Wataru Sakata
| Wataru Sakata | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
March 11, 1973 Inazawa, Aichi, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Weight | 88 kg (194 lb) |
| Division | Light Heavyweight |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 25 |
| Wins | 11 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 7 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 14 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By submission | 6 |
| By decision | 6 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Wataru Sakata (坂田 亘 Sakata Wataru?, born March 11, 1973 in Inazawa, Aichi, Japan) is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He has a professional MMA record of 11-13-0 as of December 31, 2003.
A former Kyokushin karateka, Sakata trained in professional wrestling at Animal Hamaguchi's gym and joined Akira Maeda's Fighting Network RINGS immediately after.
Sakata debuted in RINGS in 1994 against Nobuhiro Tsurumaki. He made the transition to mixed martial arts before many of his native colleagues, starting to take part in shootfights the very year of his debut.
Over the years, Sakata would become a frequent opponent for Chris Dolman apprentice Willie Peeters, who defeated Wataru by TKO on their first fight in 1995. After losing twice again to Peeters in 1996's Maelstrom 4 and 6 events, Sakata would face him again under different rules in a RINGS Holland event, but he lost a controversial decision, in which the Dutch referee invalidated a finishing hold by Sakata while allowing Peeters to throw illegal strikes. Wataru finally got his revenge in Fighting Integration 4, making Peeters tap out in under a minute by ankle lock. Around this time, Sakata would also get important submissions wins over Valentijn Overeem.
In 1999, Sakata participated at the King of Kings MMA tournament, but he was eliminated at the first round by Renzo Gracie, with the Brazilian fighter taking him down and submitting him. The next year, Sakata would face Pancrase fighter Ryushi Yanagisawa, a natural heavyweight, in a special match, which saw Sakata losing an uneventful decision.
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