“Wow, it is a fairly skilled opponent.” That was how Taisei Sakuraba, son of legendary Japanese fighter Kazushi Sakuraba, reacted when RIZIN booked his debut combat for Dec. 31 towards Yusuke Tachi, a veteran of 41 MMA bouts.
Wanting again at his father’s profession, all of it is smart.
“Saku Jr.” grew up competing in judo and watching his father shine within the PRIDE ring. He entered the mat for grappling contests in newer years earlier than saying his transition to combined martial arts however wasn’t anticipating to face such an skilled foe proper off the bat.
Sakuraba, now 55, has confronted the who’s who of the game as one of many stars of PRIDE in Japan, sharing the ring with a lot heavier opponents like Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Cro Cop, “Rampage” Jackson, Igor Vovchanchyn and Vitor Belfort. For his son, it’s a matter of future to go down that very same street. Not a lot by way of dimension, as each Sakuraba and Yachi are lightweights, however the hole experience-wise is simply huge.
“I used to be pondering perhaps it was an excessive amount of of a shortcut in a means,” Sakuraba instructed MMA Preventing by means of a translator. “However as soon as it was confirmed, I type of considered it I simply type of got here to my sense and stated, hey, I bought to do it. You understand how there are specific features so as to grow to be a star, and a type of features are profitable fights that individuals assume that you simply’re going to lose.”
Yachi holds a file of 27-14 in MMA after profitable 4 of his previous 5. He’s a former Shooto and PXC featherweight champion and has challenged Roberto Satoshi for the RIZIN light-weight throne in 2021.
“For my debut combat, I feel it’s going to be undoubtedly a problem for me,” Sakuraba stated of Yachi, “however I feel if I can beat this opponent if I come out as a winner after this combat, individuals are going to actually assume totally different about me. It’s undoubtedly going to place my title on the map. So in that sense, I’m very excited to see how a lot I can do. And as soon as I beat my opponent, I’m very excited to see how everybody’s gonna react.
“Saku Jr. stated that my father made his title preventing worldwide fighters, going towards greater opponents, so I feel I wish to tackle that legacy. It will likely be particular to problem himself towards ‘greater and stronger worldwide opponents,’ so Yachi is a superb strategy to get issues began at RIZIN Decade.
“I come from a aggressive judo background, and in judo, outcomes matter. You win or lose, it’s an enormous distinction,” Sakuraba stated. “Particularly for those who wanna make it to the Olympics, all that stuff, it’s a must to win, and it’s a must to earn your factors so as to make it to the Olympics. I used to be going by means of a really aggressive side, however in the case of preventing, I feel it’s a little bit totally different.”
“Clearly, outcomes do matter, however it’s the way you carry out and the way you combat,” he continued. “There’s an enormous side of that in preventing. There’s an enormous which means to that. Going towards challenges, going towards the percentages, going into the ring because the underdog, meaning loads. There’s a whole lot of drama. There’s much more to inform in the course of the combat with fights like that. I feel in preventing, it’s essential to to combat to encourage individuals, to maneuver individuals’s feelings, that’s one factor that’s required as an expert fighter.
“As soon as the Yachi combat was confirmed, I believed that Yachi can be a a lot better opponent than no one that has the identical quantity of expertise that I do. It’s simply an instantaneous problem for me; I’m moving into because the underdog, and all the things is ready. The stage is ready for me to encourage, go in there, and encourage the followers. I feel that’s one factor {that a} fighter is required to do, to maneuver individuals’s feelings and encourage individuals.”
Yachi scored greater than half his RIZIN wins by way of stoppage, together with a submission over PRIDE and UFC legend Takanori Gomi and knockouts towards veterans Satoru Kitaoka and Daron Cruickshank. Ultimately, nevertheless, Sakuraba believes that being inexperienced may assist him on Dec. 31.
“I feel skilled fighters, veterans, they’ve a strategy to combat. They’ve their strategies all arrange,” Sakuraba stated. “However for me, I feel the factor that he’s in all probability not gonna anticipate is my grittiness. I don’t have a technique. I don’t have my means of preventing. I’ve no alternative however to go in there and do my best possible, the best way I can. I don’t care the way it appears, I’m simply going to go in there and do my finest. My grittiness, my willingness to not hand over and simply proceed to combat and attempt to present myself, is what’s in all probability going to shock him, that he’s in all probability not used to at this stage of his profession. The grittiness of somebody like me who’s coming into the game.”
