Akira Shoji

Akira Shoji
Born	(1974-01-31) January 31, 1974 Uozu, Toyama, Japan
Other names	Mr. Pride, The Last Japanese, The Japanese Jiu-Jitsu's Warrior Monk
Nationality	Japanese
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)
Division	Middleweight Light Heavyweight Heavyweight
Style	MMA Judo, Jujutsu
Team	Wajyutsu Keisyukai Brightness
Teacher(s)	Yoshinori Nishi
Rank	4th Dan Black Belt in Judo
Years active	1996-2011
Mixed martial arts record
Total	36
Wins	14
By knockout	3
By submission	4
By decision	7
Losses	17
By knockout	8
By submission	3
By decision	6
Draws	5
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Akira Shoji (小路晃) (born January 31, 1974) is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He is most known as being a regular in almost all the beginning Pride Fighting Championship Shoji was in Pride 1 to Pride 7, and was part of the first Pride open weight Grand Prix in 2000. Shoji was consistently a regular in Pride, and moved from Heavyweight to Light Heavyweight (Middleweight in Pride) due to his smaller stature.

Despite his losing record, Shoji was a constant favourite of the audience, and was nicknamed "Mr. Pride" for his popularity and adherence to the mixed martial arts promotion. He was known for his mic performance, die hard spirit, stellar submission escapes, razor sharp armbar and a fighting spirit demonstrated by his willingness to take on all comers. According to fight commentator Stephen Quadros and John Hyams, director of the documentary "The Smashing Machine", Shoji cleaned his house and prepared his will before every competition in case he is killed during the fight.

He also worked as a judge for the Dream organization.

Mixed martial arts career

A national-ranked judoka since highschool, Shoji firstly dreamed with being a professional wrestler, but he developed an interest in mixed martial arts due to his schoolmate Kazunari Murakami, who convinced him to try on the Wajyutsu Keishukai gym. After graduating from Chukyo University, Shoji joined the dojo full-time and became a professional fighter. He represented WK at the Lumax Cup tournament, but he was eliminated at the first round.

Pride

Shoji had his worldwide debut taking on Renzo Gracie from the Gracie family at the first event of Pride in 1997. Though clearly outclassed, Shoji held his own and escaped from numerous submission attempts through the match, including an armbar and an omoplata which were almost fully locked, while regularly landing low kicks and some knees to the head. After thirty minutes, the match was ruled a draw due to the absence of judges. Nonetheless, Shoji got acclaimed by the crowd for his performance, which included grabbing the mic after the match and yelling "What do you say now, Gracies? Who said the Japanese were the weakest?" (Nani ga Gracie jā! Nani ga Nippon sai jaku jā?)

He returned at the next two events of Pride, submitting Juan Mott via rear naked choke and drawing with Takada Dojo understudy and fellow underdog Daijiro Matsui. However, his biggest victory came at Pride 4, where Shoji faced another unbeaten Brazilian jiu-jitsu exponent, Wallid Ismail. The Brazilian was aggressive and held Akira mounted for the first round, with Shoji reversing him every time. At the second round, however, the Japanese got the upper hand over a tired Ismail and landed multiple answered punches, which prompted the referee to stop the match for a win for Shoji.

Akira next faced Ukrainian Igor Vovchanchyn, who would become one of Pride's top strikers. Knowing the strengths of his adversary, Shoji played conservatively and avoided the KO for a decision loss. Shortly after, Shoji bounced back with another shocking victory in a match against Ultimate Fighting Championship champion and former King of Pancrase Guy Mezger. The fight was slow and strategic, with long battles on the clinch, with Mezger landing several strikes, but Shoji eventually found opportunities to take Mezger down and perform ground and pound. The judges gave the split decision to the Japanese, which was met with controversy in the United States.

At the Pride Grand Prix 2000 tournament, Shoji was first pitted against luta livre practitioner Ebenezer Fontes Braga, getting a unanimous decision victory. He advanced round, but he was then eliminated by the eventual winner Mark Coleman.

