Comic Book Loving Yoshitaka Naito: ‘I Am the Opposite of a Bad Boy’ | MMAWeekly.com

Yoshitaka Naito was already ranked as the best strawweight in the world before beating Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke to win the ONE Championship title, but the 32-year-old wasn’t well known outside of Japan.

That submission victory against Dejdamrong in Bangkok put him on the international map and Naito is booked to make the first defense of his title against Joshua Pacio at ONE: State of Warriors in Yangon on Friday night (local time).

With a perfect 11-0 record, he is up there with the likes of Ben Askren, Bibiano Fernandes, Shinya Aoki, and Marat Gafurov, as one of the top fighters on the ONE Championship roster. He made his debut in 2012, but recognition has arrived relatively recently for him.

“In Japan, a lot people watched my fight through TV, so I got messages congratulating me through social media. So I guess I’m more famous than before. I’m happy, I didn’t expect to get the belt (because) Dejdamrong has fought in Japan in the past in kickboxing events and he was also undefeated and well known.”

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Fight fans outside of Japan might not be too familiar with Naito, but he is far from the stereotypical MMA fighter. Obsessed with comic books, the undefeated strawweight actually classes himself as something of a nerd.

“Everyone knows that I love comics. I have more comics than regular books. It’s easier to read and in Japan there’s plenty of different comic books, so I never got sick of it. People consider me as an otaku (a nerd). I’m the complete opposite of a bad boy.”

Naito grew up during the heyday of Pride and got to see some of the biggest MMA shows of all time on TV. He was inspired by one of the most beloved Japanese fighters.

“My martial arts hero has always been Kazushi Sakuraba. It fascinated me each time watching him win by submission against big foreign fighters and I was a huge fan.”

His interest in MMA led him to a local gym where he started training in the sport for the first time.

“I just looked up a gym that is nearby my house and my brother also was interested in joining one, so I think it’s my brother who inspired me. MMA is now the focus of my life, which I’m enjoying.”

Naito became only the second man to ever wear the ONE strawweight title when he defeated Dejdamrong in May, but there were moments in that fight the Japanese fighter definitely didn’t enjoy. He had to endure a tough opening round and a serious facial injury before securing the submission win.

“At the first round, I got a lot of low kicks and all my takedowns failed, so it was definitely Dejdamrong’s round. In the third round, I got an elbow and broke my nose. In the fourth, I was surprised because he got aggressive again and I got a lot of pressure from him, but I was able to bring him to the ground and choke him out.”

Naito’s pre-fight interviews often give the impression that he is terrified of his opponent, but this seems to be part of the “nerdy” character he plays. The 31-year-old fights without fear, so his thoughts on forthcoming opponent Joshua Pacio should perhaps not be taken at face value.

“My opponent is also undefeated, so it’s not going to be an easy fight. I will face him believing that I’m stronger, but I don’t know what’s going to happen. Getting punched by a guy 12 years younger, it will mentally hurt me.”

Pacio might be significantly younger than Naito, but the Filipino will definitely be an underdog in Yangon. The reigning ONE strawweight champion beat some seasoned opponents during a title winning stint with Shooto, but has a healthy respect for the Team Lakay prospect.

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“Joshua Pacio is a young, undefeated fighter and he’s good at both striking and grappling. He’s physically strong and he’s young and unstoppable. His skillset is growing rapidly (and) he has finished his opponent in early rounds, so I will try my best to avoid that.”

Team Lakay is on a remarkable 15-0 winning streak, which has seen several fighters claim surprise wins in the ONE Championship cage. Naito, who trains at Paraestra Matsudo in Chiba, was asked about this.

“I don’t know about other gyms, but I’m sure they are going through hard training. I’m scared; it’s fearful.”

Naito’s nickname is “Nobita” and he models himself on the protagonist of the animated series Doraemon, who has that name. The character is shy, unassuming, and notable for a complete lack of proficiency at sport, particularly baseball.

It’s a role that Naito plays to perfection in pre-fight interviews, but once the cage door closes, he sheds all pretense of being an introverted underdog. The reigning ONE strawweight champion is 11-0 for a reason and will be completely confident of extending that perfect record against Pacio in Yangon.