Karate blackbelts in MMA

[gono btw]

Appreciate the work you put into research but I don't think I'll be adding these people to the list... they're mostly irrelevant cans or just plain bums!

https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/166749-ruslan-talibov (1-0)
https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/6498-vadim-shevchenko (1-1)
https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/84862-sergey-zubkov (1-3)
https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/gerry-harris (1-4)
https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/7170-gela-getsadze-surgeon (7-21)

Check out the profile pic of that last guy!

beginning of the RUssian NHB scene... Few opportunities for them...

 

[gono btw]

Appreciate the work you put into research but I don't think I'll be adding these people to the list... they're mostly irrelevant cans or just plain bums!

https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/166749-ruslan-talibov (1-0)
https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/6498-vadim-shevchenko (1-1)
https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/84862-sergey-zubkov (1-3)
https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/gerry-harris (1-4)
https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/7170-gela-getsadze-surgeon (7-21)

Check out the profile pic of that last guy!

Forget about their wiki record, and check their skill set...

Uploaded an ol´ Gela fight>

 

[Hotora86]

Forget about their wiki record, and check their skill set...

Uploaded an ol´ Gela fight>

I'm confused...

Gela is wearing MT shorts it seems. There is no indication of him being a Karateka.

The "ring girl" (LOL) at 0:35 has 2 signs that say "Kazakhstan" and "Karate". Seems like his opponent Mukhamed Arkabaev is representing Kazakhstan and Karate. Maybe there has been some confusion?

See, this is also my issue with many of these "underground" NHB fighters - they're super obscure and the scraps of info you can find are unreliable.

 

[gono btw]

I'm confused...

Gela is wearing MT shorts it seems. There is no indication of him being a Karateka.

The "ring girl" (LOL) at 0:35 has 2 signs that say "Kazakhstan" and "Karate". Seems like his opponent Mukhamed Arkabaev is representing Kazakhstan and Karate. Maybe there has been some confusion?

See, this is also my issue with many of these "underground" NHB fighters - they're super obscure and the scraps of info you can find are unreliable.

ah... it´s a whole different story...

This is Sergei Akinen [combat sambo] in IAFC:

 

[Hotora86]

ah... it´s a whole different story...

This is Sergei Akinen [combat sambo] in IAFC:

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First cross-dresser in MMA?

 

[gono btw]

First cross-dresser in MMA?

´think he pulled a RJJ, but instead of playin´ hoops, he played soccer b4 the fight...

 

[machidafan99]

I can really the the Goju style in Neil Grove's highlights

 

[Hotora86]

NEW FIGHTER ADDED !!!

NAME: Kacper Formela
AKA: Polish Machida
COUNTRY: Poland
STYLE: Shotokan
RANK: Black belt (1 dan); FSKA World Champion / WSKA Vice Champion
RECORD: 8-2
Tapology: https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/71486-kacper-formela
SD: http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Kacper-Formela-168921
fb: https://www.facebook.com/kacperformela/
https://patronite.pl/KacperFormela

 

[gono btw]

Back in 2012 I created a thread called "30 Successful Karate Fighters in MMA" (http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/30-successful-karate-fighters-mma.1040386/), later renamed to "100+ Karate Fighters in MMA" as the list grew. The thread got quite popular (50 pages of replies) but sadly it was lost during the forum migration.

Back then it had drawn some criticism for listing fighters whose experience in Karate was rather insignificant - which I now admit was justified. So instead of simply re-posting the old thread I have filtered out the rubbish and retained only cold facts: MMA fighters who legitimately hold black belts in Karate. No bias, no opinions, just a complete and comprehensive list.

The list is sorted by fighter NAMES in alphabetical order along with their corresponding STYLE and DAN rank.

• Style "Sport" is used as an umbrella term for all kinds of sports / freestyle Karate.
• Style "unknown" is used when my source states "Karate" without mentioning the exact style and I can't find any indication of the style.
• DAN rank "1?" is used when my source states "black belt" without mentioning the exact rank.

New fighters are added periodically with a separate post describing their background and rank along with a highlight video.
_ _ _ _ _

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[Hotora86]

Two more wins for two Shotokan Karate masters!

Rizin bantamweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi adds Bellator belt!
AND
The Dragon Lyoto Machida defeats the GOAT Chael Sonnen!

 

[KarateStylist]

@Hotora86 OP

I stumbled across a thread by you chronicling Machida's wins over MMA champions. I had no idea of the number of champion title holders (@ one tme or another) he has defeated.

There's quite a resume for Machida in that regard.

Nice Work.