Shoji's last match in Pride would be in its very last event in 2007, fighting Gilbert Yvel and losing by TKO after a brief grappling exchange.

Retirement

While working as a fighting referee in Dream, Shoji considered a final retirement match. He got his will at DEEP 53 in a match against Kazuo Misaki, which he lost by TKO in the second round. Both Misaki and Shoji broke out in tears after the fight, overwhelmed by emotions, knowing it was Shoji's final match.

Professional wrestling career

Hustle (2008–2009)

In 2008, Shoji began working in professional wrestling company Hustle, hosted by Dream Stage Entertainment along with Pride, and became a regular roster of the promotion. He debuted as a participant the Hustle Grand Prix tournament, being invited by famous idol Yuko Ogura and granted the ring name of "Ko♥Ri♥Ta♥N", but he was defeated by Osaka Pro Wrestling representative Zeus after getting hit with a frying pan.

Shoji then joined Generalissimo Takada's villainous faction Takada Monster Army, invited by Yuji Shimada, and he changed his name to "Private Shimada". In 2009, after losing a match to Wataru Sakata and Kurodaman, he was put on a trial by Shimada and threatened with expulsion if he lost a next singles match against Sakata, which eventually became a 3-way match with fellow Monster Army member Commander An Jo. Shoji have his best, but Shimada and An Jo crashed the match and made him lose. Kicked out of Takada's faction, Akira joined Sakata and got his revenge over Anjo, defeating him and Rey Ohara in a tag team match. remained as his ally until the end of the promotion.

Smash (2010–2011)

After Hustle's closure, Shoji joined Smash, a new promotion founded by Yoshihiro Tajiri and several former officials and wrestlers of Hustle. On January 30, 2011, Shoji lost to Yusuke Kodama in his final match before retiring from professional wrestling.

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown

36 matches	14 wins	17 losses
By knockout	3	8
By submission	4	3
By decision	7	6
Draws	5

