Background
Hidehiko Yoshida was born in Obu, Aichi, Japan. He won the gold medal in Judo (78 kg class) at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and competed in PRIDE Fighting Championships. He is known for his power and strong chin, having never been knocked out in a mixed martial arts bout until PRIDE Shockwave 2006. His first submission defeat was to Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović on 2 July 2006 when he submitted from repeated kicks to the leg. Yoshida is one of the few fighters who still wears a gi when he fights, although he sometimes has worn shorts.
Yoshida began his mixed martial arts career at PRIDE 23 against Don Frye whom he defeated by submission (armbar). He then defeated K-1 Japan Grand Prix champion and K-1 World GP runner-up Masaaki Satake as well as MMA legend Kiyoshi Tamura. Yoshida's first loss was to the PRIDE Middleweight champion, Wanderlei Silva, first by unanimous decision at the Final Conflict event on November 9, 2003, and later by very close split decision at the Total Elimination event on April 23, 2005. Another opponent was Royce Gracie, a well-known Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter and winner of three of the first four UFC tournaments. In their first encounter, a Judo vs. Brazilian Jujitsu match Yoshida claims he won by a gi choke however Gracie claimed he was fully conscious. As a result, Gracie requested for a rematch in which the referee could not stop the fight. The rematch, which took place at PRIDE's Shockwave 2003 event on December 31, 2003, technically resulted in a draw since neither fighter submitted or was knocked out within the time allotted. In August 2005, he defeated David "Tank" Abbott by submission. At the end of the same year, Yoshida defeated fellow Japanese judoka Naoya Ogawa by an armbar in a highly anticipated MMA bout at PRIDE Shockwave 2005 with each fighter receiving a payment of $2 million USD which remains one of the most expensive fight in MMA history.
In March 2008, Yoshida lost by submission to Josh Barnett, a former training partner, at World Victory Road's inaugural show Sengoku and in June he defeated former UFC Heavyweight Champion Maurice Smith by neck crank in the first round of Sengoku - Third Battle.
Yoshida was defeated by Sanae Kikuta via split decision on January 4, 2009 at World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Rebellion 2009.
Yoshida defeated Satoshi Ishii at Dynamite!! 2009.
Read more about this topic: Hidehiko Yoshida
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