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Biography
Yosuke Saruta (Japanese: 猿田 洋祐, Saruta Yōsuke, born July 8, 1987) is a Japanese mixed martial artist who last competed in the strawweight division of ONE Championship.
A professional competitor since 2008, he is the former ONE Strawweight Champion and former Shooto World Flyweight (114lbs) Champion.
Personal life
Saruta was born in Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan. Saruta was active in extracurricular activities in his youth, and had a focus on gymnastics. He wanted to become an Olympic athlete for his country. When he was 18, Saruta saw Norifumi Yamamoto on television and decided to begin training in mixed martial arts.
He is married.
Martial arts career
Shooto
Saruta made his professional MMA debut on January 26, 2008 at Shooto: Back to Our Roots 7 against Kota Funaki. He would lose the bout by TKO.
On August 9, 2009, Saruta got his first professional victory over Takahiro Kohori at Shooto: Gig Saitama 1 by first-round TKO.
Between August 2011 and April 2013, Saruta had his first-ever winning streak. He won five consecutive bouts in Shooto with two submissions and a knockout during the run. During this run, he won the Shooto Infinity Bantamweight tournament, with a majority decision win over Masumi Tozawa. This would earn him a title shot versus Ryuichi Miki. Their first bout ended in a draw, and their second in a unanimous decision loss for Saruta. After early failed attempts at winning Shooto titles, Saruta moved to Tokyo and changed camps to begin training with Wajutsu Keishukai Hearts.
After an up-and-down stretch that saw Saruta go 3-4-1, the Japanese fighter began another five-match unbeaten streak that would lead to a flyweight title shot against Ryuto Sawada. On October 15, 2017, Saruta defeated Sawada by knockout in the fourth round to capture the Shooto flyweight championship. Following that, he achieved a decision win over Kiyotaka Shimizu and defended his title against Itchaku Murata, winning by way of TKO.
ONE Championship
On December 7, 2018, Saruta made his ONE Championship debut against former strawweight champion, Alex Silva. He won by unanimous decision.
The victory in his ONE Championship debut earned Saruta a title shot against Joshua Pacio. On January 19, 2019, Saruta edged out Pacio by split decision to win the ONE strawweight world championship.
Yosuke Saruta would fight a rematch with Joshua Pacio at ONE: Roots of Honor. Saruta lost the bout, after being knocked out by a knee in the fourth round.
At ONE Century, Saruta bounced back with a KO victory over the Pancrase strawweight champion Daichi Kitakata, stopping his opponent in the first minute of the second round.
Saruta next faced Yoshitaka Naito at Road to One 3: Tokyo Fight Night on September 10, 2020. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Saruta faced Joshua Pacio in a trilogy match for the ONE Strawweight Championship at ONE Championship: Revolution on September 24, 2021. He lost the bout via TKO in the first round.
Saruta was expected to face Gustavo Balart at ONE: Bad Blood on February 11, 2022. Saruta withdrew from the bout, after testing positive for COVID-19 on the day of the event. The fight was rescheduled for ONE 156 on April 22, 2022. Saruta lost the fight by unanimous decision.
Returning off an almost 2 year layoff, Saruta faced Mansur Malachiev on February 17, 2024 at ONE Fight Night 19, losing the fight via unanimous decision.
Saruta is scheduled to face Keito Yamakita on August 3, 2024, at ONE Fight Night 24.
Championships and accomplishments
- ONE Championship
- ONE Strawweight Championship (One time; former)
- Shooto
- Shooto World Flyweight (114lbs) Championship (One time)
- One successful title defense
- 2012 Infinity Bantamweight Tournament
- 2018 Fighter of the Year
- Shooto World Flyweight (114lbs) Championship (One time)
- eFight.jp
- Fighter of the Month for January 2019
- Fighter of the Month for October 2019
Mixed martial arts record
| 36 matches | 21 wins | 12 losses |
| By knockout | 6 | 7 |
| By submission | 2 | 0 |
| By decision | 13 | 5 |
| Draws | 3 | |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 21–12–3 | Mansur Malachiev | Decision (unanimous) | ONE Fight Night 19 | February 17, 2024 | 3 | 5:00 | Bangkok, Thailand | |
| Loss | 21–11–3 | Gustavo Balart | Decision (unanimous) | ONE 156 | April 22, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Kallang, Singapore | |
| Loss | 21–10–3 | Joshua Pacio | TKO (punches) | ONE: Revolution | September 24, 2021 | 1 | 3:38 | Kallang, Singapore | For the ONE Strawweight Championship (125 lb). |
