is a Japanese

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 ...

currently competing in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

division of

Pancrase is a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Tokyo. It was founded in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the An ...

. A professional competitor since 2008, he has competed for the

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

and

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 ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Tamura made his professional MMA debut in June 2008 for the

organization. Prior to signing with the UFC, all of his fights have taken place in this promotion where he amassed a record of 6 wins and 2 losses. Tamura trains out of the Krazy Bee camp alongside former top-ranked fighter Kid Yamamoto.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Tamura was signed to the UFC in February 2012. In his debut he fought Zhang Tiequan at

UFC 144 ''UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 26, 2012, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Venue UFC 144 was held at the Saitama Super Arena in the ...

, filling in for an injured Leonard Garcia. Tamura won via KO at 0:32 seconds into the second round. Tamura dropped down to

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

and faced

Raphael Assunção Raphael Assunção (born 19 July 1982) is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Born in Recife in Northeast Brazil, Assunção move ...

on July 11, 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV: Munoz vs. Weidman Tamura lost to Assunção via second round TKO. Tamura was expected to face

Mitch Gagnon Mitch Gagnon (born October 10, 1984) is a retired Canadians, Canadian mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division. He is most notable for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts c ...

on March 16, 2013, at UFC 158. However, Gagnon was forced out of the bout with an injury and was replaced by T.J. Dillashaw. Tamura was defeated by Dillashaw in the second round via KO and was subsequently released from the promotion.

ROAD FC

On July 18, 2013, Korean MMA promotion ROAD FC announced that they had signed Issei Tamura to their roster. He debuted at ROAD FC 13 on October 12, 2013, against Min Jung Song. He lost the fight via submission.

Pancrase

After three straight losses in Road FC, Tamura signed with Pancrase. Racking two straight victories in Pancrase, Tamura earned a title shot for the vacant Pancrase Interim Featherweight Championship against Juntaro Ushiku at Pancrase 277 on April 24, 2016. He claimed the interim championship via third-round knockout. Tamura was then expected to face reigning champion Andy Main in the title unification bout at Pancrase 282 on November 13, 2016. However, Tamura withdrew from the bout due to fractured nose. He was then set to face Nazareno Malegarie for the Pancrase Featherweight Championship at Pancrase 285 on March 12, 2017. He lost the bout via first-round submission. Tamura was scheduled to face Suguru Nii at Pancrase 313 on March 8, 2020. However, the event was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and the bout was scrapped. Tamura was then scheduled to face Yuki Takahashi at Pancrase 317 on August 23, 2020, but the event was cancelled due to the

. Tamura next faced Akira Okada at Pancrase 319 on October 25, 2020. He lost the fight via second-round knockout. Tamura faced Hirotaka Nakada at Pancrase 321 on May 30, 2021. He lost the bout after his corner threw in the flag and stopped the fight in the first round. Tamura faced Kisa Miyake at Pancrase 327 on April 29, 2022. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Tamura faced Ryo Asami on December 25, 2022, at Pancrase 330, winning the bout via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

' **Lightweight 2008 Rookie of the Year **2007 All Japan Championship Welterweight runner-up *

** King of Pancrase Interim Featherweight Championship (1 Time, former)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 15–12 , Ryo Asami , Decision (unanimous) , Pancrase 330 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 14–12 , Kisa Miyake , Decision (unanimous) , Pancrase 327 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–12 , Hirotaka Nakada , TKO (corner stoppage) , Pancrase 321 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:36 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–11 , Akira Okada , KO (punch) , Pancrase 319 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:42 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 13–10 , Katsushi Sugiyama , KO (punch) , Pancrase 308 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:25 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–10 , Kazumasa Majima , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Pancrase 305 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:41 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–9 , Taichi Nakajima , Decision (unanimous) , Pancrase 299 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 12–8 , Yoshinori Horie , TKO (punches) , Pancrase 294 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:28 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 11–8 , Takumi Suzuki , Decision (unanimous) , Pancrase 291 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–8 , Nazareno Malegarie , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Pancrase 285 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:50 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 10–7 , Juntaro Ushiku , KO (punch) , Pancrase 277 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:52 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–7 ,

Takumi Nakayama is a Japanese mixed martial artist and former King of Pancrase Featherweight Champion. He is also the former King of the Cage Lightweight Champion. "Takumi"(タクミ, all katakana) ring name of Nakayama in Japan. Biography Nakayama was in ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Pancrase 273 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 8–7 , Hikaru Hasumi , Decision (unanimous) , Pancrase 269 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–7 , Yeong Seung Cho , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Road Fighting Championship 22 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:57 ,

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–6 , Soo-Chul Kim , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Road Fighting Championship 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:41 ,

Wonju Wonju (; ) is the most populous Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gangwon Province, South Korea, with a population of 364,860 as of 2023. The city is located approximately east of Seoul. History During the time of Joseon, Gr ...

, South Korea , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–5 , Min-Jung Song , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Road Fighting Championship 13 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, N/A ,

Gumi, North Gyeongsang Gumi (; ) is the second largest and most densely populated city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is located on the Nakdong River, halfway between Daegu and Gimcheon, also lies on the Gyeongbu Expressway and Gyeongbu Line railway whic ...

, South Korea , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–4 , T.J. Dillashaw , KO (head kick & punches) , UFC 158 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:26 ,

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–3 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC on Fuel TV: Munoz vs. Weidman , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:25 ,

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Zhang Tiequan , KO (punch) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:32 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–2 , Guy Delumeau , Decision (majority) , Shooto: Shooto the Shoot 2011 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Katsuya Toida , KO (punches) , Shooto: Gig Tokyo 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:23 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 , Taiki Tsuchiya , Decision (majority) , Shooto: The Way of Shooto 4: Like a Tiger, Like a Dragon , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 ,

Gustavo Falciroli Gustavo Falciroli (born 13 December 1982) is an Australian-Brazilian former mixed martial artist, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. Falciroli has formerly competed in Australian Fighting Championship, where he was the inaugural bantamweigh ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: Revolutionary Exchanges 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Hayate Usui , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: Gig Tokyo 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Naohiro Mizuno , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: The Rookie Tournament 2008 Final , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Takumi Ota , Decision (majority) , Shooto: 10/13 in Kitazawa Town Hall , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Yasuhiro Kanayama , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: 6/26 in Kitazawa Town Hall , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan ,

References

External links

*
Official Shooto profileOfficial UFC Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamura, Issei 1984 births Living people Pancrase champions Japanese male mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing shootfighting Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Japanese practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People from Shinagawa Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters