Manabu Yamada
| Manabu Yamada | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 18, 1969 , Japan |
| Other names | "Oyabun" ("Kingpin") |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg; 16 st 1 lb) |
| Trainer | Satoru Sayama |
| Years active | 1990 - 2000 (MMA) |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 40 |
| Wins | 12 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 8 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 7 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By submission | 3 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Draws | 21 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Manabu Yamada (山田学, born May 18, 1969 in Tochigi, Japan) is a retired Japanese mixed martial arts fighter. He is best known for his participation in Shooto and Pancrase fighting organizations. On December 17, 1994 Yamada advanced to the finals of the King of Pancrase Tournament where he lost to Ken Shamrock via unanimous decision.
Yamada started training with Satoru Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym after a background in karate, debuting in Shooto in 1990. He faced Kenji Kawaguchi twice in matches for the Shooto Middleweight Championship, but he was submitted in both occasions. After two important wins over Kazuhiro Kusayanagi and Naoki Sakurada, he left Shooto and joined Pancrase in 1993.
Manabu had his Pancrase debut against Katsuomi Inagaki, winning fastly by submission. Shortly after, he got his first big win over Andre Van Den Oetelaar, a kickboxer and Dutch judo champion who sported a large weight advantage. Yamada lost points early due to a rear naked choke and a liver shot, but he came back knocking down Oetelaar with a high kick and then cutting him with a strike, winning the fight by doctor stoppage. Afterwards, Yamada suffered his first defeat in the promotion when he was caught in a heel hook by Takaku Fuke, despite having the points advantage for most of the match.
In December 1994, Yamada took part in the tournament for the first King of Pancrase championship. He eliminated Christopher DeWeaver in two minutes, moving forward to face rising star Frank Shamrock. Despite his opponent's superior strength and late comeback, Yamada caught him in an ankle hold early in the match and resisted all his submission attempts, which gave him the victory by points at the end.
The former Shooto fighter advanced to engage his biggest challenge to the point, the Pancrase co-founder and heavy favourite Minoru Suzuki. In the beginning of a classic fight, Yamada was taken down and had his back fastly taken, but his defensive acumen allowed him to avoid being submitted, and he stole a point from Suzuki with a scrambling rear naked choke. Minoru came back strong, getting several near-holds, but Manabu kept defending and seeking for openings, which granted him another point by ankle hold. He then overpowered Suzuki and controlled him until locked an armbar from side control, making Suzuki tap out for one of his biggest career wins.
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