0
|

Masaaki Satake

|Submission (neck lock)
|Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002

Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002

Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002: K-1 vs. Inoki was a mixed martial arts and kickboxing event promoted by Antonio Inoki and K-1 on December 31, 2002 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan...

|
| style="text-align:center;"|1
| style="text-align:center;"|0:50
|Saitama, Japan
|
|-
|Win
| style="text-align:center;"|1-0
|

Don Frye

|Technical submission (armbar)
|Pride 23

PRIDE 23

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Japan

Japan

External links

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