Tatsuya Kawajiri
From FightWiki
 |
Name | Tatsuya Kawajiri |
| Nickname | Crusher | |
| Association | T-Blood | |
| Weight Class | Lightweight (155 lbs.) | |
| Height | 5' 7" (171 cm) | |
| Style | Wrestling | |
| Birth Date | May 8, 1978 | |
| Fighting Out Of | Inashiki, Ibaraki, Japan | |
| Country | Japan | |
| Tatsuya Kawajiri Pictures | Official Website |
Tatsuya "Crusher" Kawajiri is a Japanese mixed martial arts fighter and a former Shooto welterweight champion, currently competing in DREAM's Lightweight division. He is nicknamed the "Crusher" for his devastating power and ground and pound fighting style.
He holds wins over the likes of UFC veteran Yves Edwards, and Vitor Ribeiro from whom he captured the Shooto Championship Belt. Kawajiri's Bushido Tournament match with Takanori Gomi was voted as Pride Fighting Championship's Fight of the Year.
During the early stages of 2005, Kawajiri was considered by many mixed martial arts publications to be the #1 Lightweight fighter in the world.
Contents |
Professional Record
| Record | 26 - 6 - 2 (Win – Loss – Draw) |
| Wins | 11 (T)KOs 6 Submissions 8 Decisions 1 Other |
| Losses | 1 (T)KOs 3 Submissions 2 Decisions |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | Shinya Aoki | Submission (Achilles Lock) | DREAM 15 | 7/10/2010 | 1 | 1:53 | For DREAM Lightweight Championship |
| Win | Kazunori Yokota | Decision (Unanimous) | FieLDS Dynamite!! 2009 | 12/31/2009 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Melchor Manibusan | TKO (Punches) | DREAM 11: Featherweight Grand Prix 2009 Final Round | 10/06/2009 | 1 | 3:48 | |
| Win | Gesias Cavalcante | Decision (Unanimous) | DREAM 9: Featherweight Grand Prix 2009 Second Round | 5/26/2009 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Ross Ebanez | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | DREAM 7: Featherweight Grand Prix 2009 Opening Round | 3/08/2009 | 1 | 4:03 | |
| Loss | Eddie Alvarez | TKO (Punches) | DREAM 5: Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 Final | 7/21/2008 | 1 | 7:35 | DREAM 2008 Lightweight Grand Prix Semi-finals |
| Win | Luiz Firmino | Decision (Unanimous) | DREAM 3: Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 Quarterfinals | 5/11/2008 | 2 | 5:00 | DREAM 2008 Lightweight Grand Prix Quarterfinals |
| Win | Kultar Gill | Decision (Unanimous) | DREAM 1: Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 Opening Round | 3/15/2008 | 2 | 5:00 | DREAM 2008 Lightweight Grand Prix Opening Round |
| Win | Luiz Azeredo | Decision (Unanimous) | Yarennoka: New Years Eve 2007 | 12/31/2007 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Gilbert Melendez | Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE: Shockwave 2006 | 12/31/2006 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Per Eklund | TKO (Punches) | Shooto: Champion Carnival | 10/14/2006 | 1 | 4:10 | |
| Win | Chris Brennan | TKO (Knee and Punches) | PRIDE Bushido 12 | 8/26/2006 | 1 | 0:29 | |
| Win | Charles Bennett | Submission (Kneebar) | PRIDE Bushido 11 | 6/04/2006 | 1 | 2:30 | |
| Win | Joachim Hansen | DQ (Kick to Groin) | Shooto: The Victory of the Truth | 2/17/2006 | 1 | 0:08 | Defended Shooto Welterweight Championship; vacated title when he could not defend it in the the mandatory time period per Shooto regulations |
| Loss | Takanori Gomi | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | PRIDE Bushido 9 | 9/25/2005 | 1 | 7:42 | Voted Pride FC Fight of the Year 2005 |
