Tsuyoshi Kosaka
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| Tsuyoshi Kosaka | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Nickname | TK |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) |
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Nationality |  Japanese |
| Born | March 6, 1970 |
| Town of birth | |
| Fighting style | Submission fighting |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Wins | 19 |
| By knockout | 6 |
| By submission | 5 |
| Losses | 11 |
| Draws | 1 |
Tsuyoshi "TK" Kosaka (March 6, 1970-) is a retired Japanese mixed martial arts fighter.
[edit] Career
Kosaka is associated with the Alliance, the Yoshida Dojo, and his own fight team A-Square. He has a professional MMA record of 19-11-1 as of March 5, 2006.
He won the presitigious Lumox Cup tournament to begin his MMA career, beating out the likes of Akihiro Gono and Egan Inoue. TK has fought in many of the largest fight organizations in the world including the UFC, RINGS, Pancrase and PRIDE Fighting Championships. TK had been a RINGS superstar before heading over to the United States and participating in the UFC. He holds wins over UFC Veterans Kimo Leopoldo, Tim Lajcik, Pete Williams and Egan Inoue. A rather small heavyweight at 215 pounds, Kosaka has also defeated Ron Waterman and Ricardo Morais, both of whom weighed in for their contests against him in excess of 300 pounds. One of his biggest wins arrived late in his career, when he knocked out Brazillian Top Team coach Mario Sperry on the same day of his son's birth.
He also scored a TKO Cut victory over the current PRIDE Fighting Championships Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko, although it was by an illegal elbow.
TK is known for his great conditioning and grappling prowess which extends through the throws and takedowns of standing grappling to the positioning and submissions of groundwork. His "TK guard" is famous for its efficiency and Frank Shamrock and Maurice Smith have both credited him with having vastly improved their work from that particular position.
On October 2, 2005 TK would lose his Pancrase Superheavyweight Belt to up and comer Mike Kyle. He now owns and operates a dojo in Japan where he trains his A-Square team along with Hidehiko Yoshida and his stable.
He announced his retirement upon losing any match in 2006. In 5th May, 2006, he lost against Mark Hunt in PRIDE "Total Elimination Absolute".
