List of Shooto champions explained

This is a list of Shooto world champions at each weight class. Shooto is a Japan-based mixed martial arts (MMA) promoting and sanctioning organization founded first in 1985 as a particular fighting system, and then in 1989 as an MMA promotion.

Shooto used to promote different weight classes than the Association of Boxing Commissions, which are used by most MMA promotions. On January 1, 2015, weight limits were changed to the divisions established by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.^[1] Then, on January 1, 2017, the names of the weight classes were also changed to the names established by NSAC.^[2]

Current champions

Division! width=200

Champion	width=120	Since	Defenses
Middleweight	Vacant		align=center	-
Welterweight	Hernani Perpetuo		align=center	0
Lightweight	Yamato Nishikawa		align=center	0
Featherweight	Sasuke		align=center	2
Bantamweight	Tatsuya Ando		align=center	0
Flyweight	Jo Arai		align=center	0
Strawweight			align=center	1

Division! width=200

Champion	width=120	Since	Defenses
Strawweight	Emi Fujino		align=center	0
Super Atomweight	Ayaka Watanabe		align=center	0
Atomweight	Chihiro Sawada		align=center	1

Men's championships

Middleweight Championship

Weight limit of 83.9 kg (185 lb)
The weight limit was 83 kg (183 lb) prior to January 1, 2015. The Middleweight Championship was known as the Light Heavyweight Championship prior to January 1, 2017.^[3]

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign (total)	Defenses
1	Kenji Kawaguchi	Shooto: Shooto	May 31, 1991
2	Erik Paulson	Shooto: Vale Tudo Junction 3	May 7, 1996
Paulson vacated the title on September 28, 2000 when he retired from the sport.
3	Masanori Suda	Shooto: Treasure Hunt 1	January 12, 2002
Suda vacated the title on February 17, 2006, at his retirement ceremony.
4	Shiko Yamashita	Absolute Fighting Championships 16	April 22, 2006
5	Siyar Bahadurzada	Shooto: Back To Our Roots 4	July 15, 2007
Bahadurzada vacated the title on April 14, 2012 after signing with the UFC.

Welterweight Championship

Weight limit of 77.1 kg (170 lb)
The weight limit was 77 kg (169.8 lb) prior to January 1, 2015. The Welterweight Championship was known as the Middleweight Championship prior to January 1, 2017.^[4]

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign (total)	Defenses
1	Yasuto Sekishima	Shooto: Shooto	May 12, 1990
2		Shooto: Shooto	August 3, 1991	? days
Ishikawa vacated the title in 1991 to compete as a lightweight.
3	Naoki Sakurada	Shooto: Shooto	October 17, 1991
Sakurada vacated the title on January 18, 1997, when he retired.
4	Hayato "Mach" Sakurai	Shooto: Las Grandes Viajes 3	May 13, 1998
5	Anderson Silva	Shooto: To The Top 7	August 26, 2001
Silva vacated the title on January 9, 2002, after signing with Pride.
6	Jake Shields	Shooto Hawaii: Soljah Fight Night	July 9, 2004
7	Akira Kikuchi	Shooto: Year End Show 2004	December 14, 2004
8	Shinya Aoki	Shooto: The Victory of the Truth	February 17, 2006
Aoki vacated the title on May 21, 2010 after years of not defending it, fighting for other promotions, and fighting primarily as a lightweight.
9	Luis Ramos	Shooto Brazil 17	August 6, 2010
Ramos vacated the title on August 9, 2011, after signing with the UFC.^[5]
10	Hernani Perpetuo	Shooto: Gig Tokyo 15	August 25, 2013	(incumbent)

Lightweight Championship

Weight limit of 70.3 kg (155 lb)
The weight limit was 70 kg (154.3 lb) prior to January 1, 2015. The Lightweight Championship was known as the Welterweight Championship prior to January 1, 2017.^[6]

