Naoki Inoue

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For footballer, see Naoki Inoue (footballer).
Naoki Inoue
Born井上直樹
(1997-06-14) June 14, 1997 (age 26)
Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight125 lb (57 kg; 8.9 st)
DivisionBantamweight
Flyweight
Reach71 in (180 cm)
StyleKarate, Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Fighting out ofToyohashi, Aichi, Japan
TeamHakushinkai Karate
LAW MMA[1]
Sonic Squad[2]
RankBlack belt in karate
Blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Years active2014–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total23
Wins19
By knockout1
By submission11
By decision7
Losses4
By decision4
Notable relativesMizuki Inoue
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Naoki Inoue (Japanese: 井上直樹; born 14 June 1997) is a Japanese mixed martial artist competing in the bantamweight division. A professional mixed martial artist since 2014, Inoue has also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Background[edit]

When Inoue was seven, his parents told him to do some extracurricular activity. He wanted to be strong, therefore he picked martial arts. Inoue received a first-degree black belt in karate and a blue belt in BJJ. He won the J-Network's All-Japan amateur championship as well as won the DEEP Future King (rookie) tournament in 2011.[3]

Mixed martial arts career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Inoue made his amateur mixed martial arts debut on February 9, 2014, when he faced Gaku Sakamoto at Deep - Nagoya Impact 2014. He won via first-round submission using an armbar. Following this, Inoue compiled a professional record of 10–0, with wins over Yuya Shibata and Tomohiro Adaniya, before signing with the UFC in the winter of 2017.

Ultimate Fighting Championship[edit]

Inoue made his promotional debut on June 17, 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Correia against Carls John de Tomas.[4] At the weigh-ins Carls John de Tomas came in at 131 lbs, five pounds over the flyweight limit of 126 lbs. As a result, he was fined 30% of the purse, which went to Inoue, and their bout proceeded as scheduled at a catchweight.[5] Inoue won the fight by unanimous decision.[6]

Inoue was expected to face Jenel Lausa on September 23, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 117,[7][8] but was pulled from the card due to a dislocated shoulder.[9]

Inoue faced Matt Schnell on June 23, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 132.[10] He lost the fight via split decision.[11]

Cage Fury FC[edit]

After departing from the UFC, Inoue faced Sean Santella in a flyweight bout at CFFC 72 on February 16, 2019.[12] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[13]

Return to DEEP[edit]

Inoue eventually returned to DEEP, facing Toshiaki Kitada at Deep 93 on December 15, 2020.[14] He won the fight via first-round submission.[15]

Rizin FF[edit]

On January 24, 2020, news surfaced that Inoue was scheduled to face Trent Girdham at Rizin 21 – Hamamatsu on February 22, 2020.[16] Inoue won the fight via unanimous decision.[17]

In his sophomore bout in the promotion, Inoue faced Shooto Watanabe at Rizin 22 – Starting Over on August 9, 2020.[18] He won the fight via first-round submission.[19]

Inoue faced Yuki Motoya at Rizin 26 on December 31, 2020.[20] He won the fight by rear naked choke, three minutes into the first round.[21]

Rizin Bantamweight Grand Prix 2021[edit]

Inoue faced Shintaro Ishiwatari in the opening round of the Bantamweight Grand Prix at Rizin 28 on June 13, 2021.[22] He won the bout via soccer kick knockout in the first round.[23]

Inoue was scheduled to face Yuto Hokamura in the quarterfinals on September 19, 2021, at Rizin 30.[24] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[25]

In the semi-finals, Inoue faced Hiromasa Ougikubo on December 31, 2021, at Rizin 33.[26] He lost the bout via unanimous decision.[27]

Later bantamweight career[edit]

After suffering his first loss under the Rizin banner, Inoue was booked to face Kenta Takizawa at Rizin 37 on July 31, 2022.[28] However, in late July it was reported that Inoue withdrew from the bout citing a knee injury.[29]

Inoue faced Kenta Takizawa on December 31, 2022, at Rizin 40[30] and won by submission via kimura in the second round.[31]

Inoue faced the former Bellator Bantamweight Champion Juan Archuleta at Rizin 42 on May 6, 2023.[32] He lost the fight by unanimous decision.[33]

Inoue was scheduled to face Shinobu Ota at Rizin Landmark 6 on October 1, 2023.[34] However, Inoue withdrew from the bout due to an unknown reason and was replaced by Shoko Sato.

