Taisei Sakuraba: Stronger and Unstoppably Popular, Following a Martial Arts Legacy
Mixed martial arts fighter who is descended from Kazushi Sakuraba, the "IQ wrestler," made his debut at "RIZIN" at the end of last year with a mere 26-second TKO.
“I don’t care if it’s by my parents’ influence or anything else, I want to become a star who can make the matches exciting.”
“The entrance scene was something I thought the older generation would enjoy, so I did it with that in mind. I entered with the same song and mask as my dad. It made my dad’s fans happy, and I was happy too. My dad told me, ‘Pay the copyright fee!’ (laughs).”
The speaker is Sakuraba Taisei (26), who made his MMA debut on New Year’s Eve last year at “RIZIN DECADE” and won by TKO just 26 seconds into the match.
The dad he refers to is, of course, the legendary Sakuraba Kazushi (55), known as the “IQ Wrestler,” who fought in brutal battles during the early 2000s in “PRIDE.”
As the song “SPEED TK RE-MIX” (composed by Tetsuya Komuro) played, the crowd went wild for Kazushi’s entrance, where he wore a mask. Taisei recreated that same scene during his debut.
“I’m Sakuraba Kazushi’s son. I can’t ignore this privilege. I knew that if I did an entrance like that and lost, I’d be criticized. So I have to make sure my fight is impressive. I don’t care if it’s by my parents’ influence or anything else, I want to become a star who can make the matches exciting.”
From the age of 13 to 22, Taisei dedicated himself to judo. During his time at Tokai University Sagami High, he made it to the top 8 in Kanagawa Prefecture, but he didn’t find success in the prestigious Tokai University judo team. After graduation, he chose a sales position in a real estate venture in Ebisu (Shibuya). The commission-based job was appealing to him because the more he worked, the more he earned, and using his legs and mind, he earned several times the average salary for his generation.
“I was working with only about three hours of sleep, but I felt fulfilled. I completely quit judo and didn’t exercise at all during the two years after joining. But one day, I suddenly thought, ‘Is this really okay?’ I didn’t want to be an old man who complained in a bar, saying ‘I should’ve done this back then.’ I’m the son of Sakuraba Kazushi, judo is my weapon, and I decided to aim for the world of MMA.”