 

[Hotora86]

@Hotora86 OP

I stumbled across a thread by you chronicling Machida's wins over MMA champions. I had no idea of the number of champion title holders (@ one tme or another) he has defeated.

There's quite a resume for Machida in that regard.

Nice Work.

Thanks. If you count minor MMA orgs as well as tournament winners and Olympic medalists then Machida has fought almost nothing but champions. I'll make a thread on that when I find the time.

 

[Hotora86]

NEW FIGHTER ADDED !!!

NAME: Eric Higaonna
AKA: The Hurricane
COUNTRY: USA / Japan
STYLE: Goju
RANK: Black belt (2 dan)
RECORD: 8-3
Tapology: https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/85745-eric-higaonna
SD: https://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Eric-Higaonna-184017

Eric is the son of one of the most famous and influential Karate grandmasters of today - Morio Higaonna. In an interesting plot twist, Eric is an experienced wrestler who loves the grappling aspect of MMA - most of his MMA wins have come by submission, as the one below:

 

[JohnPJones]

It’s still amazing the amount of disrespect karate still gets in MMA circles despite the number of big name karateka in MMA

 

[JohnPJones]

NEW FIGHTER ADDED !!!

NAME: Eric Higaonna
AKA: The Hurricane
COUNTRY: USA / Japan
STYLE: Goju
RANK: Black belt (2 dan)
RECORD: 8-3
Tapology: https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/85745-eric-higaonna
SD: https://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Eric-Higaonna-184017

Eric is the son of one of the most famous and influential Karate grandmasters of today - Morio Higaonna. In an interesting plot twist, Eric is an experienced wrestler who loves the grappling aspect of MMA - most of his MMA wins have come by submission, as the one below:

I don’t think it’s all that weird.
Karate has grappling roots, wrestling just extends those roots a bit deeper for him.

 

[Hotora86]

I don’t think it’s all that weird.
Karate has grappling roots, wrestling just extends those roots a bit deeper for him.

True, but Karate's grappling was more focused on limb control and trips, not single / double legs like your typical US wrestling.

https://www.karateobsession.com/2015/03/karate-limb-control.html

@BudoNoah might want to expand on this, as this is his website.

 

[BudoNoah]

True, but Karate's grappling was more focused on limb control and trips, not single / double legs like your typical US wrestling.
https://www.karateobsession.com/2015/03/karate-limb-control.html
@BudoNoah might want to expand on this, as this is his website.

It has throws, besides trips, as well, including a very basic version of a double-leg called ude-wa (arm ring), but even that isn't done the way wrestlers do it. As you say, most of karate's grappling methods are focused on standing grappling, in general. Historically, karateka on Okinawa participated in tegumi/muto, which was their native folkstyle submission wrestling art. In more modern times, they cross-trained in jujutsu, Judo, Shima, and Sumo.

 

[SandisLL]

tegumi/muto,

It will be nice if you wrote some articles about these grappling arts in your website.

 

[The Wrath of Crom]

I'm new to karate (Shotokan) after being primarily a boxer (just received my first belt - high yellow). I wanted to work on my kicks but was surprised at how much grappling is in Karate especially in Bunkai applications of Kata. I think that may help with the transition to MMA for Karateka. Look at how Machida did against Chael.

 

[Azam]

True, but Karate's grappling was more focused on limb control and trips, not single / double legs like your typical US wrestling.

https://www.karateobsession.com/2015/03/karate-limb-control.html

@BudoNoah might want to expand on this, as this is his website.

It has throws, besides trips, as well, including a very basic version of a double-leg called ude-wa (arm ring), but even that isn't done the way wrestlers do it. As you say, most of karate's grappling methods are focused on standing grappling, in general. Historically, karateka on Okinawa participated in tegumi/muto, which was their native folkstyle submission wrestling art. In more modern times, they cross-trained in jujutsu, Judo, Shima, and Sumo.

I've always wondered about that though.

I think the brutal truth is that most instructors/practitioners simply don't know most of the kata grappling applications themselves. It's more of a trial and error approach with mixed results and stumbling into things.

So I kind of question how much standing grappling is actually found in kata or Karate because if we are being brutally honest no-one can say without reasonable doubt - that this x or y application is a grappling technique.

Outside the few verified grappling techniques - the rest is just pure speculation/assumption. It's like picking up and trying to fit one puzzle piece at a time - until it fits into the entirety of the puzzle. The difference being we don't even know what the entire puzzle looks like - we can only discern what it may look like.

Then there is the even more concerning point that you rarely see anyone in the Karate world apply these grappling techniques (found in kata - outside of the very basic ones) in actual kumite or sparring. If you can't apply something in sparring - it's a theory in my eyes.