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign (total)	Defenses
1	Yuichi Watanabe	Shooto: Shooto	March 29, 1991
Watanabe vacated the title on August 25, 1991 for unknown reasons.
2	Tomonori Ohara	Shooto: Shooto	October 17, 1991	? days
Ohara announced his retirement in November 1992 and thus vacated the title.
3	Yuki Nakai	Shooto: Vale Tudo Access 2	November 7, 1994	? days
Nakai suffered an eye injury at Vale Tudo Japan 1995 which forced him into retirement in April 1995.
4	Caol Uno	Shooto: 10th Anniversary Event	May 29, 1999
Uno vacated the title on December 17, 2000 to compete in the UFC.
5	Takanori Gomi	Shooto: To The Top Final Act	December 16, 2001
6	Joachim Hansen	Shooto: 8/10 in Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium	August 10, 2003
7	Vítor Ribeiro	Shooto: Year End Show 2003	December 14, 2003
8	Tatsuya Kawajiri	Shooto: Year End Show 2004	December 14, 2004
Kawajiri vacated the title on January 23, 2007, after suffering a knee injury which prevented him from defending his title in the mandatory time period per Shooto regulations.
9	Takashi Nakakura	Shooto: Shooto Tradition 1	May 3, 2008
Nakakura vacated the title on September 21, 2009, declaring that he wasn't ready to properly defend it after losing a non-title fight to Takanori Gomi.^[7]
10	Willamy Freire	Vale Tudo Japan 2009	October 30, 2009
Freire vacated the title on May 30, 2010 to compete in the UFC.^[8]
11	Kuniyoshi Hironaka	Shooto: Shootor's Legacy 3	July 18, 2011
Hironaka vacated the title on November 29, 2015 for unknown reasons.^[9]
12	Koshi Matsumoto	Mobstyles Present Fight & Mosh	April 23, 2016
Matsumoto vacated the title in February 16, 2020, when he signed with ONE Championship.^[10]
13	Yuki Kawana	Professional Shooto 2020 Vol.4 in Osaka	July 12, 2020
14	Yamato Nishikawa	Professional Shooto 2021 Vol.6	September 20, 2021	(incumbent)

Featherweight Championship

Weight limit of 65.8 kg (145 lb)
The weight limit was 65 kg (143.3 lb) prior to January 1, 2015. The Featherweight Championship was known as the Lightweight Championship prior to January 1, 2017.^[11]

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign (total)	Defenses
1	Kenichi Tanaka	Shooto: Shooto	align=center	September 8, 1990	align=center
2	Kazuhiro Sakamoto	Shooto: Shooto	align=center	May 31, 1991	align=center
3	Noboru Asahi	Shooto: Shooto	align=center	March 27, 1992	align=center
4	Alexandre Franca Nogueira	Shooto: Renaxis 4	align=center	September 5, 1999	align=center
Nogueira vacated the title on May 7, 2006, after suffering a knee injury which prevented him from defending his title in the mandatory time period per Shooto regulations.
5	Lion Takeshi	Shooto: The Devilock	align=center	May 12, 2006	align=center
6	Akitoshi Tamura	Shooto: Back To Our Roots 3	align=center	May 18, 2007	align=center
7	Hideki Kadowaki	Shooto: Back To Our Roots 8	align=center	March 28, 2008	align=center
8		Shooto: Shooto Tradition 4	align=center	November 29, 2008	align=center	(918 days)
9	Hatsu Hioki	Shooto: The Way of Shooto 3: Like a Tiger, Like a Dragon	align=center	May 30, 2010	align=center
Hioki vacated the title on May 31, 2011 to compete in the UFC.^[12]
10	Yutaka Saito	Professional Shooto	align=center	January 11, 2016	align=center
Saito vacated the title on March 31, 2021 to compete in Rizin.^[13]
11	Sasuke	Professional Shooto 2021 Vol.5	align=center	July 25, 2021	align=center	(incumbent)

Bantamweight Championship

Weight limit of 61.2 kg (135 lb)
The weight limit was 60 kg (132.3 lb) prior to January 1, 2015. The Bantamweight Championship was known as the Featherweight Championship prior to January 1, 2017.^[14]

