“Wow, it is a fairly skilled opponent.” That was how Taisei Sakuraba, son of legendary Japanese fighter Kazushi Sakuraba, reacted when RIZIN booked his debut battle 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 sensible.
“Saku Jr.” grew up competing in judo and watching his father shine within the PRIDE ring. He entered the mat for grappling contests in newer years earlier than asserting his transition to blended 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 street. Not a lot when it comes to measurement, as each Sakuraba and Yachi are lightweights, however the hole experience-wise is simply monumental.
“I used to be considering perhaps it was an excessive amount of of a shortcut in a approach,” Sakuraba advised MMA Preventing by way of a translator. “However as soon as it was confirmed, I form of considered it I simply form of got here to my sense and mentioned, hey, I received to do it. You understand how there are specific features to be able to develop into a star, and a kind of features are profitable fights that folks assume that you just’re going to lose.”
Yachi holds a document of 27-14 in MMA after profitable 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 battle, I feel it’s going to be positively a problem for me,” Sakuraba mentioned of Yachi, “however I feel if I can beat this opponent if I come out as a winner after this battle, individuals are going to actually assume 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. mentioned that my father made his identify combating worldwide fighters, going in opposition to larger opponents, so I feel I want to tackle that legacy. It is going to be particular to problem himself in opposition to ‘larger and stronger worldwide opponents,’ so Yachi is a superb strategy 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 mentioned. “Particularly when you 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 way of a really aggressive facet, however relating to combating, I feel it’s somewhat completely different.”
“Clearly, outcomes do matter, nevertheless it’s the way you carry out and the way you battle,” he continued. “There’s a giant facet of that in combating. There’s a giant which means to that. Going in opposition to challenges, going in opposition to the chances, going into the ring because the underdog, which means quite a bit. There’s numerous drama. There’s much more to inform in the course of the battle with fights like that. I feel in combating, it’s essential to to battle to encourage folks, to maneuver folks’s feelings, that’s one factor that’s required as knowledgeable fighter.
“As soon as the Yachi battle was confirmed, I assumed that Yachi can be a a lot better opponent than no one that has the identical quantity of expertise that I do. It’s simply a right away problem for me; I’m entering into because the underdog, and every thing is about. The stage is about for me to encourage, go in there, and encourage the followers. I feel that’s one factor {that a} fighter is required to do, to maneuver folks’s feelings and encourage folks.”
Yachi scored greater than half his RIZIN wins through stoppage, together with a submission over PRIDE and UFC legend Takanori Gomi and knockouts in opposition to veterans Satoru Kitaoka and Daron Cruickshank. In the long run, nonetheless, Sakuraba believes that being inexperienced might assist him on Dec. 31.
“I feel skilled fighters, veterans, they’ve a strategy to battle. They’ve their strategies all arrange,” Sakuraba mentioned. “However for me, I feel the factor that he’s most likely not gonna anticipate is my grittiness. I don’t have a way. I don’t have my approach of combating. I’ve no selection however to go in there and do my very best, the way in which I can. I don’t care the way it seems to be, I’m simply going to go in there and do my greatest. My grittiness, my willingness to not surrender and simply proceed to battle and attempt to present myself, is what’s most likely going to shock him, that he’s most likely not used to at this stage of his profession. The grittiness of somebody like me who’s coming into the game.”
