is a Japanese

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who competes 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, this ...

division of

Rizin Fighting Federation Rizin Fighting Federation (Rizin FF or Rizin) is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara. Rizin was founded to be the sp ...

. A professional competitor since 2012, he has also competed for

Road Fighting Championship Road Fighting Championship (Road FC; ) is a South Korean-based mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion which was officially launched in 2010. Prior to December 2016, Road FC had held 52 events in three countries - South Korea, Japan, and China. Abou ...

, Fighting Network Rings and

DEEP Deep or The Deep may refer to: Places United States * Deep Creek (Appomattox River tributary), Virginia * Deep Creek (Great Salt Lake), Idaho and Utah * Deep Creek (Mahantango Creek tributary), Pennsylvania * Deep Creek (Mojave River tributary), ...

. He is a former Fighting Network Rings 143-pound and 154-pound champion. Along with his mixed martial arts career, he is also a popular

YouTuber A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influe ...

in Japan. He is the older brother of

Kai Asakura is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing as a bantamweight in the Rizin Fighting Federation. A professional competitor since 2012, he formerly competed for Road Fighting Championship, Fighting Network Rings and DEEP. He is a ...

Early life

Mikuru started his interest in martial arts training karate in elementary school, however he also played

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 ...

for three years. Mikuru, along with his brother

, were involved in numerous

street fights Street fighting is hand-to-hand combat in public places, between individuals or groups of people. The venue is usually a public place (e.g. a street) and the fight sometimes results in serious injury or occasionally even death. Some street fig ...

in their childhood, even fighting each other. As they got older, a therapist suggested to their mother to enrol them into

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

classes. While studying at the

Aichi is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture ...

Prefectural Toyohashi Technical High School, the Asakura brothers went to Zen Dokai Toyohashi Dojo, where they were first introduced to mixed martial arts.

Mixed martial arts career

Amateur career

Mikuru Asakura, as well as his brother Kai, fought their first amateur MMA fights under the Outsider brand of Fighting Network Rings. The Outsider brand was geared towards problematic youth, with focus on rehabilitating delinquents, criminals and gang members with MMA. He would later fight professionally with Outsider. After winning his first amateur bout, against Kohei Shimada, with a first round rear-naked choke, Asakura put together a 6-1 record with 5 stoppages, only losing to Takehiro Higuchi.

Early career

Mikuru Asakura began his professional career in 2012 under the DEEP promotion, where he faced a fellow debutante Morikazu Itagaki. Asakura won the bout via TKO within 53 seconds. After a three-year hiatus, Mikuru returned to fight under the Outsider promotion, a spin off of the Fighting Network Rings promotion. He faced Keinosuke Yoshinaga, whom he defeated TKO in the first round to claim the Outsider 154 lbs Championship in just his 2nd professional bout at The Outsider 26. Four months later in his very next bout at The Outsider 38, Asakura beat Takehiro Higuchi (the sole man to defeat him to that point) to claim the 143 lbs Championship. Asakura would defend his 143-lb title 9 months later at The Outsider 42 against Hiroyuki Furuta before competing in ROAD FC.. Under the banner off

at Road FC 37, Asakura fought Doo Seok Oh, who he beat by TKO in the first round. Asakura would suffer his first career loss in a surprising unanimous decision to journeyman Kil Woo Lee during Road FC 43. However, he rebounded with a unanimous decision victory over Kosuke Terashima six months later at DEEP 83 Impact.

Rizin Fighting Federation

Mikuru Asakura made his Rizin debut on 12 August 2018, during Rizin 12. Asakura faced former Shooto featherweight champion and Japanese MMA legend,

Hatsu Hioki (, born July 18, 1983) is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist competing in the featherweight division. He is the former Shooto Lightweight Champion, Sengoku Featherweight Champion, and TKO Featherweight Champion. Hioki is a long time ...

. Mikuru won the fight in at 3:45 of the first round after knocking Hioki down with a head kick and following up with punches. Asakura next faced Karshyga Dautbek at Rizin 13. Asakura employed an effective use of grappling and striking to outpoint the Kazakh fighter, and won a unanimous decision. During Rizin: Heisei's Last Yarennoka!, Mikuru Asakura fought another former Shooto Featherweight Champion - this time being Takeshi Inoue. Asakura finished the bout with a well-timed knee that floored the former champion. Mikuru Asakura's next fight was to be at Rizin 15 against Luiz Gustavo. He defeated Gustavo via unanimous decision. At his next bout at Rizin 17 against fellow Rizin standout, Yusuke Yachi - in his first main event for RIZIN. Uniquely, this bout was prefaced with intensity and heated comments direct at one another, with both fighters saying that they couldn't stand one another. Yachi said that Asakura was afraid of him, while Mikuru told Yachi that he was not intelligent and that his YouTube content was 'crap'. Asakura scored a knockdown with seconds left in the bout en route to a unanimous decision victory. After compiling a five-fight winning streak, Asakura was given a chance to represent Rizin against one of Bellator's fighters in the upcoming Rizin 20 event. In a match against former

TUF Brazil ''The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil'' is the first foreign version of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series '' The Ultimate Fighter''. It consisted of 12 episodes and a live finale in Brazil. This version did n ...