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign (total)	Defenses
1	Mamoru	Shooto: R.E.A.D. Final	align=center	December 17, 2000	align=center
2	Masahiro Oishi	Shooto: To The Top 10	align=center	November 25, 2001	align=center
3	Ryota Matsune	Shooto: 8/10 in Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium	align=center	August 10, 2003	align=center
Matsune vacated the title on December 15, 2005, after suffering a knee injury which prevented him from defending his title in the mandatory time period per Shooto regulations.^[15] ^[16]
4	Akitoshi Hokazono	Shooto 2006: 7/21 in Korakuen Hall	align=center	July 21, 2006	align=center
Hokazono vacated the title on January 26, 2008, when he retired.^[17]
5	Masakatsu Ueda	Shooto: Back To Our Roots 8	align=center	March 28, 2008	align=center
6	Shuichiro Katsumura	Shooto: The Way of Shooto 2: Like a Tiger, Like a Dragon	align=center	March 22, 2010	align=center
7	Koetsu Okazaki	Shooto: Shooto Tradition 2011	align=center	April 29, 2011	align=center
8	Hiromasa Ougikubo	Great East Japan Earthquake Reconstruction Support Charity	align=center	May 18, 2012	align=center
9	Kyoji Horiguchi	Shooto: 2013 2nd Round	align=center	March 16, 2013	align=center
Horiguchi vacated the title on October 20, 2015 to compete in the UFC.^[18]
10	Shoko Sato	Professional Shooto	align=center	October 15, 2017	align=center
—	Ryo Okada	Professional Shooto 2020 Vol.3	align=center	May 31, 2020	align=center	-
Sato vacated the title on November 30, 2020, in order to compete with ONE Championship.^[19]
11	Ryo Okada	-	align=center	November 30, 2020	align=center
12	Tatsuya Ando	Professional Shooto 2022 Vol.2	align=center	March 21, 2022	align=center	(incumbent)

Flyweight Championship

Weight limit of 56.7 kg (125 lb)
The weight limit was 56 kg (123.5 lb) prior to January 1, 2015. The Flyweight Championship was known as the Bantamweight Championship prior to January 1, 2017.^[20]

width=1%	No.	width=24%	Name	width=15%	Date	width=45%	Defenses
1	Mamoru	align=center	December 14, 2003
2	BJ	align=center	October 14, 2006
Kojima vacated the title on February 27, 2010 after suffering an ACL injury in his right knee which prevented him from defending his title in the mandatory time period per Shooto regulations.^[21]
3	Yasuhiro Urushitani	align=center	May 30, 2010
Urushitani vacated the title on December 10, 2011 to compete in the UFC.
Ryuichi Miki drew with Yosuke Saruta for the vacant title on July 27, 2013.
4	Ryuichi Miki	align=center	November 9, 2013
5	Masaaki Sugawara	align=center	May 3, 2015
6	Hiromasa Ougikubo	align=center	April 23, 2016
—	Ryuya Fukuda	align=center	July 12, 2020
Ougikubo vacated the title on January 31, 2021.^[22] Fukuda was promoted to undisputed status.^[23]
7	Ryuya Fukuda	align=center	January 31, 2021
8	align=left	Tatsuro Taira	align=center	July 3, 2021
Taira vacated the title on May 21, 2023 to compete for the UFC.^[24]
9	Jo Arai	align=center	November 19, 2023

Strawweight Championship

Weight limit of 52.2 kg (115 lb)
The weight limit was 52 kg (114.6 lb) prior to January 1, 2015. The Strawweight Championship was known as the Flyweight Championship prior to January 1, 2017.^[25]

width=1%	No.	width=24%	Name	width=15%	Date	width=45%	Defenses
1	Rambaa SomdetM16	align=center	November 23, 2009
Somdet vacated the title on April 16, 2011 due to a partially torn left bicep.^[26]
2	Junji Ikoma	align=center	April 29, 2011
3	Mikihito Yamagami	align=center	November 5, 2011
Yamagami vacated the title in December 2013 when he moved up in weight.^[27]
4	Shinya Murofushi	align=center	January 13, 2014
5	Yoshitaka Naito	align=center	September 27, 2014
Naito vacated the title on April 7, 2016 when he signed with ONE Championship.^[28]
6	Ryohei Kurosawa	align=center	July 17, 2016
Kurosawa vacated the title in 2017.
7	Yosuke Saruta	align=center	October 15, 2017
Saruta vacated the title on November 30, 2019, after signing with ONE Championship.^[29]
8	Hiroshi Minowa	align=center	January 26, 2020
—	Junji Sarumaru	align=center	November 7, 2021
Sarumaru was promoted to undisputed champion status on August 1, 2022, after Minowa vacated the title.^[30]
9	Junji Sarumaru	align=center	August 1, 2022
10	align=left	Jo Arai	align=center	September 19, 2022

Women's championship history

Women's Strawweight Championship

Weight limit of 52.2 kg (115 lb)

Women's Super Atomweight Championship

Weight limit of 50 kg (110 lb)^[31]

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign (total)	Defenses
1	Mina Kurobe	Professional Shooto 2020 Vol.5	align=center	August 1, 2020	align=center
2	Sarami	Professional Shooto 2021 Vol.7	align=center	November 6, 2021	align=center
3	Ayaka Watanabe	Professional Shooto 2023 Vol.3	align=center	May 21, 2023	align=center	(incumbent)

Women's Atomweight Championship

Weight limit of 47.6 kg (105 lb)

Defunct title

Heavyweight Championship

Weight limit of 120.2 kg (265 lb)
The weight limit was 100 kg (220.5 lb) prior to January 1, 2015.^[32]

Records

Most wins in title bouts

The following includes all fighters with four or more championship and/or interim championship title wins.

