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Masayuki Naruse

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Masayuki Naruse
成瀬昌由
Born (1973-03-15) March 15, 1973 (age 51)
Tokyo, Japan[1]
Other namesKyo Senshi ("Mad Soldier"), Ultra Soul, Berserker (MMA)
NationalityJapanese
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight87.5 kg (193 lb)
DivisionHeavyweight
Light Heavyweight
Fighting out ofJapan
TeamRings Japan
Teacher(s)Akira Maeda
Years active1995–2004, 2013–present (MMA)
Mixed martial arts record
Total23
Wins9
By knockout1
By submission7
Unknown1
Losses14
By knockout2
By submission6
By decision3
Unknown3
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Masayuki Naruse (Japanese: 成瀬 昌由, Hepburn: Naruse Masayuki) (born March 15, 1973) is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, competing in the light heavyweight division who fought most of his career in Fighting Network RINGS (RINGS). As a professional wrestler, he notably competed in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). In MMA, Naruse was the first and only RINGS Light-Heavyweight Champion and a former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion in professional wrestling.

Mixed martial arts career

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Naruse started practising shotokan karate in high school before turning his attention to puroresu. He was eventually accepted in Fighting Network RINGS and trained under his chairman Akira Maeda.

Fighting Network RINGS

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A longtime competitor in RINGS before the organization began hosting true MMA bouts, Naruse had his first taste of MMA during his early career in mixed-style fights. He had his first shoot fight against submission wrestler Koichiro Kimura which he won via ankle lock. He then had another special shoot fight against kickboxer Atsushi Tamaki which went on for 24 minutes before Naruse emerged the winner via TKO due to lost points. They then had a rematch two months later which Naruse won again, this time via arm triangle choke.

Naruse experienced little success early in his mixed martial arts career, dropping six of his first seven mixed martial arts bouts, including fights against Valentijn Overeem and Magomedkhan Gamzatkhanov (commonly referred to by his nickname Volk Han).[2]

He turned things around as a participant in the eight-man Light-Heavyweight title tournament in 1997, defeating Lee Hasdell, Wataru Sakata and Chris Haseman en route to becoming the first RINGS Light-Heavyweight Champion.[3] He then went 3–6 over his next nine fights before RINGS dissolved in 2002.[2]

After RINGS

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After wrestling for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Naruse decided to go back to competing in MMA. On December 31, 2003, he defeated Jan Nortje by rear-naked choke at K-1 PREMIUM 2003 Dynamite!!. He then defeated Tommy Williams via armbar at Jungle Fight 3 in Brazil.

Return to MMA

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Nine years after retiring in 2004, Naruse returned to MMA on October 27, 2013, as he lost to Sanae Kikuta via armbar at Grabaka Live! 3.[4] Naruse then faced Japanese MMA legend Yuki Kondo at Pancrase: 257 on March 30, 2014.[5] He lost the fight via majority decision.[6]

Professional wrestling career

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Fighting Network RINGS

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Naruse debuted for Fighting Network RINGS in 1992 where he was billed as a scrappy junior heavyweight. Among the wrestlers he took on during the organization's puroresu days include Heavyweight wrestler Yoshihisa Yamomoto, kickboxer Nobuaki Kakuta, UFC 10 participant Dieseul Berto, Volk Han, MMA veteran Satoshi Honma and future tag team partner Mitsuya Nagai.[7]

Naruse and other RINGS wrestlers made the transition to mixed martial arts with the promotion in 1995.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling

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In 2001 with RINGS on the verge of collapse, he moved to New Japan Pro-Wrestling. It was a well timed move as owner Antonio Inoki was giving former MMA fighters immediate pushes & he was immediately placed into a feud with Minoru Tanaka, who used to work for BattlARTS, RINGS' rival promotion. Within 4 months of his debut, Naruse captured the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship from his rival Tanaka.[8]

He fought for NJPW from 2001 to 2006, defending his Junior Heavyweight title against Shinya Makabe and El Samurai before losing his belt to Tokimitsu Ishizawa, later Kendo Kashin.[1] His next chance at the title was as one of 11 competitors in a Battle Royal on October 13, 2003 which as won by Jado.[1]

Naruse paired with Mitsuya Nagai to win the All Asia Tag Team Championship on July 26, 2004 against Genichiro Tenryu and Masanobu Fuchi.[1] They defended the belt three times before losing to Barry Buchanan and Rico Constantino on February 2, 2005.[9]

His last bout came on January 8, 2006 against Takashi Iizuka, his 375th career match for New Japan Pro-Wrestling.[1]

