(born March 15, 1973) 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 ...

and

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

, competing in the

light heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

division who fought most of his career in Fighting Network RINGS (RINGS). As a professional wrestler, he notably competed in

New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional-wrestling promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV Asahi and Amuse Inc. owning minority shar ...

(NJPW) and

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

(AJPW). In MMA, Naruse was the first and only RINGS Light-Heavyweight Champion and a former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion in professional wrestling.

Mixed martial arts career

Naruse started practising

shotokan karate is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" thr ...

in high school before turning his attention to

puroresu is a Japanese term used for professional wrestling in Japan, professional wrestling in and outside of Japan. The term comes from the Gairaigo, Japanese pronunciation of , which in Japanese is abbreviated to “puro” ( - “pro”) & “resu” ...

. He was eventually accepted in Fighting Network RINGS and trained under his chairman

Akira Maeda (born Go Il-myeong (Hangul: 고일명, Hanja: 高日明), January 24, 1959) is a Japanese mixed martial arts promoter, writer and retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Maeda was also known by the ring name Kwik-kik-Lee durin ...

Fighting Network RINGS

A longtime competitor in RINGS before the organization began hosting true MMA bouts, Naruse had his first taste of MMA during his early career in mixed-style fights. He had his first shoot fight against submission wrestler

Koichiro Kimura was a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, also known under the ring name . Kimura was known for his work in promotions like Dramatic Dream Team, W*ING, Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling, among ...

which he won via ankle lock. He then had another special shoot fight against kickboxer Atsushi Tamaki which went on for 24 minutes before Naruse emerged the winner via TKO due to lost points. They then had a rematch two months later which Naruse won again, this time via arm triangle choke. Naruse experienced little success early in his mixed martial arts career, dropping six of his first seven mixed martial arts bouts, including fights against

Valentijn Overeem Valentijn Overeem (; born 17 August 1976) is a Dutch retired professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. A professional competitor since 1996, he has previously fought for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, RINGS, KSW, the World Fighti ...

and Magomedkhan Gamzatkhanov (commonly referred to by his nickname Volk Han). He turned things around as a participant in the eight-man Light-Heavyweight title tournament in 1997, defeating

Lee Hasdell Lee Hasdell (born 13 December 1966)Sherdog profile
Retrieved 4 April 2019Wataru Sakata is a Japanese people, Japanese retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A professional MMA competitor from 1994 until 2016, Sakata fought for Fighting Network RINGS, Pride FC, Deep (mixed martial arts), Deep a ...

and

Chris Haseman Chris Haseman (born 2 June 1969 in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian mixed martial artist. Haseman is currently signed with Fighting Network RINGS and is a longtime veteran of the promotion (1995–2012). Regarded as a pioneer of MM ...

en route to becoming the first RINGS Light-Heavyweight Champion. He then went 3–6 over his next nine fights before RINGS dissolved in 2002.

After RINGS

After wrestling for

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...

(NJPW), Naruse decided to go back to competing in MMA. On December 31, 2003, he defeated

Jan Nortje Johannes "Jan" Nortje (born 11 April 1975) is a South African professional kickboxer, mixed martial artist and undefeated professional boxer who has fought for Strikeforce, DREAM, K-1, Inoki Genome Federation, PRIDE Fighting Championship and Ne ...

by rear-naked choke at K-1 PREMIUM 2003 Dynamite!!. He then defeated Tommy Williams via armbar at Jungle Fight 3 in Brazil.

Return to MMA

Nine years after retiring in 2004, Naruse returned to MMA on October 27, 2013, as he lost to

Sanae Kikuta is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 1996, he has competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, Pancrase, DREAM, World Victory Road, DEEP, Shooto, and V ...

via armbar at Grabaka Live! 3. Naruse then faced Japanese MMA legend

Yuki Kondo is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. He has officially 112 professional fights, making him one of the most experienced mixed martial artists ever. He has also competed for the UFC, PRIDE, Sengo ...

at Pancrase: 257 on March 30, 2014. He lost the fight via majority decision.

Professional wrestling career

Fighting Network RINGS

Naruse debuted for Fighting Network RINGS in 1992 where he was billed as a scrappy junior heavyweight. Among the wrestlers he took on during the organization's

days include Heavyweight wrestler Yoshihisa Yamomoto, kickboxer

Nobuaki Kakuta is a retired karateka and kickboxer and former K-1 Head referee. Early life After attending university, Kakuda opened a karate dojo in Kobe but was forced to shut it down after two years. He subsequently worked as a dishwasher, ramen chef, and ...

