Japan’s Tatsuya Kawajiri began fighting in 2000, with a loss. Next fight was a draw. But the third time was a charm – ‘Crusher’ got his first win.
Then he won six more in a row, before losing a decision to Victor ‘Shaolin’ Ribeiro. After the setback, Kawajiri won three more, including wins over Yves Edwards, and Ryan Bow.
Next up was a draw with Caol Uno, and three more wins in Shooto, including a rematch with Shaolin. Then Kawajiri switched from the wonderfully-skilled but miserably-compensated Shooto to the mighty PRIDE FC. It was 2005.
Kawajiri went 6-2 in PRIDE and SHOOTO, beating Charles Bennett and Chris Brennan, among others, and losing to Takanori Gomi and Gil Melendez. With the close of PRIDE, he moved on to the other leading Japanese promotions.
He went 13-3 post-PRIDE, losing only to Shinya Aoki, Gil Melendez, and Eddie Alvarez in the Sherdog’s 2008 fight of the year. On a five-fight win streak, Kawajiri entered the UFC. It was 2014.
The fighter went 3-3 in the UFC, most recently losing unanimous decisions to Dennis Bermudez and Cub Swanson. He had never lost two in a row before.
Kawajiri sustained an illegal knee to the head in the fight with Swanson, and disagreed with the judge’s 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 scores. Kawajiri said then that at 38, the fight might be his last. However, as he did not agree with the decision, he asked for one more fight, with Frankie Edgar, at UFC 205. That went to Jeremy Stephens, and after some thought, he posted his wishes.
After rounds of thoughts, I've asked to be released from the UFC. Plan for the future will be announced separately. Appreciate your support.
— 川尻達也tatsuya kawajiri (@CRUSHER_MMA) October 17, 2016
“>October 17, 2016
‘Crusher’ is 38 years old, has been fighting for over 16 years, and just lost back to back to the #5 and #9 ranked fighters. The UFC is an unforgiving place for a fighter in that position, and Kawajiri may believe that ONE FC or RIZIN is a more suitable fit. Hopefully, the UFC agrees.