Championships and accomplishments

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Professional wrestling

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Mixed martial arts

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Mixed martial arts record

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Professional record breakdown
23 matches 9 wins 14 losses
By knockout 1 2
By submission 7 6
By decision 0 3
Unknown 1 3
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 9–14 Yuki Kondo Decision (majority) Pancrase: 257 March 30, 2014 2 5:00 Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Loss 9–13 Sanae Kikuta Submission (armbar) Grabaka: Grabaka Live! 3 October 27, 2013 1 2:25 Tokyo, Japan
Win 9–12 Tony Williams Submission (armbar)[10] Jungle Fight 3 October 23, 2004 1 3:21 Manaus, Brazil
Win 8–12 Jan Nortje Submission (rear-naked choke) K-1 PREMIUM 2003 Dynamite!! December 31, 2003 1 4:40 Nagoya, Japan
Win 7–12 Ricardo Fyeet Submission (toe hold) Rings: Battle Genesis Vol. 7 March 20, 2001 1 3:46 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 6–12 Hiromitsu Kanehara Decision (unanimous) Rings: Rise 4th June 24, 1999 3 10:00 Tokyo, Japan[3]
Loss 6–11 Magomedkhan Gamzatkhanov Submission (armbar) Rings: Rise 3rd May 22, 1999 1 4:26 Tokyo, Japan[3]
Loss 6–10 Chris Haseman Submission (kimura) Rings: Rise 2nd April 23, 1999 1 8:18 Osaka, Japan[3]
Win 6–9 Dave van der Veen Submission (achilles lock) Rings: Rise 1st March 20, 1999 1 7:36 Tokyo, Japan[3]
Loss 5–9 Joop Kasteel TKO Rings: World Mega Battle Tournament December 23, 1998 1 8:33 Fukuoka, Japan[3]
Win 5–8 Kenichi Yamamoto Submission Rings: Fourth Fighting Integration June 27, 1998 1 11:07 Tokyo, Japan Defends RINGS Light-Heavyweight Title
Loss 4–8 Mikhail Ilyukhin Submission (ankle lock)[11] Rings: Third Fighting Integration May 28, 1998 1 13:52 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 4–7 Mikhail Ilyukhin Submission (ankle lock) Rings – Mega Battle Tournament 1997 Semifinal 1 October 25, 1997 1 12:28 Tokyo, Japan[3]
Win 4–6 Chris Haseman TKO Rings: Extension Fighting 6 August 13, 1997 1 14:26 Kagoshima, Japan Wins Rings Light-Heavyweight Title.[3] Title later dissolved.
Win 3–6 Wataru Sakata Submission Rings: Extension Fighting 5 July 22, 1997 1 5:55 Osaka, Japan Semifinals of Light-Heavyweight Title Tournament.[3]
Win 2–6 Lee Hasdell Submission (North/South Choke) Rings – Extension Fighting 4 June 21, 1997 1 12:58 Tokyo, Japan Quarterfinals of Light-Heavyweight Title Tournament.[3]
Loss 1–6 Yoshihisa Yamamoto Submission (armbar) Rings – Extension Fighting 2 April 22, 1997 1 21:20 Osaka, Japan[3]
Loss 1–5 Valentijn Overeem TKO (cut) Rings Holland – The Final Challenge February 2, 1997 1 3:58 Amsterdam, Holland
Loss 1–4 Zaza Tkeshelashvili N/A Rings – Budokan Hall 1997 January 1, 1997 N/A N/A Tokyo, Japan
Loss 1–3 Magomedkhan Gamzatkhanov N/A Rings – Battle Dimensions Tournament 1996 Opening Round October 25, 1996 N/A N/A Nagoya, Japan[3]
Win 1–2 Egan Inoue Disqualification Rings – Maelstrom 6 August 24, 1996 1 11:51 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 0–2 Willie Peeters Decision (unanimous) Rings Holland – Free Fight February 19, 1995 1 10:00 Amsterdam, Holland
Loss 0–1 Satir Gotchev N/A Rings – Budokan Hall 1995 January 25, 1995 N/A N/A Tokyo, Japan

Mixed rules

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Professional record breakdown
3 matches 3 wins 0 losses
By knockout 1 0
By submission 2 0
By decision 0 0
Draws 0
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 3-0 Atsushi Tamaki Submission (arm triangle choke) Rings Korakuen Experimental League 1993 Round 3 June 9, 1993 1 8:39 Tokyo, Japan
Win 2-0 Atsushi Tamaki TKO (lost points) Rings Korakuen Experimental League 1993 Round 2 April 30, 1993 1 24:22 Tokyo, Japan
Win 1-0 Koichiro Kimura Submission (ankle lock) Rings Mega Battle Special: Foundation August 21, 1992 1 9:39 Yokohama, Japan

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Masayuki Naruse Profile & Match Listing". The Internet Wrestling Database.
  2. ^ a b "Masayuki Naruse bio on Sherdog.com". Sherdog.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "RINGS Events". Pro Wrestling History.
  4. ^ "Grabaka – Grabaka Live! 3". Sherdog.com. October 27, 2013.
  5. ^ "Former King of Pancrase Yuki Kondo meets RINGS veteran Masayuki Naruse at PANCRASE 257". fightsportasia.com. March 6, 2014.
  6. ^ "Pancrase 257 Official Results". mixedmartialarts.com. March 30, 2014.
  7. ^ "Masayuki Naruse". Puroresu Central.
  8. ^ "NJPW Dome Quake". The Internet Wrestling Database.
  9. ^ "AJPW Excite Series '05 – Day 1". The Internet Wrestling Database.
  10. ^ "Jungle fight 3". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21 – via www.youtube.com.
  11. ^ "- YouTube". www.youtube.com.[dead YouTube link]
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