Hidehiko Yoshida

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Template:Nihongo is a Japanese gold-medalist judoka and MMA Heavyweight fighter currently competing in World Victory Road. He is a long time veteran of Japan's Pride Fighting Championships competed in the Middleweight division also managing to fight in the semi-finals in the Pride 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix. Yoshida holds notable wins against Don Frye, Kiyoshi Tamura, Mark Hunt, Tank Abbott, Naoya Ogawa, Royce Gracie and Maurice Smith.

Biography

Hidehiko Yoshida was born in Obu, Aichi, Japan. He won the gold medal in Judo (78 kg class) at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and competed in PRIDE Fighting Championships. He is known for his power and strong chin, having never been knocked out in a mixed martial arts bout until PRIDE Shockwave 2006. His first submission defeat was to Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović on 2 July 2006 when he submitted from repeated kicks to the leg. Yoshida is one of the few fighters who still wears a gi when he fights, although he sometimes has worn shorts.

Yoshida began his mixed martial arts career at PRIDE 23 against Don Frye whom he defeated by submission (armbar). He then defeated K-1 Japan Grand Prix champion and K-1 World GP runner-up Masaaki Satake as well as MMA legend Kiyoshi Tamura. Yoshida's first loss was to the PRIDE Middleweight champion, Wanderlei Silva, first by unanimous decision at the Final Conflict event on November 9, 2003, and later by very close split decision at the Total Elimination event on April 23, 2005. Another opponent was Royce Gracie, a well-known Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter and winner of three of the first four UFC tournaments. In their first encounter, a Judo vs. Brazilian Jujitsu match Yoshida won by a gi choke however Gracie claimed he was fully conscious and not being choked. As a result, Gracie requested for a rematch in which the referee could not stop the fight. The rematch, which took place at PRIDE's Shockwave 2003 event on December 31, 2003, technically resulted in a draw since neither fighter submitted or was knocked out within the time allotted (Gracie spent much of the latter part of the fight attacking Yoshida from a back mount, with Yoshida defending the attacks). In August 2005, he defeated David "Tank" Abbott by submission. At the end of the same year, Yoshida defeated fellow Japanese judoka Naoya Ogawa by an armbar in a highly anticipated MMA bout at PRIDE Shockwave 2005 with each fighter receiving a payment of $2 million USD which remains one the most expensive fight in MMA history.

In March 2008, Yoshida lost by submission to Josh Barnett, a former training partner, at World Victory Road's inaugural show Sengoku and in June he defeated former UFC Heavyweight Champion Maurice Smith by neck crank in the first round of Sengoku - Third Battle.

Yoshida was defeated by Sanae Kikuta via split decision on January 4, 2009 at World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Rebellion 2009.

Most recently, Yoshida defeated Satoshi Ishii at Dynamite!! 2009.

Retirement Fight

Yoshida announced his retirement after his upcoming last fight on the 25th of April against an opponent not known yet. He plans to participate in an event called ASTRA for his last fight as a response to his frustration with his previous promotion.. Although recent indications have shown that top ranked pound for pound mixed martial artist Emelianenko, Fedor may be the opponent.

Championships & accomplishments

Judo

• 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games 78 kg class gold medalist
• 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games 86 kg 5th place
• 1999 World Judo Championship 90 kg class gold medalist
• 1995 World Judo Championship 86 kg class silver medalist
• 1993 World Judo Championship 78 kg class silver medalist
• 1991 World Judo Championship 78 kg class bronze medalist

Mixed martial arts

• PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament, Semi-Finalist

MMA record

Professional record breakdown
19	9 wins	7 losses
By knockout	0	2
By submission	8	1
By decision	1	4
Draws	1

Template:Start box |- !style='border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3'|Date !style='border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3'|Result !style='border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3'|Record !style='border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3'|Opponent !style='border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3'|Event !style='border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3'|Method !style='border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3'|Round, Time !style='border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3'|Notes |- |Dec 31,2009 |style="background: #ddffdd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-yes2" | Win |9-7-1 | Satoshi Ishii |Dynamite!! 2009 |Decision (Unanimous) |Round 3, 5:00 |- |Jan 4, 2009 |style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" | Loss |8-7-1 | Sanae Kikuta |World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Rebellion 2009 |Decision (Split) |Round 3, 5:00 |- |Jun 8,2008 |style="background: #ddffdd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-yes2" | Win |8-6-1 | Maurice Smith |World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 3 |Submission (Neck Crank) |Round 1, 2:23 |- |Mar 5,2008 |style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" | Loss |7-6-1 | Josh Barnett |World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 1 |Submission (Heel Hook) |Round 3, 3:23 |- |Dec 31, 2006 |style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss |7-5-1 | James Thompson |PRIDE Shockwave 2006 |TKO (Strikes) |Round 1, 7:50 |- |Jul 2, 2006 |style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss |7-4-1 | Mirko Filipović |PRIDE Critical Countdown Absolute |TKO (Leg Kicks) |Round 1, 7:38 |- |May 5, 2006 |style="background: #ddffdd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-yes2" |Win |7-3-1 | Yosuke Nishijima |PRIDE Total Elimination Absolute |Technical Submission (Triangle choke) |Round 1, 2:33 |- |Dec 31, 2005 |style="background: #ddffdd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-yes2" |Win |6-3-1 | Naoya Ogawa |PRIDE Shockwave 2005 |Submission (Armbar) |Round 1, 6:04 |- |Aug 28, 2005 |style="background: #ddffdd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-yes2" |Win |5-3-1 | Tank Abbott |PRIDE Final Conflict 2005 |Submission (Choke) |Round 1, 7:40 |- |Apr 23, 2005 |style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss |4-3-1 | Wanderlei Silva |PRIDE Total Elimination 2005 |Decision (Split) |Round 3, 5:00 |- |Dec 31, 2004 |style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss |4-2-1 | Rulon Gardner |PRIDE Shockwave 2004 |Decision (Unanimous) |Round 3, 5:00 |- |Jun 20, 2004 |style="background: #ddffdd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-yes2" |Win |4-1-1 | Mark Hunt |PRIDE Critical Countdown 2004 |Submission (Armbar) |Round 1, 5:25 |- |Dec 31, 2003 | style="background: #c5d2ea"|Draw |3-1-1 | Royce Gracie |PRIDE Shockwave 2003 |Draw |Round 2, 10:00 |Match was a draw due to a lack of judges. |- |Nov 9, 2003 |style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss |3-1 | Wanderlei Silva |PRIDE Final Conflict 2003 |Decision (Unanimous) |Round 2, 5:00 |- |Aug 10, 2003 |style="background: #ddffdd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-yes2" |Win |3-0 | Kiyoshi Tamura |PRIDE Total Elimination 2003 |Submission (Ezekiel Choke) |Round 1, 5:06 |- |Dec 31, 2002 |style="background: #ddffdd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-yes2" |Win |2-0 | Masaaki Satake |Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye vs K-1 2002 |Submission (Neck lock) |Round 1, 0:50 |- |Nov 24, 2002 |style="background: #ddffdd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-yes2" |Win |1-0 | Don Frye |PRIDE 23 |Technical Submission (Armbar) |Round 1, 5:32 Template:End box

See also

• PRIDE
• List of male mixed martial artists

External links

• Official website
• MMA record
• Judo Legends
• [1] Yoshida(win) v Gracie(loss)
• Fedor vs. Yoshida potentially going down April 25th

fr:Hidehiko Yoshida ja:吉田秀彦 pl:Hidehiko Yoshida pt:Hidehiko Yoshida sv:Hidehiko Yoshida