UFC 10 ''UFC 10: The Tournament'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on July 12, 1996, at the Fair Park Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later re ...

participant Dieseul Berto,

Volk Han Magomedkhan Amanulayevich Gamzatkhanov (; born 15 April 1961), is a Russian retired mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, sambo wrestler and former military officer of Avar descent. Gamzatkhanov is better known by his ringname Volk Han ...

, MMA veteran

Satoshi Honma (born May 19, 1968) is a Japanese former mixed martial artist who competed in the light heavyweight division. He has fought for Shooto, Fighting Network RINGS, K-1, Pride Fighting Championships and the UFC. Career Honma had his first mixed mar ...

and future tag team partner Mitsuya Nagai. Naruse and other RINGS wrestlers made the transition to

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

with the promotion in 1995.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling

In 2001 with RINGS on the verge of collapse, he moved to

. It was a well timed move as owner

Antonio Inoki (born ; 20 February 1943 – 1 October 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, Glossary of professional wrestling terms#school, professional wrestling trainer, martial arts, martial artist, politician, and Promoter (entertainment), promot ...

was giving former MMA fighters immediate pushes & he was immediately placed into a feud with Minoru Tanaka, who used to work for BattlARTS, RINGS' rival promotion. Within 4 months of his debut, Naruse captured the

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling world junior heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . Only wrestlers under the junior heavyweight weight-limit may hold ...

from his rival Tanaka. He fought for NJPW from 2001 to 2006, defending his Junior Heavyweight title against Shinya Makabe and

El Samurai (born April 19, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler who is best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and is better known by his stage name El Samurai. Professional wrestling career Early years (1986–1992) Osamu Ma ...

before losing his belt to Tokimitsu Ishizawa, later Kendo Kashin. His next chance at the title was as one of 11 competitors in a

Battle Royal Battle royal (, also battle royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules, where the winner is the one who registers the most wins. In recent times, the term has been ...

on October 13, 2003 which as won by

Jado (born September 28, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler, manager and booker better known by the ring name . He is best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as part of a tag team with his partner Gedo. Jado and Gedo's care ...

. Naruse paired with

Mitsuya Nagai , better known as , is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist and kickboxer. A professional MMA competitor from 1991 until 2013, he fought the majority of his career in Fighting Network RINGS. Once a student of legend ...

to win the

All Asia Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). Originally, it was the top tag team title in the JWA, but its status became secondary once the NWA International Tag Team Championship was brou ...

on July 26, 2004 against

Genichiro Tenryu , better known as is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling. "Tenryu" was h ...

and

Masanobu Fuchi is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is also a director and the co-head booker. Fuchi has exclusively worked for All Japan since his debut in 1974, and holds the record for the longest World Ju ...

. They defended the belt three times before losing to Barry Buchanan and

Rico Constantino Americo Sebastiano Costantino (born October 1, 1961) is an American professional wrestler. He performed under the ring names Rico Costantino and Rico in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 1998 to 2004. Early life Costantino was a conte ...

on February 2, 2005. His last bout came on January 8, 2006 against Takashi Iizuka, his 375th career match for

Championships and accomplishments

Professional wrestling

(1 time) – with

( 1 time) :*G1 Jr. Six Man Tag Team Tournament (2001) – with Minoru Tanaka and

Masahito Kakihara is a Japanese former professional wrestler and mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, who is known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and UWF International (UWFI). Professional wrestling career Union of Wrestling Forces Internatio ...

Mixed martial arts

* Fighting Network RINGS ** First and only RINGS Light-Heavyweight Champion

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 9–14 ,

, Decision (majority) , Pancrase: 257 , , align=center, 2 , 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 ...

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–13 ,

, Submission (armbar) , Grabaka: Grabaka Live! 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:25 ,

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 , , - , Win , align=center, 9–12 , Tony Williams , Submission (armbar) , Jungle Fight 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:21 ,

Manaus Manaus () is the List of capitals of subdivisions of Brazil, capital and largest city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas. It is the List of largest cities in Brazil, seventh-largest city in Brazil, w ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 8–12 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , K-1 PREMIUM 2003 Dynamite!! , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:40 ,

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, 7–12 , Ricardo Fyeet , Submission (toe hold) , Rings: Battle Genesis Vol. 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:46 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–12 ,