Title wins	Champion	Division	W	L	D	NC
6	Alexandre Franca Nogueira	Lightweight	6	1
4	Kenji Kawaguchi	Light Heavyweight	4	1		1
	Hiromasa Ougikubo	Featherweight Bantamweight	1 3	0 0		1

Most consecutive title defenses

The following includes all Shooto champions who were able to consecutively defend their title three times or more. Fighters with the same number of title defenses are listed chronologically.

Defenses	Champion	Division	Period
6	Alexandre Franca Nogueira	Lightweight	September 5, 1999 – May 7, 2006
3	Kenji Kawaguchi	Light Heavyweight	May 31, 1991 – May 7, 1996
	BJ	Bantamweight	October 16, 2006 – March 1, 2010
	Masakatsu Ueda	Featherweight	March 28, 2008 – March 22, 2010

Multi-division champions

Fighters who have won championships in multiple weight classes.^[33] Tournament champions are not included.

	Interim title
	Simultaneous two division champion

No.	Champion	Division	Period	Defense
1	align=left rowspan=2	Mamoru	align=center rowspan=1	Featherweight	December 17, 2000 – November 25, 2001	0
	align=center rowspan=1	Bantamweight	December 14, 2003 – October 14, 2006	2
2	align=left rowspan=2		align=center rowspan=1	Featherweight	May 18, 2012 – March 16, 2013	0
	align=center rowspan=1	Bantamweight	April 23, 2016 – January 31, 2021	2

By nationality

The following include championship title holders by nationality.

Country	Titles
	62
	6
	3
	1
	1
	1

See also

• List of Shooto Pacific Rim champions
• List of current mixed martial arts champions
• List of Bellator MMA champions
• List of Dream champions
• List of EliteXC champions
• List of Invicta FC champions
• List of ONE Championship champions
• List of Pancrase champions
• List of Pride champions
• List of PFL champions
• List of Strikeforce champions
• List of UFC champions
• List of WEC champions
• Mixed martial arts weight classes

External links

• Australia Shooto Commission official website
• shootoresult.versus.jp
• Shooto Japan official website (in Japanese)
• First Documented Introduction and Presence of Shooto in the Philippines
• Bulgarian Shooto federation Official Site