| Win | Luiz Firmino | Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE Bushido 8 | 7/17/2005 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Jan Seok Kim | TKO (Corner Stoppage) | PRIDE Bushido 7 | 5/22/2005 | 1 | 3:28 | |
| Win | Jani Lax | TKO (Punches) | Shooto: 4/23 in Hakata Star Lanes | 4/23/2005 | 1 | 4:42 | |
| Win | Vitor Ribeiro | TKO (Punches) | Shooto: Year End Show 2004 | 12/14/2004 | 2 | 3:11 | Won Shooto Welterweight (155 lbs.) Championship |
| Win | Mindaugas Laurinaitis | TKO (Punches) | Shooto: 9/26 in Kourakuen Hall | 9/26/2004 | 2 | 2:00 | |
| Draw | Caol Uno | Draw | Shooto: 3/22 in Korakuen Hall | 3/22/2004 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Ryan Bow | TKO (Punches) | Shooto: Year End Show 2003 | 12/14/2003 | 1 | 4:21 | |
| Win | Yves Edwards | Decision (Unanimous) | Shooto: 8/10 in Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium | 8/10/2003 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Takumi Nakayama | TKO (Punches) | Shooto: Shooter's Dream 2 | 5/30/2003 | 1 | 3:44 | |
| Loss | Vitor Ribeiro | Decision (Unanimous) | Shooto: Year End Show 2002 | 12/14/2002 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Ken Omatsu | Submission (Armbar) | Shooto: GIG West 3 | 10/27/2002 | 1 | 4:40 | |
| Win | Tsutomu Shiiki | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | Shooto: Treasure Hunt 8 | 7/19/2002 | 1 | 4:42 | |
| Win | Daisuke Sugie | TKO (Punches) | Shooto: GIG East 9 | 5/28/2002 | 2 | 4:19 | |
| Win | Takeshi Yamazaki | Decision (Unanimous) | Shooto: Wanna Shooto Japan | 4/21/2002 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Masaya Takita | TKO (Swollen Eye) | Shooto: Treasure Hunt 4 | 3/13/2002 | 2 | 1:22 | |
| Win | Kazumichi Takada | Technical Submission (Triangle Armbar) | Shooto: To the Top 9 | 9/27/2001 | 1 | 3:03 | |
| Win | Yohei Suzuki | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | Shooto: GIG East 2 | 5/22/2001 | 1 | 2:42 | |
| Draw | Yohei Suzuki | Draw | Shooto: Wanna Shooto 2001 | 4/08/2001 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Takumi Nakayama | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | Shooto: R.E.A.D. 4 | 4/12/2000 | 1 | 2:44 | |
Biography
He was born in the Inashiki District of Ibaraki Prefecture. He graduated from Chuo Gakuin University.
Mixed Martial Arts Career
Kawajiri is nicknamed " The Crusher" for his strength in the clinch and his "Ground and Pound" techniques.
Shooto
Kawajiri's professional career started in Japan's Shooto organization where he lost to Takumi Nakayama via rear naked choke at 2:44 of the first round. After this loss Kawajiri went on to fight Yohei Suzuki to a Draw at Shooto's "Wanna Shooto 2001." He would then remain undefeated in Shooto until a disappointing decision loss to future Shooto welterweight champion Vitor Ribeiro in 2002. He would then continue on a new winning streak eventually rematching Ribeiro to capture the welterweight crown at Shooto's 2004 Year-End show.
Pride FC
On 22 May 2005 Kawajiri made his debut in PRIDE and score a quick TKO over In Seok Kim. He went on to score a one-sided victory over Luis Firmino at Pride Bushido 8 on July 17, 2005. On 25 September, he entered Pride's first ever Lightweight tournament in hopes of eventually being crowned Pride's first Lightweight Champion as well as holding the Shooto championship at the same time. His first match in the tournament was against MMA lightweight superstar Takanori Gomi. Gomi ended up knocking down Kawajiri after a flurry of punches and proceeded to submit him with a rear naked choke 7:42 into the first round.
