32 Facts About Daijiro Matsui

Daijiro Matsui is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler.

Daijiro Matsui debuted in September 1996 as "Shunsuke Matsui" against Tatsunori Kamiyama, but he couldn't advance up the card as UWFi folded the same year.

Daijiro Matsui then followed the company's members to the new promotion Kingdom, having matches against Kazushi Sakuraba, Yoshihiro Takayama and Hiromitsu Kanehara, until Kingdom fell in 1998.

In December 2000, Daijiro Matsui made a return to pro wrestling at the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye event, teaming with The Great Sasuke to defeat Akira Shoji and Caol Uno.

Daijiro Matsui competed in Battlarts, beating Ikuto Hidaka, and in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, wrestling Kendo Kashin in a losing effort for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.

Daijiro Matsui had stints in Pro Wrestling Zero1 and in Inoki Genome Federation.

Daijiro Matsui transitioned to mixed martial arts from pro wrestling and trained at the Takada Dojo for much of his career along with Kazushi Sakuraba.

Daijiro Matsui made himself known for a surprising technical ability and his unorthodox striking, including the use of the shoulder strike from the guard, as well as forward rolls and cartwheel kicks in an attempt to draw his opponents to the ground.

Daijiro Matsui had his first taste of mixed martial arts when he faced American fighter Wayne Haas in a shoot fight for Kingdom in 1997.

Daijiro Matsui made his true professional mixed martial arts debut in 1998 at PRIDE 3 against Akira "Mr Pride" Shoji and the bout ended in a draw.

At PRIDE 6, Daijiro Matsui fought against future UFC Welterweight Champion and fan-favorite, Carlos Newton.

Daijiro Matsui fought again at PRIDE 7 against Dutch kickboxer "Dirty" Bob Schrijber, in a fight in which he performed impressively, holding his own against the striker and taking advantage of his superior wrestling skills.

Controversy ensued when Daijiro Matsui was punched in his face while being attended to by the referee because of a problem with his gloves.

Daijiro Matsui continued with renovated aggressivity, performing a takedown attempt which made Schrijber fall through the ropes and brutally land on a table ringside.

Well after the bell marking the end of the first round sounded, Schrijber landed a powerful kick to the back of Daijiro Matsui, who was still down on the ground.

Outweighed and outmatched from the beginning of the fight, Daijiro Matsui was rocked with a series of knees from the clinch and punches from Silva, but he demonstrated his heart and continued to battle despite bleeding profusely, even managing to put Silva on his back and land some strikes from the guard, leaving Silva's right eye swollen.

Daijiro Matsui ultimately lost in a unanimous decision, but he passed to history as one of the few opponents Silva wasn't able to finish, including Matsui's own partner Kazushi Sakuraba.

However, Daijiro Matsui then fought against Ukrainian kickboxer Igor Vovchanchyn at PRIDE 9, and he was finished the first time in his career after the referee called a stop to the bout at 5:03 into the first round by an eye cut.

Daijiro Matsui was handed his third consecutive loss, via unanimous decision.

Daijiro Matsui started the fight countering a flying knee by catching Pele mid-air with a front kick, but then he was almost rendered unconscious by another knee strike when he was shooting for a takedown.

Frustrated by his opponent's resistance, Pele landed a series of illegal elbows to the back of Daijiro Matsui, resulting in a yellow card from the referee which attracted heated words.

Daijiro Matsui was rocked with many stomps and soccer kicks throughout the bout, and the fight was eventually stopped in the beginning of the third round.

Daijiro Matsui then fought against future UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at Pride 18 and Daijiro Matsui won via disqualification after he was hit in the groin in the beginning of the fight.

Daijiro Matsui then fought Rodrigo Gracie at PRIDE 19 and lost via guillotine choke submission in the third round.

The submission was controversial as Gracie held onto the choke for a significantly long time after Daijiro Matsui had tapped out.

Daijiro Matsui lost the bout via split decision after Venetiaan was able to utilize superior striking, especially with powerful kicks.

Daijiro Matsui then fought Rory Singer at PRIDE The Best Vol.

In March 2006, Daijiro Matsui left Takada Dojo along with Kazushi Sakuraba, though Daijiro Matsui remained in the team as a trainer.

Daijiro Matsui made his debut for the England-based Cage Rage organization a year later against former Alex Reid and fought to a draw.

Daijiro Matsui then lost three consecutive bouts before defeating future BAMMA Middleweight Champion and current UFC veteran, Tom "Kong" Watson with an armbar submission, the only submission win of Daijiro Matsui's career to date.

Daijiro Matsui lost his last fight for the organization against Mark Weir.

Since the demise of the Cage Rage organization, Daijiro Matsui has exclusively fought in Japan, mostly for the DEEP organization.