The Legacy Of Japanese MMA Great Kazushi Sakuraba
A pro fighter faces the most difficult decision of his life when contemplating the prospect of retirement. Unfortunately, too many hang on well past the time when they can compete at the highest level only serving to diminish their legacy and damage their health. MMA is no different than boxing in this respect, and following his brutal knockout loss to Melvin Manhoef at DREAM 4 Japan's legendary Kazushi Sakuraba appears to fit the description of a fighter who needs to call it quits but is unwilling to do so.
Mixed martial arts is booming in America, but there's not one specific fighter responsible for its upswing in popularity. That's not the case in Japan, as Sakuraba is almost universally acknowledged as having brought MMA to the mainstream of Japanese sports and popular culture. In particular, his on-going feud with Brazil's Gracie family made him a major superstar and national hero.
While Sakruaba's record in the sport is certainly worthy of this acclaim, the reality is that he hasn't defeated a credible opponent of any sort since his 2003 win over Kevin Randleman. At this point, he's doing nothing to enhance his legacy and is putting it at risk by continuing his career well past his competitive prime.
Boxing pundits frequently speak of a fighter's age in terms of 'ring years'. For that reason a younger fighter who has endured a series of grueling fights against high level opponents can be considered 'old in ring years', while an older fighter who has taken an easier path is considered 'young' by the same metric. Under this evaluation, there's no doubt that Sakuraba has to be considered old in 'ring years'. His 90 minute battle with Royce Gracie alone took a significant toll on Sakuraba, and he continued to face high level opponents after that.
Furthermore he'd frequently find himself across the ring from much larger superstars, his popularity and fearlessness producing matchups that could never get sanctioned in the US but are commonplace in the wild wild west environment of Japanese fighting. The quality of opposition he faced is staggering"Royce Gracie and several other members of the legendary family, Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Cro Cop, Vitor Belfort, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira stand out as the most impressive names on his record. Unfortunately and not surprisingly, he had difficulty when stepping up in class against heavier fighters and most of these matchups resulted in losses by brutal knockout or other type of stoppage.
Sakuraba, unfortunately, has shown little indication that he'll retire any time soon. Hopefully his prolonged career won't undermine his legacy of greatness, or more problematically damage his long term mental or physical well being. - 2361
Mixed martial arts is booming in America, but there's not one specific fighter responsible for its upswing in popularity. That's not the case in Japan, as Sakuraba is almost universally acknowledged as having brought MMA to the mainstream of Japanese sports and popular culture. In particular, his on-going feud with Brazil's Gracie family made him a major superstar and national hero.
While Sakruaba's record in the sport is certainly worthy of this acclaim, the reality is that he hasn't defeated a credible opponent of any sort since his 2003 win over Kevin Randleman. At this point, he's doing nothing to enhance his legacy and is putting it at risk by continuing his career well past his competitive prime.
Boxing pundits frequently speak of a fighter's age in terms of 'ring years'. For that reason a younger fighter who has endured a series of grueling fights against high level opponents can be considered 'old in ring years', while an older fighter who has taken an easier path is considered 'young' by the same metric. Under this evaluation, there's no doubt that Sakuraba has to be considered old in 'ring years'. His 90 minute battle with Royce Gracie alone took a significant toll on Sakuraba, and he continued to face high level opponents after that.
Furthermore he'd frequently find himself across the ring from much larger superstars, his popularity and fearlessness producing matchups that could never get sanctioned in the US but are commonplace in the wild wild west environment of Japanese fighting. The quality of opposition he faced is staggering"Royce Gracie and several other members of the legendary family, Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Cro Cop, Vitor Belfort, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira stand out as the most impressive names on his record. Unfortunately and not surprisingly, he had difficulty when stepping up in class against heavier fighters and most of these matchups resulted in losses by brutal knockout or other type of stoppage.
Sakuraba, unfortunately, has shown little indication that he'll retire any time soon. Hopefully his prolonged career won't undermine his legacy of greatness, or more problematically damage his long term mental or physical well being. - 2361
About the Author:
Ross Everett is a widely published freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.
posted by Marcondes Allen at 12:27 AM
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