Mixed martial arts record[edit]

Professional record breakdown
23 matches 19 wins 4 losses
By knockout 1 0
By submission 11 0
By decision 7 4
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 19–4 Shoko Sato Decision (unanimous) Rizin Landmark 9 March 23, 2024 3 5:00 Kobe, Japan
Loss 18–4 Juan Archuleta Decision (unanimous) Rizin 42 May 6, 2023 3 5:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 18–3 Kenta Takizawa Submission (kimura) Rizin 40 December 31, 2022 2 3:53 Saitama, Japan
Loss 17–3 Hiromasa Ougikubo Decision (unanimous) Rizin 33 December 31, 2021 3 5:00 Saitama, Japan 2021 Rizin Bantamweight Grand Prix Semifinal.
Win 17–2 Yuto Hokamura Decision (unanimous) Rizin 30 September 19, 2021 3 5:00 Saitama, Japan 2021 Rizin Bantamweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal.
Win 16–2 Shintaro Ishiwatari KO (soccer kick) Rizin 28 June 13, 2021 1 2:01 Tokyo, Japan 2021 Rizin Bantamweight Grand Prix Opening round.
Win 15–2 Yuki Motoya Submission (rear-naked choke) Rizin 26 December 31, 2020 1 3:00 Saitama, Japan
Win 14–2 Shooto Watanabe Submission (rear-naked choke) Rizin 22 August 9, 2020 1 1:40 Yokohama, Japan
Win 13–2 Trent Girdham Decision (unanimous) Rizin 21 February 22, 2020 3 5:00 Hamamatsu, Japan
Win 12–2 Toshiaki Kitada Submission (rear-naked choke) Deep 93: Impact December 15, 2019 1 2:41 Tokyo, Japan Bantamweight debut.
Loss 11–2 Sean Santella Decision (unanimous) CFFC 72: Brady vs. Abdul-Hakim February 16, 2019 3 5:00 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Loss 11–1 Matt Schnell Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Edwards June 23, 2018 3 5:00 Kallang, Singapore
Win 11–0 Carls John de Tomas Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Correia June 17, 2017 3 5:00 Kallang, Singapore
Win 10–0 Tomohiro Adaniya Decision (majority) Deep 78: Impact March 18, 2017 2 5:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 9–0 Yuya Shibata Submission (armbar) Deep: Cage Impact 2016 in Osaka October 9, 2016 2 2:51 Tokyo, Japan
Win 8–0 Go Minamide Decision (majority) Deep: 77 Impact/Jewels 13 August 27, 2016 2 5:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 7–0 Naoyuki Kato Submission (rear-naked choke) Deep - Nagoya Impact: Kobudo Fight June 12, 2016 1 0:44 Tokyo, Japan
Win 6–0 Iyori Akiba Submission (rear-naked choke) Deep: Cage Impact 2016 April 23, 2016 1 4:32 Tokyo, Japan
Win 5–0 Chikara Shimabukuro Decision (unanimous) Deep 74: Impact December 20, 2015 2 5:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 4–0 Kenji Yamanaka Submission (rear-naked choke) Deep 72: Impact May 16, 2015 1 2:21 Tokyo, Japan
Win 3–0 Kanta Sato Submission (armbar) Deep: Nagoya Impact: Kobudo Fight March 8, 2015 1 2:49 Tokyo, Japan
Win 2–0 Icho Tomonaga Submission (armbar) Deep: Future King Tournament 2014 February 1, 2015 1 0:49 Tokyo, Japan
Win 1–0 Takuya Maruoka Submission (armbar) Deep: Future King Tournament 2014 February 1, 2015 1 3:21 Tokyo, Japan Flyweight debut.

Amateur mixed martial arts record[edit]

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 2-0 Kenichi Kimura Decision (Unanimous) Deep - Amateur Deep 20: Kobudo Fight March 2, 2014 3 5:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 1-0 Gaku Sakamoto Submission (armbar) Deep - Nagoya Impact 2014 February 9, 2014 1 3:04 Tokyo, Japan .