In Between Shooto and Pride
Kawajiri went back to Shooto to defend his lightweight championship against Joachim Hansen (one of the five people to have ever beaten Gomi). The match was stopped 8 seconds into the first round when Hansen was disqualified for kicking Kawajiri in the groin, making Kawajiri the victor. Kawajiri came back to Pride in a fight against Charles Bennett whom he submitted by kneebar after 2:30 in the first round. He then made another Pride appearance in which he fought Chris Brennan and scored an even quicker victory 29 seconds in the first round by TKO. His next fight was a non-title bout against Per Eklund in Shooto where he scored a TKO at 4:10 into the first round.
Kawajiri return to Pride was at Pride Shockwave 2006 on New Year's Eve. There he lost a controversial decision to at the time undefeated American fighter and rising star in the lightweight division, Gilbert Melendez.
On January 23, 2007, Tatsuya Kawajiri relinquished his Shooto title because he could not defend his title by the next Shooto event due to a thumb injury that occurred with his fight against Melendez.
Dream
In March 2008 Kawajiri entered the Dream Lightweight Grand Prix, where he has advanced to the semifinals after back to back victories over Kultar Gill, and Brazilian Top Team fighter Luiz Firmino.
At Dream 5 Kawajiri lost a semi-final match-up to Eddie Alvarez by TKO at 7:35 of the first round. This slugfest with Alvarez saw both men dropping the other repeatedly with punches and the fight was named 2008 Fight of the Year by several MMA outlets, including Sherdog.
On March 5, 2009, at Dream 7, Kawajiri dropped down a weight class to Featherwight (145 lbs) to face EliteXC veteran Ross Ebanez. Kawajiri choked out the Hawaiian with Rear Naked Choke just over 4 minutes into the first round.
On May 26, 2009, Kawajiri defeated Gesias Calvancante via unanimous decision. "Crusher" used his strong wrestling and ground and pound to great effect, and he was also able to frustrate "JZ" by matching him in the striking game on the feet.
Kawajiri next faced Guam's Melchor Manibusan, who had not fought in several years in a match that was not expected to be comptetive for Kawajiri. Indeed on October 5, 2009, at Dream 11, Kawajiri overwhelmed his opponent. "Crusher" easily took down his foe after a wild start in which Manibusan rushed Kawajiri with a flurry of punches, then used his trademark ground and pound to force the TKO via strikes at 3:48 of the very first round. On December 22, 2009, it was announced that Kawajiri would be taking on Sengoku Lightweight Kazunori Yokota in a Sengoku vs. DREAM fight at the annual FieLDS Dynamite!! 2009 event on New Year's eve in Saitama, Japan. The bout was quite one sided, as Kawajiri out-grappled his opponent to a Decision (Unanimous).
After his impressive win over Yokota, Kawajiri called out current DREAM Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki, who on the same New Years Eve event outclassed Sengoku's Lightweight Champion Mizuto Hirota, by defeating him with a devastating submission that broke his arm. After Aoki lost at the hands of Gilbert Melendez for the Strikeforce Lightweight title, DREAM scheduled Aoki to face Kawajiri at DREAM 15 for the promotion's lightweight strap.
The bout took place on July 10, 2010 and Aoki latched onto a leg early and refused to let go. Kawajiri tried desperately to kick free, but Aoki had the limb in full control. Aoki rolled to his side and torqued an Achilles Lock on the appendage, and Kawajiri finally tapped after apparently damaging the leg, at 1:53 of the first round.
K-1
Kawajiri fought K-1 veteran Kozo Takeda at Dynamite!! 2008 winning by 1st round KO. His next K-1 fight was at K-1 World Max 2009 Final 8 against Masato who defeated Kawajiri by TKO at 1:43 in the second round.
