Nationality Japanese Style Kudo,Handball Reach 74.0 in (188 cm) | Division Middleweight Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Name Hisaki Kato | |
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Born September 17, 1982 (age 41)
Paris, France ( 1982-09-17 ) Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st) | ||
Bellator mma foundations with hisaki kato
Hisaki Kato (born September 17, 1982) is a French-Japanese professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer currently competing in Bellator's Middleweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2013, he has also competed for Rizin.
Contents
- Bellator mma foundations with hisaki kato
- Mma knockout of the year hisaki kato torches joe schilling at bellator 139
- Background
- Early career
- Bellator MMA
- Bellator Kickboxing
- Mixed martial arts
- References
Mma knockout of the year hisaki kato torches joe schilling at bellator 139
Background
Born and raised in Paris, Kato's father was a Japanese judoka who moved to Paris to pursue a career teaching the martial art, and become one of the top instructors in the country. However, he died when Kato was only a few years old. Kato's mother is French. Growing up, Kato pursued judo but favored the striking techniques of traditional Japanese martial arts such as Aikido and karate. Kato was also a highly-talented handball player; he began competing in junior high and moved to Japan at the age of 18 where he competed for the national team and attended college. He later returned to his martial arts roots at the age of 23, joining the Kudo Federation of Japan where he competed in full-contact karate and won five consecutive national tournaments. After winning his fifth title, Kato was offered a contract by the Japanese MMA promotion HEAT.
Early career
Kato made his professional debut in March 2013. In the first two years of his career, Kato competed exclusively for the Japan-based promotion, Heat. He compiled a 4–1 record, which included a first-round TKO of Yuki Niimura to win the vacant Heat Middleweight Championship.
Bellator MMA
Kato faced Joe Schilling in his promotional and United States debut at Bellator 139 on June 26, 2015. Despite being a sizable underdog, Kato won the bout in highlight-reel fashion, knocking out the seasoned kickboxer with a superman punch early in the second round.
In August 2015, Kato signed an exclusive, multi-fight contract with the promotion.
Kato faced another experienced kickboxer, Melvin Manhoef, at Bellator 146 on November 20, 2015 in the main event. Kato lost the fight via knockout due to a left hook from Manhoef in the first round.
Kato returned to Bellator in a mixed martial arts bout against A.J. Matthews on October 21, 2016 at Bellator 162. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.
Bellator Kickboxing
In June 2016, Kato made his professional kickboxing debut for Bellator Kickboxing. He faced Joe Schilling in a rematch at Bellator: Dynamite 2. Despite Schilling being the more experienced kickboxer, Kato again won the fight by knockout (spinning back fist) in the second round.