“Wow, this is a pretty experienced opponent.” That was how Taisei Sakuraba, son of legendary Japanese fighter Kazushi Sakuraba, reacted when RIZIN booked his debut fight for Dec. 31 against Yusuke Tachi, a veteran of 41 MMA bouts.
Looking back at his father’s career, it all makes sense.
“Saku Jr.” grew up competing in judo and watching his father shine in the PRIDE ring. He entered the mat for grappling contests in more recent years before announcing his transition to mixed martial arts but wasn’t expecting to face such an experienced foe right off the bat.
Sakuraba, now 55, has faced the who’s who of the sport as one of the stars of PRIDE in Japan, sharing the ring with much heavier opponents like Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Cro Cop, “Rampage” Jackson, Igor Vovchanchyn and Vitor Belfort. For his son, it’s a matter of destiny to go down that same road. Not much in terms of size, as both Sakuraba and Yachi are lightweights, but the gap experience-wise is just enormous.
“I was thinking maybe it was too much of a shortcut in a way,” Sakuraba told MMA Fighting through a translator. “But once it was confirmed, I kind of thought about it I just kind of came to my sense and said, hey, I got to do it. You know how there are certain aspects in order to become a star, and one of those aspects are winning fights that people think that you’re going to lose.”
Yachi holds a record of 27-14 in MMA after winning four of his past five. He’s a former Shooto and PXC featherweight champion and has challenged Roberto Satoshi for the RIZIN lightweight throne in 2021.
“For my debut fight, I think it’s going to be definitely a challenge for me,” Sakuraba said of Yachi, “but I think if I can beat this opponent if I come out as a winner after this fight, people are going to really think different about me. It’s definitely going to put my name on the map. So in that sense, I’m very excited to see how much I can do. And once I beat my opponent, I’m very excited to see how everyone’s gonna react.
“Saku Jr. said that my father made his name fighting international fighters, going against bigger opponents, so I think I would like to take on that legacy. It will be special to challenge himself against ‘bigger and stronger international opponents,’ so Yachi is an excellent way to get things started at RIZIN Decade.
“I come from a competitive judo background, and in judo, results matter. You win or lose, it’s a big difference,” Sakuraba said. “Especially if you wanna make it to the Olympics, all that stuff, you have to win, and you have to earn your points in order to make it to the Olympics. I was going through a very competitive aspect, but when it comes to fighting, I think it’s a little different.”
“Obviously, results do matter, but it’s how you perform and how you fight,” he continued. “There’s a big aspect of that in fighting. There’s a big meaning to that. Going against challenges, going against the odds, going into the ring as the underdog, that means a lot. There’s a lot of drama. There’s a lot more to tell during the fight with fights like that. I think in fighting, it’s very important to to fight to inspire people, to move people’s emotions, that’s one thing that’s required as a professional fighter.
“Once the Yachi fight was confirmed, I thought that Yachi would be a much better opponent than nobody that has the same amount of experience that I do. It’s just an immediate challenge for me; I’m going in as the underdog, and everything is set. The stage is set for me to inspire, go in there, and inspire the fans. I think that’s one thing that a fighter is required to do, to move people’s emotions and inspire people.”
Yachi scored more than half his RIZIN wins via stoppage, including a submission over PRIDE and UFC legend Takanori Gomi and knockouts against veterans Satoru Kitaoka and Daron Cruickshank. In the end, however, Sakuraba believes that being green could help him on Dec. 31.
“I think experienced fighters, veterans, they have a way to fight. They have their methods all set up,” Sakuraba said. “But for me, I think the thing that he’s probably not gonna expect is my grittiness. I don’t have a method. I don’t have my way of fighting. I have no choice but to go in there and do my absolute best, the way I can. I don’t care how it looks, I’m just going to go in there and do my best. My grittiness, my willingness to not give up and just continue to fight and try to show myself, is what’s probably going to surprise him, that he’s probably not used to at this stage of his career. The grittiness of someone like me who’s coming into the sport.”
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