Team Wanderlei contestant, John Macapa, Asakura won a unanimous decision to hand the veteran just his 5th loss of his 30-fight career. At Rizin 21, Asakura faced TUF LA 2 Team Gastelum contestant, Daniel Salas as the main event. At 2:34 of the second round, Asakura landed a head kick and followed up with punches to end the contest. After going 7-0 in the promotion and increasing in popularity, Rizin setup a title match for the inaugural Featherweight title between Asakura and reigning Shooto Featherweight Champion, Yutaka Saito at Rizin 25. Asakura lost via unanimous decision in his 3rd main event bout. Despite having suffered his first loss, Asakura quickly turned around and fought at the annual NYE show at Rizin 26. He faced Satoshi Yamasu, and won by TKO in the first round, after landing his patented head kick, and following up with punches. Mikuru faced

Kleber Koike Erbst Kleber Koike Erbst (born October 16, 1989; ) is a Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of Rizin Fighting Federation, where he is the former Rizin Featherweight Champion. He has also competed in Konfrontacj ...

at Rizin 28. He lost the bout after being choked unconscious via triangle choke. Mikuru faced Kyohei Hagiwara on October 10, 2021 at Rizin Landmark Vol.1. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Asakura rematched Yutaka Saito at Rizin 33 - Saitama on December 31, 2021. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

Boxing

Asakura vs Mayweather

On June 13, 2022 Asakura announced he would be competing in a boxing exhibition bout against former world champion and boxing hall of famer,

Floyd Mayweather Floyd may refer to: As a name * Floyd (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Floyd (surname), a list of people and fictional characters Places in the United States * Floyd, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Floyd, Io ...

. The fight would be at the Rizin event scheduled on September 25, 2022 at the

Saitama Super Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then was officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its maximum spectator capacity is 36,500, making ...

. Asakura lost the bout by 2nd round TKO.

Championships and achievements

Mixed martial arts

* Fighting Network Rings **RINGS 65 kg Championship (One time) **RINGS 70 kg Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

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Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

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Hamamatsu is a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. the city had an estimated population of 791,707 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, and a population density of . The total area of the site was . Overview ...

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, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 (1) , Luiz Gustavo , Decision (unanimous) , Rizin 15 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 (1) , Takeshi Inoue , TKO (flying knee and punches) , Rizin: Heisei's Last Yarennoka! , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:39 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 (1) , Karshyga Dautbek , Decision (unanimous) , Rizin 13 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 (1) ,

, TKO (head kick and punches) , Rizin 12 , , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:45 ,

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most p ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 (1) , Kosuke Terashima , Decision (unanimous) , DEEP 83 Impact , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 (1) , Kil Woo Lee , Decision (unanimous) , Road FC 43 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

, South Korea , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 (1) , Doo Seok Oh , TKO (punches) , Road FC 37 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:06 ,

, South Korea , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 (1) , Hiroyuki Furuta , TKO (punches) , The Outsider 42 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:32 ,

Toyokawa is a city in the eastern part of Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 183,930 in 72,949 households, and a population density of 1,141 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Toyokawa, famous for its Toyok ...

, Japan , , - , NC , align=center, 3–0 (1) , Ryo Asami , NC (result overturned) , The Outsider 39 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:12 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Takehiro Higuchi , Submission (rear-naked choke) , The Outsider 38 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:17 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Keinosuke Yoshinaga , KO (punch) , The Outsider 36 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:53 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Morikazu Itagaki , KO (punch) , DEEP Cage Impact 2012 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:53 ,

, Japan , , - , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Hikaru Saito , TKO (punches) , E.P.W. Heroes , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:25 ,

Matsuyama 270px, Matsuyama City Hall 270px, Ehime Prefectural Capital Building is the capital city of Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan and also Shikoku's largest city. , the city had an estimated population of 505,948 in 243541 househ ...

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Amateur mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Hiroki Takahashi , KO (punch) , The Outsider 34 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:23 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Kazunari Kimura , TKO (punches) , The Outsider 33 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:27 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Rikuto Shirakawa , Decision (unanimous) , The Outsider 30 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Jamal Morgan , TKO (punches) , The Outsider 29 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:57 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–1 , Takehiro Higuchi , Submission (ankle lock) , The Outsider 28 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:06 , Kadoma, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Musashi , TKO (punches) , The Outsider 26 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:21 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Ryuma Anno , TKO (punches) , The Outsider 25 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:35 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Kohei Shimada , Submission (rear-naked choke) , The Outsider 24 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:56 ,