Hiromitsu Kanehara is a former Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler of Korean descent. A professional MMA competitor from 1998 until 2012, he found success in Fighting Network RINGS, gaining notable victories over Valentijn Overeem, Alexandr ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Rings: Rise 4th , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 10:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–11 , Magomedkhan Gamzatkhanov , Submission (armbar) , Rings: Rise 3rd , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:26 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–10 ,

, Submission (kimura) , Rings: Rise 2nd , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 8:18 ,

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–9 , Dave van der Veen , Submission (achilles lock) , Rings: Rise 1st , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 7:36 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–9 , Joop Kasteel , TKO , Rings: World Mega Battle Tournament , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 8:33 ,

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–8 , Kenichi Yamamoto , Submission , Rings: Fourth Fighting Integration , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 11:07 ,

, Japan , Defends RINGS Light-Heavyweight Title , - , Loss , align=center, 4–8 ,

Mikhail Ilyukhin Mikhail Ilyukhin (born November 21, 1966) is a retired Russian mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who competed in the light heavyweight division. He competed in both Fighting Network Rings, and Pride Fighting Championships, and was ...

, Submission (ankle lock) , Rings: Third Fighting Integration , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 13:52 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–7 ,

, Submission (ankle lock) , Rings – Mega Battle Tournament 1997 Semifinal 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 12:28 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4–6 ,

, TKO , Rings: Extension Fighting 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 14:26 ,

Kagoshima , is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 583,966 in 285,992 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Etymology While the ...

, Japan , Wins Rings Light-Heavyweight Title. Title later dissolved. , - , Win , align=center, 3–6 ,

Wataru Sakata is a Japanese people, Japanese retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A professional MMA competitor from 1994 until 2016, Sakata fought for Fighting Network RINGS, Pride FC, Deep (mixed martial arts), Deep a ...

, Submission , Rings: Extension Fighting 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:55 ,

, Japan , Semifinals of Light-Heavyweight Title Tournament. , - , Win , align=center, 2–6 ,

Lee Hasdell Lee Hasdell (born 13 December 1966)Sherdog profile
Retrieved 4 April 2019Rings – Extension Fighting 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 12:58 ,

, Japan , Quarterfinals of Light-Heavyweight Title Tournament. , - , Loss , align=center, 1–6 , Yoshihisa Yamamoto , Submission (armbar) , Rings – Extension Fighting 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 21:20 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–5 ,

, TKO (cut) , Rings Holland – The Final Challenge , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:58 ,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, Holland , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–4 ,

Zaza Tkeshelashvili Zaza "Grom" Tkeshelashvili (Georgian language, Georgian: ზაზა ტყეშელაშვილი; born March 19, 1965) is a Georgian retired freestyle wrestling, freestyle wrestler and mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who compe ...

, N/A , Rings – Budokan Hall 1997 , , align=center, N/A , align=center, N/A ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–3 , Magomedkhan Gamzatkhanov , N/A , Rings – Battle Dimensions Tournament 1996 Opening Round , , align=center, N/A , align=center, N/A ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–2 ,

Egan Inoue Egan Inoue (, born June 4, 1965) is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, former mixed martial artist and racquetball competitor. A two-time International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion, Inoue is a two-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world ...

, Disqualification , Rings – Maelstrom 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 11:51 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–2 ,

Willie Peeters Willie Peeters (born 26 October 1965) is a Dutch mixed martial artist. He competed in the Heavyweight division. Biography Peeters started his career in Wrestling at the age of ten, training with famed champion Freddy Winters and winning several ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Rings Holland – Free Fight , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 10:00 ,

, Holland , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 , Satir Gotchev , N/A , Rings – Budokan Hall 1995 , , align=center, N/A , align=center, N/A ,

, Japan ,

Mixed rules

, Win , align=center, 3-0 , Atsushi Tamaki , Submission (arm triangle choke) , Rings Korakuen Experimental League 1993 Round 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 8:39 ,

, Japan , - , Win , align=center, 2-0 , Atsushi Tamaki , TKO (lost points) , Rings Korakuen Experimental League 1993 Round 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 24:22 ,

, Japan , - , Win , align=center, 1-0 ,

, Submission (ankle lock) , Rings Mega Battle Special: Foundation , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 9:39 ,

, Japan

References

External links

* *
New Fighting Network RINGS Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naruse, Masayuki 1973 births Professional wrestlers from Tokyo Japanese male professional wrestlers Japanese male karateka Japanese male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Shotokan Mixed martial artists utilizing shootfighting Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Living people IWGP Junior Heavyweight champions All Asia Tag Team Champions 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century Japanese professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century Japanese professional wrestlers