| Hidehiko Yoshida | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 3, 1969 Obu, Aichi, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 225 lb (102.1 kg; 16.1 st) |
| Division | Light Heavyweight Heavyweight |
| Style | Judo |
| Rank | Olympian and 6th dan white & red belt in Judo |
| Years active | 2002 - 2010 (MMA) |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 18 |
| Wins | 9 |
| By submission | 8 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 8 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 5 |
| Draws | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Japan | ||
| Men's Judo | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Gold | 1992 Barcelona | -78 kg |
| World Championships | ||
| Bronze | 1991 Barcelona | -78 kg |
| Silver | 1993 Hamilton | -78 kg |
| Silver | 1995 Chiba | -86 kg |
| Gold | 1999 Birmingham | -90 kg |
| Asian Championships | ||
| Gold | 1988 Damascus | -78 kg |
Hidehiko Yoshida (吉田 秀彦 Yoshida Hidehiko, born September 3, 1969) is a Japanese gold-medalist judoka and retired mixed martial artist. He is a long time veteran of Japan's Pride Fighting Championships, competing in the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, 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 and Maurice Smith. Yoshida also had two famous fights with Royce Gracie that resulted in a non-contest and a time-limit draw.
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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 claimes he won by a gi choke however Gracie claimed he was fully conscious. 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. 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 of the most expensive fight in MMA history.[1]
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.
Yoshida defeated Satoshi Ishii at Dynamite!! 2009.
Yoshida participated in an event called ASTRA for his last fight on April 25, 2010 as a response to his frustration with his previous promotion.[2] Yoshida lost the fight via unanimous decision to Kazuhiro Nakamura, a long-time student of his dojo.
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 18 matches | 9 wins | 8 losses |
| By knockout | 0 | 2 |
| By submission | 8 | 1 |
| By decision | 1 | 5 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 10-8-1 | Kazuhiro Nakamura | Decision (unanimous) | Astra (event) | April 25, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 10-7-1 | Satoshi Ishii | Decision (unanimous) | Dynamite!! 2009 | December 31, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 9-7-1 | Sanae Kikuta | Decision (split) | World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku no Ran 2009 | January 4, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 9-6-1 | Maurice Smith | Submission (neck crank) | World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 3 | June 8, 2008 | 1 | 3:23 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 8-6-1 | Josh Barnett | Submission (heel hook) | World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 1 | March 5, 2008 | 3 | 3:23 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 8-5-1 | James Thompson | TKO (strikes) | Pride Shockwave 2006 | December 31, 2006 | 1 | 7:50 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 8-4-1 | Mirko Filipović | TKO (leg kicks) | Pride Critical Countdown Absolute | July 1, 2006 | 1 | 7:38 | Saitama, Japan | PRIDE 2006 Openweight Grand Prix quarter-final. |
| Win | 8-3-1 | Yōsuke Nishijima | Technical submission (triangle choke) | Pride Total Elimination Absolute | May 5, 2006 | 1 | 2:33 | Osaka, Japan | PRIDE 2006 Openweight Grand Prix opening round. |
| Win | 7-3-1 | Naoya Ogawa | Submission (armbar) | Pride Shockwave 2005 | December 31, 2005 | 1 | 6:04 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 6-3-1 | Tank Abbott | Submission (gi choke) | Pride Final Conflict 2005 | August 28, 2005 | 1 | 7:40 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 5-3-1 | Wanderlei Silva | Decision (split) | Pride Total Elimination 2005 | April 23, 2005 | 3 | 5:00 | Osaka, Japan | |
| Loss | 5-2-1 | Rulon Gardner | Decision (unanimous) | Pride Shockwave 2004 | December 31, 2004 | 3 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 5-1-1 | Mark Hunt | Submission (armbar) | Pride Critical Countdown 2004 | June 20, 2004 | 1 | 5:25 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Draw | 4-1-1 | Royce Gracie | Draw | Pride Shockwave 2003 | December 31, 2003 | 2 | 10:00 | Saitama, Japan | Openweight bout. Match under special rules. |
| Loss | 4-1 | Wanderlei Silva | Decision (unanimous) | Pride Final Conflict 2003 | November 9, 2003 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | PRIDE 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix semi-final. |
| Win | 4-0 | Kiyoshi Tamura | Submission (ezekiel choke) | Pride Total Elimination 2003 | August 10, 2003 | 1 | 5:06 | Saitama, Japan | PRIDE 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix opening round. |
| Win | 3-0 | Masaaki Satake | Submission (neck lock) | Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002 | December 31, 2002 | 1 | 0:50 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 2-0 | Don Frye | Technical submission (armbar) | Pride 23 | November 24, 2002 | 1 | 5:32 | Tokyo, Japan |