Yoshiyuki Yoshida

Early career

In 2007, Yoshida was entered into a Cage Force welterweight tournament sponsored by the Worldwide Cage Network. In the opening round of the tournament, Yoshida defeated two-time interim Pancrase champion Katsuya Inoue by knockout. He went on to defeat Matt Cain in the quarterfinals and former Shooto champion Akira Kikuchi in the semi-finals of the tournament. In the finals, Yoshida defeated Dan Hardy by disqualification after being struck by a kick to the groin, becoming the first Cage Force welterweight tournament winner.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

After the tournament's closing, Yoshida was offered a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It was originally speculated that the winners of the Cage Force tournaments were to be selected to compete in the UFC's active roster. Yoshida made his debut in the UFC at UFC 84, choking The Ultimate Fighter 6 contestant Jon Koppenhaver unconscious by Anaconda choke submission. He was scheduled to meet Karo Parisyan in September at UFC 88 but Parisyan pulled out of the bout only two hours before the weigh-ins citing an injury. Yoshida then faced Josh Koscheck at UFC: Fight for the Troops on December 10, 2008, a fight which he lost by 1st round knockout. Unfortunately for Yoshida, the first knockout punch from Koscheck occurred with Yoshida's back against the cage, preventing Yoshida from falling down, allowing Koscheck to land another devastating haymaker on Yoshida's jaw, sending him crashing to the canvas in a motionless heap. UFC reported, "Yoshida, who remained on the canvas while being tended to by commission doctors, was removed from the Octagon on a stretcher as a precautionary measure. He was later treated and released from a local hospital for a concussion".

Yoshida then fought Brandon Wolff at UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida on May 23, 2009 and won the bout by guillotine choke in the first round.

Yoshida's fought against Anthony Johnson at UFC 104. The fight became a catchweight bout of 176 when Johnson missed weight by six pounds, Yoshida (weighed in at 170 lb) agreed to fight at catchweight. Yoshida lost by first round TKO.

Yoshida then faced Mike Guymon on May 8, 2010 at UFC 113. Yoshida lost to Guymon by unanimous decision, losing all three rounds.

After losing to Guymon and dropping his UFC record to 2-3, Yoshida was released from the UFC.

Bellator Fighting Championships

Yoshida made his debut for Bellator Fighting Championships on September 30, 2010 against Chris Lozano. He lost via corner stoppage between rounds 2 and 3 due to a severely swollen eye.

ONE Championship

On July 18 it was announced that Yoshida would be facing Pride FC, Elite XC, Strikeforce and UFC veteran Phil Baroni at ONE Fighting Championship: Champion vs. Champion at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on September 3. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

BAMMA

Yoshida was expected to face Nate Marquardt in the main event of BAMMA 9 to determine an Inaugural World Welterweight Champion. However, on January 13, 2012, Marquardt was released from his contract with BAMMA officially due to the promotion pushing back BAMMA 9, and therefore his promotional debut, to March 24, 2012. Sources close to the situation believe that the release was due to the promotion not being able to afford the fighter's contract.

Titan Fighting Championship

Yoshida was expected make his Titan Fighting Championships debut against Mike Ricci for the vacant Titan FC Lightweight Championship at Titan FC 31 on October 31, 2014. However, Ricci failed to make weight prior to the fight. Both men agreed to fight in a non-title 157 lb catchweight fight instead. However, Titan FC's Chief Operating Officer, Lex McMahon, announced that Yoshida was refusing to fight just hours before the event, forcing the cancellation of the fight entirely. Yoshida was immediately released from the promotion.