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	14–17–5	Kazuo Misaki	TKO (punches)	DEEP: 53 Impact	April 22, 2011	2	1:13	Tokyo, Japan
Loss	14–16–5	Gilbert Yvel	TKO (punches)	PRIDE 34	April 8, 2007	1	3:04	Saitama, Japan
Win	14–15–5	Carlos Toyota	Decision (majority)	DEEP: clubDEEP Toyama: Barbarian Festival 5	November 19, 2006	2	5:00	Toyama, Japan
Loss	13–15–5	Kyacey Uscola	KO (punches)	KOTC: All Stars	October 28, 2006	2	2:23	Reno, Nevada, United States
Win	13–14–5	Todd Medina	Decision (unanimous)	KOTC: Rapid Fire	August 4, 2006	3	5:00	San Jacinto, California, United States
Loss	12–14–5	Kazuo Misaki	Technical Submission (guillotine choke)	DEEP: 23 Impact	February 5, 2006	1	2:32	Tokyo, Japan
Loss	12–13–5	Mark Weir	KO (head kick)	Cage Rage 14	December 3, 2005	1	0:17	London, England
Loss	12–12–5	Dean Lister	Technical Submission (triangle choke)	PRIDE Bushido 6	April 3, 2005	1	3:13	Yokohama, Japan
Loss	12–11–5	Paulo Filho	Decision (split)	PRIDE Bushido 4	July 19, 2004	2	5:00	Nagoya, Japan
Win	12–10–5	Yukio Kawabe	TKO (punches)	PRIDE Bushido 3	May 23, 2004	1	0:18	Yokohama, Japan
Loss	11–10–5	Murilo Rua	KO (flying knee)	PRIDE Shockwave 2003	December 31, 2003	1	2:24	Saitama, Japan
Loss	11–9–5	Maurício Rua	KO (punches)	PRIDE Bushido 1	October 5, 2003	1	3:47	Saitama, Japan
Win	11–8–5	Dustin Denes	Decision (unanimous)	Absolute Fighting Championships 4	July 19, 2003	3	5:00	Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
Win	10–8–5	Alex Stiebling	Decision (split)	PRIDE 25	March 16, 2003	3	5:00	Yokohama, Japan
Loss	9–8–5	Paulo Filho	Submission (armbar)	PRIDE 22	September 29, 2002	1	2:48	Nagoya, Japan
Win	9–7–5	David Roberts	Submission (armbar)	KOTC 13: Revolution	May 17, 2002	2	4:46	Reno, Nevada, United States
Loss	8–7–5	Jeremy Horn	Decision (unanimous)	PRIDE 18	December 23, 2001	3	5:00	Fukuoka, Japan
Loss	8–6–5	Semmy Schilt	KO (knee and punches)	PRIDE 16	September 24, 2001	1	8:19	Osaka, Japan
Loss	8–5–5	Dan Henderson	TKO (punches and knees)	PRIDE 14	May 27, 2001	3	3:18	Yokohama, Japan
Loss	8–4–5	Ricardo Almeida	Decision (unanimous)	PRIDE 12	December 9, 2000	2	5:00	Saitama, Japan
Win	8–3–5	Herman Renting	Submission (armbar)	PRIDE 10	October 31, 2000	1	3:48	Osaka, Japan
Win	7–3–5	John Renken	Submission (armbar)	PRIDE 9	June 4, 2000	1	6:44	Nagoya, Japan
Loss	6–3–5	Mark Coleman	Decision (unanimous)	PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Finals	May 1, 2000	1	15:00	Tokyo, Japan
Win	6–2–5	Ebenezer Fontes Braga	Decision (unanimous)	PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Opening Round	January 30, 2000	1	15:00	Tokyo, Japan
Draw	5–2–5	Ryushi Yanagisawa	Draw	Pancrase: 1999 Anniversary Show	September 18, 1999	1	15:00	Urayasu, Chiba, Japan
Win	5–2–4	Larry Parker	Decision (unanimous)	PRIDE 7	September 12, 1999	3	5:00	Yokohama, Japan
Win	4–2–4	Guy Mezger	Decision (split)	PRIDE 6	July 4, 1999	3	5:00	Yokohama, Japan
Loss	3–2–4	Igor Vovchanchyn	Decision (unanimous)	PRIDE 5	April 29, 1999	2	10:00	Nagoya, Japan
Win	3–1–4	Wallid Ismail	TKO (punches)	PRIDE 4	October 11, 1998	2	1:26	Tokyo, Japan
Draw	2–1–4	Adriano de Souza	Draw	GCM: Vale Tudo	August 29, 1998	3	5:00	Japan
Draw	2–1–3	Daijiro Matsui	Draw	PRIDE 3	June 24, 1998	4	10:00	Tokyo, Japan
Win	2–1–2	Juan Mott	Submission (rear naked choke)	PRIDE 2	March 15, 1998	1	3:47	Yokohama, Japan
Draw	1–1–2	Renzo Gracie	Draw	PRIDE 1	October 11, 1997	3	10:00	Tokyo, Japan
Loss	1–1–1	Kaichi Tsuji	Decision (unanimous)	Lumax Cup: Tournament of J '97 Heavyweight Tournament	July 27, 1997	2	3:00	Japan
Win	1–0–1	Vidal Serradilla	TKO (submission to punches)	JECVTO: Japan Extreme Challenge Vale Tudo Open	May 28, 1997	1	2:16	Tokyo, Japan
Draw	0–0–1	Manabu Ohara	Draw	KP X WK: Koppo vs. Keisyukai	November 30, 1996	1	20:00	Japan

See also

• List of male mixed martial artists

External links

• Professional MMA record for Akira Shoji from Sherdog
• Official website
• Pride Official Site