Jump to content

Enson Inoue

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Enson Inoue
BornEnson Shoji Inoue
(1967-04-15)April 15, 1967(age 57)
Honolulu,Hawaii,United States
Other namesYamatodamashii( đại hòa hồn )
ResidenceSaitama,Japan
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight204 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)
DivisionHeavyweight
Light Heavyweight
StyleBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu
StanceOrthodox
Teacher(s)Satoru Sayama
John Lewis
RankBlack belt inBrazilian jiu-jitsu
A-Class Shootist
Fourth degree black belt inBujinkan Budo Taijutsu
Years active1995–2004, 2010
Mixed martial artsrecord
Total20
Wins12
By knockout5
By submission7
Losses8
By knockout5
By submission1
By decision2
Notable relativesEgan Inoue,brother
Mixed martial arts recordfromSherdog

Enson Shoji Inoue(Japanese:エンセン tỉnh thượng;born April 15, 1967) is aJapanese-Americanjiu-jitsupractitioner and retired professionalmixed martial artist.A professional competitor from 1995 until 2010, he fought for thePRIDE Fighting Championships,theUFC,Shooto,andVale Tudo Japan.He was the first and onlyShooto Heavyweight Champion,and was a finalist in the Lightweight category atUFC 13.

Born and raised inHawaii,he has resided inJapansince the 1990s. He is sometimes known by the moniker "Yamatodamashii,"a Japanese phrase meaning" the spirit of ancient Japan. "His brother,Egan Inoue,is also a martial artist and a professionalracquetballcompetitor.

Background

[edit]

Inoue was born and raised inHonolulu,Hawaii,to third-generation Japanese immigrant parents, making him aYonsei(fourth-generation Japanese-American). He attendedUniversity High School,and began practicing the martial artshapkidoandtaekwondoin order to defend himself from bullies. Inoue also playedfootball,baseball,basketball,volleyball,ran intrack and field,and also excelled inracquetball,alongside his brother Egan.

Inoue began learningBrazilian jiu-jitsu.[1]He and his brother were awarded black belts inBrazilian jiu-jitsuby John Lewis. He demoted himself to purple belt in July 2016 citing that the sport has moved on since attaining his black belt,[2][3]though he would change his mind after conversations with Lewis.[4]He also holds a yondan (fourth degree black belt) inBujinkan Budo Taijutsu.[5]

Mixed Martial Arts Career

[edit]

Inoue was given a tryout bySatoru SayamaforShootoafter contacting every Japanese MMA promotion he could. He sparred withYuki Nakai,impressing Sayama and earning his first fight which took place three months later.[6][7]His debut bout was against Shingo Shigeta atShooto:Vale Tudo Access 3 on January 21, 1995, which ended in a victory by technical knockout. He won theShooto Heavyweight Championagainst Joe Estes at Shooto: Reconquista 4, on October 12, 1997.

Inoue competed professionally from 1995 to 2010, retiring with a 12-8-0 record. His other achievements include a victory overUFC Hall of FamerRandy Couture,and givingFrank Shamrockone of his toughest matches. His final bout was againstAntz Nansenon April 25, 2010, inTokyo,which he won by submission.

Other activities

[edit]

Inoue runs severalMMAgyms located inJapan,Saipan,andGuamunder the name Purebred. He also has affiliated gyms located in Thailand, Canada and the USA.[8][9][10][11]

He appeared in the 2008 martial arts filmRedbeltas a cameo role,[12]and was featured in the documentary filmRites of Passage: The Rebirth of Combat Sports.

Personal life

[edit]

Inoue has a stepson (Erson) and is the brother ofEgan Inoue,a mixed martial artist and a two timeracquetballWorld Champion player.[13]He was married to the sister ofUltimate Fighting ChampionshipBantamweight fighterNorifumi Yamamoto.He took in and trained Norifumi in mixed martial arts after an incident with theyakuza.[citation needed]Enson has asserted that he is "not yakuza" but admits to doing business with members of yakuza.[14]

In the aftermath of the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami,Enson travelled to northeast Japan to directly help the victims.[15]

In 2020, news broke that theIBJJFhad refused to recognize Inoue's official rank as aBJJ black belt,despite him competing at the highest levels of the sport as early as 1999.[16]

Enson is married to Sarah Jane McCann, who is from New Zealand ofMāoridescent.

[edit]

In October 2008, Inoue was arrested inTokyoformarijuana possessionand spent 28 days in prison before being released on November 14, 2008. He was eventually given a two-yearsuspended sentenceand ordered to serve four yearsprobation.During his probation period, he was forbidden from leaving Japan.[17]

Championships and accomplishments

[edit]

