Yoshitaka Naito Japanese: was born on February 17,1984 and is a Japanese mixed martial artist from Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
27 Facts About Yoshitaka Naito
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Yoshitaka Naito is a former two-time ONE Strawweight World Champion.
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Yoshitaka Naito didn't practice any martial arts as a child, but was a member of the soccer club in junior high school.
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Yoshitaka Naito had few friends during his adolescence and struggled with his grades in school.
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Yoshitaka Naito later dropped out of high school, a short-sighted decision he later said he regretted.
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Yoshitaka Naito fell in love with mixed martial arts in the early 2000s.
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Yoshitaka Naito loved watching Kazushi Sakuraba, who he calls his martial arts hero.
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Yoshitaka Naito was fascinated by the submissions Sakuraba was able to pull off against foreign athletes in Pride Fighting Championships and soon found himself training at Paraestra Matsudo.
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Yoshitaka Naito was invited to train at Paraestra Matsudo by his brother Nobutaka.
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Yoshitaka Naito's brother is a mixed martial artist, currently competing with Shooto.
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Yoshitaka Naito began training mixed martial arts at the age of 22.
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Yoshitaka Naito made his professional debut with the Shooto organization on August 25,2012, at the age of 27.
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Yoshitaka Naito defeated Tsubasa Fujikawa via guillotine choke in round two in the semifinals of the Rookie Flyweight Tournament.
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Yoshitaka Naito won his next five fights to earn a title shot against reigning Shooto Flyweight Champion Shinya Murofushi.
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Yoshitaka Naito made his first title defense against Ryuto Sawada on July 26,2015.
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Yoshitaka Naito won by arm-triangle choke in the fourth round.
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Yoshitaka Naito made his second title defense against Junji Ito on November 29,2015.
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Yoshitaka Naito moved down to the strawweight division and made his ONE Championship debut against the reigning and undefeated ONE Strawweight World Champion Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke in his native Bangkok, Thailand on May 27,2016.
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Yoshitaka Naito defeated Dejdamrong by rear-naked choke in round four to become the ONE Strawweight World Champion.
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Yoshitaka Naito submitted Pacio by rear-naked choke in the third round to retain the belt.
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Yoshitaka Naito made his next title defense against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion Alex Silva on December 9,2017.
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Yoshitaka Naito made the first defense of his second ONE Strawweight World Title reign against Joshua Pacio in a rematch from nearly two years earlier on September 22,2018.
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On March 8,2019, Yoshitaka Naito faced Wushu World Champion Rene Catalan.
24.
Yoshitaka Naito faced Silva for a third time on May 17,2019.
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Yoshitaka Naito won by unanimous decision to complete their trilogy.
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Yoshitaka Naito faced Pongsiri Mitsatit on November 8,2019, and defeated him by unanimous decision.
27.
Yoshitaka Naito next faced Yosuke Saruta at Road to One 3: Tokyo Fight Night on September 10,2020.