Hidehiko Yoshida
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Japan
| ||
| Men's judo | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 |
1992 Barcelona | -78 kg |
| World Championships | ||
 |
1991 Barcelona | -78 kg |
 |
1993 Hamilton | -78 kg |
|
1995 Chiba | -86 kg |
|
1999 Birmingham | -90 kg |
| Asian Championships | ||
|
1988 Damascus | -78 kg |
Hidehiko Yoshida (吉田秀彦, Yoshida Hidehiko, born September 3, 1969) is a Japanese gold-medalist judoka and MMA fighter.
Biography
Hidehiko Yoshida was born in Obu, Aichi, Japan. He won the gold medal in Judo (78kg 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 and only 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 tights. His notable victories in MMA include armbar submissions over Don Frye and K-1 champion Mark Hunt. In August 2005, he defeated David "Tank" Abbott by submission.
Yoshida lost to the Middleweight champion, Wanderlei Silva, first by unanimous decision at the Final Conflict event on November 9, 2003, and later by 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, Yoshida won by a controversial referee stoppage; the referee believed that Gracie had been choked out on the ground, thus stopping fight, but Gracie jumped up immediately and 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 (Gracie spent much of the latter part of the fight attacking Yoshida from a back mount, with Yoshida defending the attacks).
In March 2008, Yoshida lost by submission to Josh Barnett, a former training partner, at World Victory Road's inaugural show "Sengoku".[1]
Most recently Yoshida defeated former UFC Heavyweight Champion Maurice Smith by neck crank in the first round of Sengoku - Third Battle for World Victory Road.[2]
Championships & accomplishments
Judo
- 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games 78 kg class gold medalist
- 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games 86kg 5th place
- 1999 World Judo Championship 90 kg class gold medalist
- 1995 World Judo Championship 86 kg class silver medalist
- 1993 World Judo Championship 78 kg class silver medalist
- 1991 World Judo Championship 78 kg class bronze medalist
Mixed martial arts
- PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament, Semi-Finalist
Video
MMA Record
8 wins (8 submissions), 6 losses (3 decisions, 1 TKO, 2 submission), 1 draw
| 15 matches | 8 wins | 6 losses |
| By knockout | 0 | 1 |
| By submission | 8 | 2 |
| By decision | 0 | 3 |
| Draws | 1 | |