Mixed martial arts record

[edit]
Professional record breakdown
20 matches 12 wins 8 losses
By knockout 5 5
By submission 7 1
By decision 0 2
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 12–8 Antz Nansen Submission (armbar) Astra: Yoshida's Farewell April 25, 2010 1 2:10 Tokyo,Japan
Loss 11–8 Tommy Sauer TKO (punches) SB 35: SuperBrawl 35 April 16, 2004 1 4:14 Hawaii,United States
Win 11–7 Soichi Nishida Submission (choke) FFCF 1: Fury Full Contact Fighting 1 January 10, 2004 1 1:00 Guam
Loss 10–7 Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira Technical submission (triangle choke) PRIDE 19 February 24, 2002 1 6:17 Saitama,Japan
Loss 10–6 Heath Herring TKO (knees) PRIDE 12 December 9, 2000 1 4:52 Saitama,Japan
Loss 10–5 Igor Vovchanchyn TKO (doctor stoppage) PRIDE 10 August 27, 2000 1 10:00 Tokyo,Japan
Loss 10–4 Mark Kerr Decision (unanimous) PRIDE Grand Prix 2000: Opening Round January 30, 2000 1 15:00 Tokyo,Japan
Win 10–3 Soichi Nishida Submission (rear-naked choke) PRIDE 5 April 29, 1999 1 0:24 Nagoya,Japan
Win 9–3 Randy Couture Submission (armbar) VTJ 1998: Vale Tudo Japan 1998 October 25, 1998 1 1:39 Tokyo,Japan
Loss 8–3 Frank Shamrock TKO (punches) VTJ 1997: Vale Tudo Japan 1997 November 29, 1997 2 7:17 Tokyo,Japan
Win 8–2 Joe Estes TKO (submission to punches) Shooto: Reconquista 4 October 12, 1997 1 1:06 Tokyo,Japan Won the Shooto Heavyweight Championship.
Win 7–2 Royce Alger Technical Submission (armbar) UFC 13 May 30, 1997 1 1:36 Augusta, Georgia,United States
Win 6–2 Rei Zulu TKO (elbows) Shooto: Reconquista 2 April 6, 1997 1 0:45 Tokyo,Japan
Win 5–2 Mushtaq Abdullah TKO (submission to punches) Shooto: Let's Get Lost October 4, 1996 1 0:38 Tokyo,Japan
Loss 4–2 Igor Zinoviev TKO (punches) VTJ 1996: Vale Tudo Japan 1996 July 7, 1996 1 0:44 Tokyo,Japan
Loss 4–1 Joe Estes Decision (majority) Shooto: Vale Tudo Junction 3 May 7, 1996 3 8:00 Tokyo,Japan
Win 4–0 Andre Mannaart TKO (punches) Shooto: Vale Tudo Junction 1 January 20, 1996 1 3:20 Tokyo,Japan
Win 3–0 Ed de Kruijf Technical Submission (armbar) Shooto: Complete Vale Tudo Access July 29, 1995 1 1:40 Japan
Win 2–0 Rene Rooze Submission (rear naked choke) VTJ 1995: Vale Tudo Japan 1995 April 20, 1995 1 6:41 Japan
Win 1–0 Shingo Shigeta TKO (punches) Shooto: Vale Tudo Access 3 January 21, 1995 1 1:10 Tokyo,Japan

Submission grappling record

[edit]
Result Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Notes
Win Tully Kulihaapai Submission (armbar) PRIDE 7 1999 1
Loss Mario Sperry Points ADCC 1999 Absolute 1999 1

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^"Enson Inoue".21 April 2015.
  2. ^Ordoñez, Milan (2016-07-05)."Former UFC fighter demotes himself from BJJ black belt to purple belt".Bloody Elbow.Retrieved2023-10-19.
  3. ^Canaria, Kitt (2016-07-05)."Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Demotes Himself To Purple Belt".Jiu-Jitsu Times.Retrieved2023-10-19.
  4. ^"Why Enson Inoue Demoted Himself to Purple Belt"onYouTube
  5. ^"But Enson has trained in the Bujinkan arts with myself and Anthony Netzler now for at least 9 years. I gave him his Yondan in the Bujinkan.""'Enson Inoue and the Bujinkan,' Kutaki no Mora ".Archived fromthe originalon 2014-02-01.Retrieved2010-06-21.
  6. ^Rosser, Evan (November 1, 2011)."Warrior's Sacrifice: The Enson Inoue story".SportsNet.Retrieved2023-10-19.
  7. ^"Chris Leben interviews MMA Legend Enson Inoue".The Arena.August 20, 2018.Retrieved2023-10-19.
  8. ^"Interview: Enson Inoue & George Sotiropoulos (Part Two)".total-mma.com. 2008-05-02. Archived fromthe originalon 2008-05-06.Retrieved2009-11-27.
  9. ^"Purebred USA".purebredusa.com.Retrieved2009-11-27.
  10. ^"Purebred".Archived fromthe originalon 2009-11-29.Retrieved2009-11-27.
  11. ^"Purebred Canada".grizzlygym.com. 2010-05-02.Retrieved2012-10-20.
  12. ^"Inoue On Red Belt MMA Movie, R-1 Training & More".mmanews.com. 2007-05-31. Archived fromthe originalon 2008-01-31.Retrieved2009-11-27.
  13. ^"Hawaii Martial Arts News & Rumors - Dedicated to Hawaii-Specific Martial Arts News & Rumors".www.onzuka.com.
  14. ^Hody Jae Huh.Up Close and Personal with Enson Inoue Part IArchived2011-07-13 at theWayback Machine
  15. ^"Enson Inoue Discusses Charity Work".mmafighting.com. 2011-11-04.Retrieved2011-04-15.
  16. ^"IBJJF Refuse to Recognise Enson Inoue as a Black Belt".30 September 2020.
  17. ^"MMA pioneer Enson Inoue a new man after 26 days in prison".November 30, 2008.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toEnson Inoue.


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Enson_Inoue&oldid=1236694455"