| Win | 21–9–3 | Yoshitaka Naito | Decision (unanimous) | Road to ONE: Tokyo Fight Night 3 | September 10, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 20–9–3 | Daichi Kitakata | KO (punches) | ONE: Century – Part 2 | October 13, 2019 | 2 | 0:59 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 19–9–3 | Joshua Pacio | KO (head kick) | ONE: Roots of Honor | April 12, 2019 | 4 | 2:43 | Pasay, Philippines | Lost the ONE Strawweight Championship (125 lb). |
| Win | 19–8–3 | Joshua Pacio | Decision (split) | ONE: Eternal Glory | January 19, 2019 | 5 | 5:00 | Jakarta, Indonesia | Won the ONE Strawweight Championship (125 lb). |
| Win | 18–8–3 | Alex Silva | Decision (unanimous) | ONE: Destiny of Champions | December 7, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | |
| Loss | 17–8–3 | Takumi Tamaru | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Professional Shooto 7/15 | July 15, 2018 | 3 | 3:49 | Tokyo, Japan | Return to Flyweight. |
| Win | 17–7–3 | Itchaku Murata | KO (punches) | Professional Shooto 5/13 | May 13, 2018 | 3 | 0:45 | Kanagawa, Japan | Defended the Shooto Flyweight Championship. |
| Win | 16–7–3 | Kiyotaka Shimizu | Decision (unanimous) | Professional Shooto 1/28 | January 28, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 15–7–3 | Ryuto Sawada | KO (punches) | Professional Shooto 10/15 | October 15, 2017 | 4 | 2:37 | Chiba, Japan | Won the Shooto Flyweight Championship. |
| Win | 14–7–3 | Koha Minowa | Decision (unanimous) | Professional Shooto 4/23 | April 23, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Chiba, Japan | |
| Draw | 13–7–3 | Junji Ito | Draw (majority) | Professional Shooto 1/29 | January 29, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 13–7–2 | Luis Gonzalez | Decision (unanimous) | Professional Shooto 7/17 | July 17, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 12–7–2 | Teppei Maeyama | Decision (unanimous) | Professional Shooto 3/21 | March 21, 2016 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 11–7–2 | Hiroshi Roppongi | KO (punch) | Professional Shooto 1/11 | January 11, 2016 | 2 | 0:18 | Tokyo, Japan | Strawweight debut. |
| Loss | 10–7–2 | Hiromasa Ougikubo | Decision (unanimous) | Professional Shooto 11/29 | November 29, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 10–6–2 | Taku Kajikawa | Decision (unanimous) | Professional Shooto 7/26 | July 26, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 9–6–2 | Hayato Suzuki | Decision (unanimous) | Grandslam MMA 2: Way of the Cage | February 8, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 9–5–2 | Mamoru Yamaguchi | TKO (doctor stoppage) | VTJ 6th | October 4, 2014 | 2 | 0:25 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 9–4–2 | Shunichi Shimizu | Decision (unanimous) | Grandslam MMA 1: Way of the Cage | July 13, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 8–4–2 | Masaaki Sugawara | Decision (majority) | Shooto: Gig Tokyo 16 | April 20, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 7–4–2 | Ryuichi Miki | Decision (unanimous) | Shooto: 5th Round 2013 | November 9, 2013 | 5 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | For the Shooto Bantamweight Championship. |
| Draw | 7–3–2 | Ryuichi Miki | Draw (split) | Shooto: 3rd Round 2013 | July 27, 2013 | 5 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | For the Shooto Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 7–3–1 | Kentaro Watanabe | KO (punches) | Shooto: Border: Season 5 - First | April 7, 2013 | 1 | 3:52 | Osaka, Japan | |
| Win | 6–3–1 | Masumi Tozawa | Decision (majority) | Shooto: The Rookie Tournament Final 2012 | December 15, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 5–3–1 | Yuki Nishigo | Technical Submission (guillotine choke) | Shooto: Gig Tokyo 11 | August 25, 2012 | 1 | 3:26 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 4–3–1 | Hiroshi Osato | Decision (unanimous) | Shooto: Gig Tokyo 9 | April 14, 2012 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 3–3–1 | Akinobu Watanabe | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Shooto: Gig Tokyo 7 | August 6, 2011 | 1 | 1:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 2–3–1 | Tatsuya Nakashima | TKO (arm injury) | Shooto: Shooting Disco 11: Tora Tora Tora! | February 27, 2010 | 1 | 1:54 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Draw | 2–2–1 | Nozumi Otsuka | Draw (split) | Shooto: The Rookie Tournament 2009 Final | December 13, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 2–2 | Jun Nagasoe | Decision (unanimous) | Shooto: Gig Tokyo 3 | October 18, 2009 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 1–2 | Takahiro Kohori | TKO (punches) | Shooto: Gig Saitama 1 | August 9, 2009 | 1 | 3:06 | Fujimi, Japan | |
| Loss | 0–2 | Nozomi Otsuka | TKO (corner stoppage) | Shooto - Shooting Disco 5: Earth, Wind and Fighter | June 21, 2008 | 2 | 3:25 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 0–1 | Kota Funaki | TKO (towel, punches) | Shooto: Back to Our Roots 7 | January 26, 2008 | 2 | 2:22 | Tokyo, Japan | Flyweight debut. |