Nationality Japanese Role Mixed Martial Artist Name Caol Uno | Reach 70.0 in (178 cm) Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | |
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Other names Uno Shoten, Little Gremlin Weight 143 lb (65 kg; 10.2 st) Division FeatherweightLightweight Teacher Rumina Sato, Yoshinori Nishi | ||
Caol Uno vs Ali Abdelaziz
Kaoru "Caol" Uno (宇野薫, Uno Kaoru) (born May 8, 1975) is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He is the Co-Champion of the UFC 41 Lightweight Tournament and a former Shooto Lightweight Champion. As one of the early Ultimate Fighting Championship's elite Lightweight competitors, Uno competed for the UFC Lightweight Championship on two separate occasions. Despite falling short in both championship bouts; losing a five-round decision against Jens Pulver at UFC 30, to determine the inaugural UFC Lightweight Champion as well as a draw against B.J. Penn at UFC 41 (in a bout which would have determined the new UFC Lightweight Champion and UFC 41 Lightweight Tournament Winner), Uno is acknowledged as a pioneer for his impact and influence during the early era of the UFC Lightweight Division.
Contents
- Caol Uno vs Ali Abdelaziz
- Early career
- Shooto
- UFC
- Return to Japan
- UFC return
- Post UFC career
- Mixed martial arts
- Submission wrestling
- References
Early career
Uno finished second in the All Japan amateur Shooto tournament in 1996. He was a runner-up in the submission wrestling world championships at ADCC losing in the finals to world-renowned Jean Jacques Machado.
Shooto
Uno rose through the ranks of the Shooto mixed martial arts organization in Japan. In May 1999, Uno fought the then-legendary Rumina Sato. The fight was hailed as "Fight of the Year", an extremely fast-paced back and forth battle with a wide variety of stand-up and grappling exchanges. Eventually, Uno took the back of Sato and choked him into submission.
The two rematched in December 2000. This fight concluded with Uno standing over Sato on his back, then striking him with a knee and a punch while he was getting up, knocking him out.
UFC
After his second victory over Rumina Sato, Uno was recruited to fight for the UFC's Bantamweight (later renamed Lightweight) title against Jens Pulver. Throughout the fight, Pulver stopped Uno's takedown attempts and pressed the action on the feet. Uno, who had earned a reputation as being "unflappable", began to show frustration for the first time in his career as Pulver neutralized all his offensive efforts. Pulver took a majority decision win in the fight.
After Pulver left the UFC, the Lightweight Championship was vacated. A tournament was put together pitting the top Lightweights in the UFC (B.J. Penn, Din Thomas, Matt Serra and Caol Uno). In the first round, Uno faced Thomas. Thomas dominated the first round, setting a high pace. However, Uno turned things around, taking the second and third rounds to win the fight.
In the finals of the tournament, Uno faced Penn (who had previously defeated Uno by knockout in under 12 seconds). Uno used angles and effective wrestling techniques to frustrate Penn, who appeared tentative from the start, while Penn was dominant in spurts. The fight was called a draw and neither fighter won the championship belt.
Return to Japan
Uno then went on to fight Tatsuya Kawajiri in Shooto before fighting at K-1's 2004 Premium Dynamite!! and K-1 MAX: Japan Grand Prix 2005. His next eleven fights were for the then newly established promotion Hero's.
Uno next competed in DREAM's Lightweight Grand Prix. He was seeded directly into the second round, DREAM 3, where he beat Mitsuhiro Ishida via rear-naked choke submission to progress to the Dream 5: Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 Final Round. At Dream 5, Uno lost a unanimous decision to Shinya Aoki.
UFC return
Uno was spotted in attendance at UFC 94, fueling talk of a return to the UFC's Lightweight division. It was later confirmed that Uno had signed with the UFC and would face Spencer Fisher at UFC 99: The Comeback, which Uno lost by unanimous decision. Then, on November 21, 2009, Uno fought UFC newcomer Fabrício Camões to a majority draw at UFC 106.
On March 31, 2010, Uno fought Gleison Tibau at UFC Fight Night 21. He was overpowered by the much bigger Tibau, and suffered a loss via TKO (punches). After the fight he was released from the promotion.
Post-UFC career
Uno fought Jesse Brock at Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 4th, on February 23, 2014. He won via unanimous decision.