Enson Shoji Inoue (; born April 15, 1967) is a Japanese-Hawaiian

jiu-jitsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...

practitioner and retired professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. A professional competitor from 1995 until 2010, he fought for the

PRIDE Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

, the UFC,

Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission (ISC). Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 1989 as a ...

, and Vale Tudo Japan. He was the first and only Shooto Heavyweight Champion, and was a finalist in the Lightweight category at UFC 13. Born and raised in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, he has resided in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

since the 1990s. He is sometimes known by the moniker " Yamatodamashii," a Japanese phrase meaning "the spirit of ancient Japan." His brother, Egan Inoue, is also a martial artist and a professional

racquetball Racquetball is a racquet sport and a team sport played with a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek invented the modern sport of racquetball in 1950, adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase vel ...

competitor.

Background

Inoue was born and raised in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, to third-generation Japanese immigrant parents Errol and Evangeline Inoue, making him a '' Yonsei'' (fourth-generation Japanese-Hawaiian). He attended University High School, and began practicing the martial arts

hapkido Hapkido ( , , ), also spelled ''hap ki do'' or ''hapki-do'' is a Korean martial art. It is a hybrid form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, chokeholds, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other striking attacks. ...

and

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

in order to defend himself from bullies. Inoue also played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, ran in

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

, and also excelled in

, alongside his brother Egan. Inoue began learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He and his brother were awarded black belts in Brazilian jiu-jitsu by John Lewis. He demoted himself to purple belt in July 2016 citing that the sport has moved on since attaining his black belt, though he would change his mind after conversations with Lewis. He also holds a yondan (fourth degree black belt) in Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu.

Mixed Martial Arts Career

Inoue was given a tryout by

Satoru Sayama (born November 27, 1957) is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, writer, and mixed martial arts (MMA) and wrestling promoter, best known as the original Tiger Mask. He has wrestled under his real name as well as the names ...

for

after contacting every Japanese MMA promotion he could. He sparred with

Yuki Nakai Yuki Nakai (born 18 August 1970, ) is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist. He currently teaches Shootfighting and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and is the president of the Japanese Confederation of Jiu-Jitsu. He competed in Shooto, an early MMA ...

, impressing Sayama and earning his first fight which took place three months later. His debut bout was against Shingo Shigeta at

: Vale Tudo Access 3 on January 21, 1995, which ended in a victory by technical knockout. He won the Shooto Heavyweight Champion against Joe Estes at Shooto: Reconquista 4, on October 12, 1997. Inoue competed professionally from 1995 to 2010, retiring with a 12-8-0 record. His other achievements include a victory over

UFC Hall of Fame The UFC Hall of Fame is a List of halls and walks of fame, hall of fame which honors mixed martial artists and MMA personalities, established and maintained by the U.S.-based mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). In a ...

Randy Couture Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American mixed martial arts commentator, actor, former United States Army sergeant, former professional mixed martial artist, and former Collegiate wrestling, collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestlin ...

, and giving

Frank Shamrock Frank Shamrock (born Frank Alisio Juarez III; December 8, 1972) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship (later renamed the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship) ...

one of his toughest matches. His final bout was against Antz Nansen on April 25, 2010, in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, which he won by submission.

Other activities

Inoue runs several

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

gyms located in

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

, and

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

under the name Purebred. He also has affiliated gyms located in Thailand, Canada and the USA. He appeared in the 2008 martial arts film '' Redbelt'' as a cameo role, and was featured in the documentary film ''Rites of Passage: The Rebirth of Combat Sports.''

Personal life

Inoue has a stepson (Erson) and is the brother of Egan Inoue, a mixed martial artist and a two time

World Champion player. He was married to the sister of

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

Bantamweight fighter Norifumi Yamamoto. He took in and trained Norifumi in mixed martial arts after an incident with the

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...

. Enson has asserted that he is "not yakuza" but admits to doing business with members of yakuza. In the aftermath of the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a 9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...

, Enson travelled to northeast Japan to directly help the victims. In 2020, news broke that the IBJJF had refused to recognize Inoue's official rank as a BJJ black belt, despite him competing at the highest levels of the sport as early as 1999. Enson is married to Sarah Jane McCann, who is from New Zealand of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

descent.

Legal issues

In October 2008, Inoue was arrested in

for marijuana possession and spent 28 days in prison before being released on November 14, 2008. He was eventually given a two-year

suspended sentence A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...

and ordered to serve four years

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

. During his probation period, he was forbidden from leaving Japan.

Championships and accomplishments

** Heavyweight Championship (One time) *

** UFC 13 Lightweight Tournament Finalist

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 12–8 , Antz Nansen , Submission (armbar) , Astra: Yoshida's Farewell , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:10 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–8 , Tommy Sauer , TKO (punches) , SB 35: SuperBrawl 35 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:14 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–7 , Soichi Nishida , Submission (choke) , FFCF 1: Fury Full Contact Fighting 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:00 ,

, , - , Loss , align=center, 10–7 , Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira , Technical submission (triangle choke) ,

PRIDE 19 The year 2002 was the 6th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2002 had 10 events beginning with, ''Pride FC: The Best, Vol. 1''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters Th ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 6:17 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–6 , Heath Herring , TKO (knees) , PRIDE 12 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:52 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–5 ,

Igor Vovchanchyn Igor Yaroslavovych Vovchanchyn (, ; born August 6, 1973) is a retired Ukrainian mixed martial artist and kickboxer, who competed in early Mixed martial arts, no holds barred MMA contests. After making his professional MMA debut in 1995, he won nin ...

, TKO (doctor stoppage) , PRIDE 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 10:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–4 , Mark Kerr , Decision (unanimous) , PRIDE Grand Prix 2000: Opening Round , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 15:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Soichi Nishida , Submission (rear-naked choke) , PRIDE 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:24 ,

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 ,

, Submission (armbar) , VTJ 1998: Vale Tudo Japan 1998 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:39 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–3 ,

, TKO (punches) , VTJ 1997: Vale Tudo Japan 1997 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 7:17 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Joe Estes , TKO (submission to punches) , Shooto: Reconquista 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:06 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Royce Alger , Technical Submission (armbar) , UFC 13 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:36 ,

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 , Rei Zulu , TKO (elbows) , Shooto: Reconquista 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:45 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 , Mushtaq Abdullah , TKO (submission to punches) , Shooto: Let's Get Lost , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:38 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–2 , Igor Zinoviev , TKO (punches) , VTJ 1996: Vale Tudo Japan 1996 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:44 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 , Joe Estes , Decision (majority) , Shooto: Vale Tudo Junction 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 8:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Andre Mannaart , TKO (punches) , Shooto: Vale Tudo Junction 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:20 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Ed de Kruijf , Technical Submission (armbar) , Shooto: Complete Vale Tudo Access , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:40 , Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Rene Rooze , Submission (rear naked choke) , VTJ 1995: Vale Tudo Japan 1995 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 6:41 , Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Shingo Shigeta , TKO (punches) , Shooto: Vale Tudo Access 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:10 ,

, Japan ,

Submission grappling record

, - style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;" , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Result , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Method , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Event , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Round , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Time , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , - , Win, , Tully Kulihaapai , , Submission (armbar) , , PRIDE 7, , 1999, , 1, , , , , - , Loss, ,

Mario Sperry Mario (; ) is a character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Japanese video game company Nintendo. ...

, , Points , , ADCC 1999 Absolute, , 1999, , 1, , , , , -