Photo courtesy of sherdog.com
I am going to start this countdown with a very bold statement. Without Sakuraba MMA might not exist. He was arguably the first MMA superstar, he was beloved by the Japanese fans, and always put on a great show with his highly unorthodox style. The jumping stomps and cartwheel passes he could perform were like nothing seen before and nothing seen since. As far as entertainment value is concerned his only true competition might be Jon Jones or Anderson Silva, but I still put Sakuraba at the top in that category.
The most important thing he did for martial arts wasn't entertaining the Japanese people, it was proving to the world that Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and the Gracie family were in fact beatable. Since UFC 1 the Gracie family had staked their claim at the top of the martial arts community, and nobody had challenged this new way until Kazushi Sakuraba stepped into the ring at Pride 8 and defeated Royler Gracie by kimura. After suffering their first loss, since Helio's loss to Kimura decades prior, The Gracie family needed to rebound and placed Royler's brother and former UFC Tournament Champion Royce into the Pride 2000 Openweight Grand Prix. After both fighters won in the opening round the showdown that changed MMA was set to occur. Special rules were requested by the Gracie family; unlimited 15 minute rounds, no referee stoppages, and the fight could only be won by KO, submission, or corner stoppage. The bout lasted for 90 minutes at which point Royce could not continue due to the vicious leg kicks Sakuraba had landed throughout the fight. It was at this point that a legend was born and Sakuraba was christened with his new title, the Gracie Hunter.
In a little less than a year Sakuraba would suffer a devastating loss to Wanderlei Silva that would again change the landscape of the MMA world. His record after the loss was spotty, and he is currently on a 4 fight losing streak. Although no announcements have been made we can only assume that retirement is on the horizon for Sakuraba, however with a solid record of 26-16-1 with 2 no contests, a UFC Tournament Championship, national level wrestling experience, and victories over undefeated Gracies, Sakuraba go down in history as one of the legends of early MMA.
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