UFC Hall of Famer Kazushi Sakuraba on historic mismatches: 'I just took whatever fight was coming'

Hailing Kazushi Sakuraba as one of his all-time favorite fighters, UFC President Dana White has lamented never getting a chance to see him perform in a proper weight class under his UFC watch.

Sakuraba (26-17-1) is now 47 and, after a RIZIN FF loss to Shinya Aoki in 2015, doesn’t seem all that likely to make an MMA return. But, who knows? Maybe White can still make that one wrong right.

“It’s not too late,” Sakuraba said after 2017 UFC Hall of Fame induction at International Fight Week in Las Vegas this past week.

The fact that Sakuraba broke into laughter as soon as the interpreter started translating his answer, however, indicates that White might want to save himself the trouble of getting those documents ready.

Sakuraba, of course, did get to fight in the UFC. In fact, he did so twice. In the same night. Both against Marcus “Conan” Silveira – the first ending with a bad stoppage that led to a rematch as immediate as they come. But that was in 1997, before Zuffa had taken over and details such as weight divisions became standard promotional practice.

Not that Sakuraba was one to care about these technicalities. In fact, the Japanese legend became known as exactly the type of fighter who was never about to let a few dozen pounds get in the way of a matchup. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Ricardo Arona, Kevin Randleman and, of course, Silveira himself serve as evidence.

Now, in a much more regulated era of mainstream MMA, what may have looked like thrilling David vs. Goliath battles look more like egregious mismatches. But, looking back on it, Sakuraba said the idea of turning down an opponent simply wasn’t there.

“Offers would come,” Sakuraba said. “And I didn’t feel, personally, that I had the choice to run away from this fight or that fight. So I just took whatever fight was coming.”

While he’s, for all effects, retired from MMA, Sakuraba said he is still active as a pro wrestler. Asked whether he believes MMA could exist the way it does today – with the entertainment element so present – without the foundation laid out by pro wrestling, Sakuraba candidly answered he wasn’t sure.

But he does think that the magic lies somewhere in the intersection.

“Pro wrestling is about showing the fans an exciting fight, giving them something to cheer about,” Sakuraba said. “And MMA is basically about winning. It’s when those two are combined that you really get an exciting sport.”

To hear from Sakuraba, check out the video above.

And for more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.