Notes and References

1. Web site: October 30, 2014 . Kaikyū oyobi taijū kiyaku kaisei . ja:階級および体重規約改正 . Revision of class and weight rules . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170103034205/http://j-shooto.com/article/10496 . January 3, 2017 . March 12, 2024 . Japan Shooto Association . ja.
2. Web site: November 5, 2016 . Kaikyū kiyaku kaisei . ja:階級規約改正 . Revision of weight classes . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170108001823/http://j-shooto.com/article/18322 . January 8, 2017 . March 12, 2024 . Japan Shooto Association . ja.
3. Web site: October 16, 2020 . Shooto World Middleweight Title . March 12, 2024 . titlehistories.com.
4. Web site: October 16, 2020 . Shooto World Welterweight Title . March 12, 2024 . titlehistories.com.
5. Web site: Tabuena . Anton . UFC 134: Shooto Champ Luis 'Beicao' Ramos to Replace Mike Swick Against Erick Silva . bloodyelbow.com . 5 July 2021.
6. Web site: September 20, 2021 . Shooto World Lightweight Title . March 12, 2024 . titlehistories.com.
7. Web site: ja:【修斗】中蔵隆志が網膜はく離のため王座を返上、10・30シケリムVS冨樫で決定戦 . https://gbring.com/sokuho/news/2009_09/0922_shooto.htm . gbring.com . 5 July 2021.
8. Web site: 411 Fighter Profile 01.14.11: Willamy Freire . Butterfield . Jon . 411Mania.com . 2011-01-14 . 2011-05-17 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121007152939/http://www.411mania.com/MMA/columns/170041 . 2012-10-07 .
9. Web site: ja:【修斗】松本光史と川名雄生が世界王座を懸けて再戦 . https://efight.jp/news-20160228_233916 . efight.jp . 28 February 2016 . 5 July 2021.
10. Web site: ja:世界ライト級王者・松本光史がタイトルを返上 . http://www.shooto-mma.com/topics/?id=3679 . shooto-mma.com . 5 July 2021.
11. Web site: July 25, 2021 . Shooto World Featherweight Title . March 12, 2024 . titlehistories.com.
12. Web site: ja:元修斗＆戦極王者・日沖がＵＦＣに初参戦 メインではＢＪ・ペンがニック・ディアスと激突！ . https://sports.yahoo.co.jp/column/detail/201110280001-spnavi . sports.yahoo.co.jp . 6 July 2021 . ja.
13. Web site: ja:世界フェザー級王者・斎藤裕がタイトルを返上 . http://j-shooto.com/2021/03/31/post-27641/ . j-shooto.com . 6 July 2021 . ja.
14. Web site: March 21, 2022 . Shooto World Bantamweight Title . March 12, 2024 . titlehistories.com.
15. Web site: ja:【修斗】松根良太が世界タイトルを返上 . https://gbring.com/sokuho/news/2005_12/1216_shooto.htm . gbring.com . 6 July 2021 . ja.
16. Web site: December 15, 2005 . Matsune Ryōta ga sekai taitoru henjō . ja:松根良太が世界タイトル返上 . Ryota Matsune vacates the world title . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070518041632/http://www.x-shooto.jp/past/topics/2005/051215/index.html . May 18, 2007 . March 13, 2024 . . ja.
17. Web site: ja:【修斗】世界フェザー級王者・外薗が引退、王座を返上「格闘技とは違う目標ができた」 . http://gbring.com/sokuho/news/2008_01/0126_shooto_02.htm . gbring.com . 6 July 2021 . ja.
18. Web site: ja:堀口がタイトル返上 . http://j-shooto.com/2015/10/27/post-0/ . j-shooto.com . 6 July 2021 . ja.
19. Web site: ja:【修斗】世界バンタム級王者・佐藤将光がタイトルを返上 . https://gonkaku.jp/articles/5500 . gonkaku.jp . 6 July 2021 . ja.
20. Web site: July 5, 2021 . Shooto World Flyweight Title . March 12, 2024 . titlehistories.com.
21. Web site: 【修斗】世界王者BJが膝の負傷でタイトル返上「復帰戦はタイトルマッチで」 . gbring.com . 21 June 2021.
22. Web site: 扇久保博正がある"挑戦"を理由に修斗のベルトを返上、その裏にはRIZINバンタム級GPの開催か . efight.jp . February 2021 . 6 February 2021.
23. Web site: 【修斗】王者・福田龍彌がデビュー8戦全勝の超新星・平良達郎を迎え初防衛戦=6.20大阪 . news.yahoo.co.jp . 4 May 2021.
24. Web site: 【修斗】齋藤奨司が須藤拓真の足関節を凌ぎ打撃を入れて判定勝ち、田中半蔵がロイベに判定勝ち、齋藤翼がフェザー級で岡田達磨に一本勝ち、平良達郎がUFC4連勝に向け、修斗世界王座返上 . gonkaku.jp . 21 May 2023.
25. Web site: September 19, 2022 . Shooto World Strawweight Title . March 12, 2024 . titlehistories.com.
26. Web site: Hioki Joins April 29 Shooto Card; 'M-16' Vacates Title . Nelson . Chris . Sherdog.com . 2011-04-16 . 2011-04-16.
27. News: 山上幹臣 修斗フライ級王座返上、韓国ROAD FCへ . Fight&Life . 40 . February 2014.
28. Web site: 修斗世界フライ級王者・内藤のび太が王座返上 . tokyoheadline.com . 22 April 2016 . 21 June 2021.
29. Web site: 【修斗】世界ストロー級王者・猿田洋祐が王座返上、ONE王座奪還目指す猿田とストロー級戦線のいま . gonkaku.jp . 21 June 2021.
30. Web site: 【修斗】正規王者に昇格の猿丸ジュンジが新井丈を迎え初防衛戦、『ROAD TO UFC』で勝利した内田タケルが関口祐冬と対戦＝9.19 . efight.jp . August 2022 . 1 August 2022.
31. Web site: November 6, 2021 . Shooto Women's World Super Atomeweight Title . March 12, 2024 . titlehistories.com.
32. Web site: October 16, 2020 . Shooto World Heavyweight Title . March 12, 2024 . titlehistories.com.
33. Web site: MMA All-time Record Holders . sportsillustrated.