“Wow, this can be 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 in opposition to 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 more moderen years earlier than asserting 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 highway. Not a lot by way of measurement, as each Sakuraba and Yachi are lightweights, however the hole experience-wise is simply monumental.
“I used to be pondering perhaps it was an excessive amount of of a shortcut in a manner,” Sakuraba instructed MMA Combating by a translator. “However as soon as it was confirmed, I type of thought of it I simply type of got here to my sense and stated, hey, I obtained to do it. You understand how there are particular features to be able to turn into a star, and a kind of features are successful fights that individuals suppose that you simply’re going to lose.”
Yachi holds a file of 27-14 in MMA after successful 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 believe it’s going to be positively a problem for me,” Sakuraba stated of Yachi, “however I believe if I can beat this opponent if I come out as a winner after this combat, persons are going to essentially suppose completely different about me. It’s positively going to place my identify 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 identify combating worldwide fighters, going in opposition to greater opponents, so I believe I wish to tackle that legacy. It is going to be particular to problem himself in opposition to ‘greater and stronger worldwide opponents,’ so Yachi is a superb approach 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 a giant distinction,” Sakuraba stated. “Particularly if you happen to wanna make it to the Olympics, all that stuff, it’s important to win, and it’s important to earn your factors to be able to make it to the Olympics. I used to be going by a really aggressive side, however in terms of combating, I believe it’s a bit of completely different.”
“Clearly, outcomes do matter, however it’s the way you carry out and the way you combat,” he continued. “There’s a giant side of that in combating. There’s a giant that means to that. Going in opposition to challenges, going in opposition to the percentages, going into the ring because the underdog, which means so much. There’s numerous drama. There’s much more to inform in the course of the combat with fights like that. I believe in combating, it’s essential to to combat to encourage individuals, to maneuver individuals’s feelings, that’s one factor that’s required as knowledgeable fighter.
“As soon as the Yachi combat was confirmed, I assumed that Yachi can be a significantly better opponent than no one that has the identical quantity of expertise that I do. It’s simply a direct problem for me; I’m moving into because the underdog, and all the pieces is about. The stage is about for me to encourage, go in there, and encourage the followers. I believe 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 in opposition to veterans Satoru Kitaoka and Daron Cruickshank. Ultimately, nonetheless, Sakuraba believes that being inexperienced may assist him on Dec. 31.
“I believe skilled fighters, veterans, they’ve a approach to combat. They’ve their strategies all arrange,” Sakuraba stated. “However for me, I believe the factor that he’s in all probability not gonna anticipate is my grittiness. I don’t have a way. I don’t have my manner of combating. I’ve no selection however to go in there and do my very best, the best way I can. I don’t care the way it seems, I’m simply going to go in there and do my greatest. My grittiness, my willingness to not quit 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.”