Amateur Kickboxing record[edit]

Amateur Kickboxing Record
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time
2016-11-20 Win Japan Ryota Shibasaki J-Network All Japan A-League Tournament, Final Tokyo, Japan KO 1 0:46
Wins 2016 J-NETWORK All Japan A-League Lightweight title.
2016-11-20 Win Japan Kaisei Kondo J-Network All Japan A-League Tournament, Semi Final Tokyo, Japan Decision (Unanimous)
2016-11-20 Win Japan Hiroki Sato J-Network All Japan A-League Tournament, Quarter Final Tokyo, Japan Decision (Unanimous)
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ James Goyder (August 6, 2020). "Naoki Inoue is happy to be fighting in Japan again ahead of Rizin 22". asianmma.com.
  2. ^ John Hyon Ko (December 21, 2020). Naoki Inoue working with Tenshin's boxing coach ahead of Rizin 26 – via Youtube.
  3. ^ "Naoki Inoue". UFC. 14 September 2018.
  4. ^ Matthew Li (April 3, 2017). "CJ De Tomas signs with UFC, to make debut in Singapore". tiebreakertimes.com.ph.
  5. ^ Staff (2017-06-16). "UFC Fight Night 111 early weigh-in results: Headliner cleared, one prelim fighter heavy". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
  6. ^ "UFC Fight Night 111 results: Naoki Inoue tops Carls John de Tomas in clash of flyweight newcomers". 17 June 2017.
  7. ^ Marcel Dorff (14 July 2017). "UFC adds two Flyweight fights for UFC Japan" (in Dutch). mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
  8. ^ "Naoki Inoue vs. Jenel Lausa added to UFC Fight Night 117 in Japan". MMAjunkie.com. August 12, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  9. ^ "Bout Pulled From UFC Fight Night Japan | Fightful MMA". www.fightful.com. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
  10. ^ Sherdog.com. "Ovince St. Preux vs. Tyson Pedro, Two Other Bouts Booked for UFC Fight Night 132 in Singapore". Sherdog. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  11. ^ "UFC Fight Night 132 results: Matt Schnell counters his way to split over Naoki Inoue". MMAjunkie. 2018-06-23. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  12. ^ MMAJunkie.com Staff (January 5, 2019). "Two-time UFC vet Naoki Inoue signs with CFFC, meets Sean Santella in February". MMAJunkie.com. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  13. ^ Kyle Carroll (February 2019). "CFFC 72 results – Sean Brady is STILL CFFC WW Champion; Daukaus New Middleweight Champion". mymmanews.com.
  14. ^ "Full fight card released for Deep 93". asianmma.com. December 11, 2019.
  15. ^ Hidetoshi Miura (December 15, 2019). "Koji Takeda submits Juri Ohara at Deep 93". asianmma.com.
  16. ^ Guilherme Cruz (January 24, 2020). "Several fights announced for RIZIN 21". mmafighting.com.
  17. ^ Michael Clifton (February 22, 2020). "Naoki Inoue Defeats Trent Girdham At RIZIN 21". lowkickmma.com.
  18. ^ Michael Clifton (July 20, 2020). "RIZIN Announces Major Signing, Adds More Bouts To RIZIN 22,23". lowkickmma.com.
  19. ^ Simon Head (August 9, 2020). "Rizin FF 22 live results". mmajunkie.com.
  20. ^ "Ayaka Hamasaki and Miyuu Yamamoto face off in super atomweight title fight at Rizin 26". asianmma.com. December 2, 2020.
  21. ^ "【RIZIN】元UFC戦士・井上直樹が鮮烈一本勝ち、四天王・元谷友貴からタップを奪い、タイトル挑戦を熱望！". news.yahoo.co.jp. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  22. ^ "Kai Asakura faces Shooto Watanabe at postponed Rizin 28 | Asian MMA". AsianMMA. 2021-04-23. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  23. ^ Cruz, Guilherme (2021-06-13). "RIZIN 28 results, videos: Roberto Satoshi wins lightweight belt with 72-second submission". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
  24. ^ "Ayaka Hamasaki faces Emi Fujino at Rizin 30 | Asian MMA". AsianMMA. 2021-07-20. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  25. ^ "ＲＩＺＩＮ"Ｖ本命"井上直樹が"豪腕"金太郎に辛勝 鼻血も決定打許さず". news.yahoo.co.jp. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  26. ^ "Rizin FF 33 bantamweight grand prix semifinals set: Former champion Kai Asakura draws Kenta Takizawa". MMA Junkie. 2021-11-30. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  27. ^ "【ＲＩＺＩＮ】扇久保博正が井上直樹に判定勝ちで決勝進出 バンタム級Ｔ - 格闘技 : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  28. ^ Goyder, James (24 June 2022). "Naoki Inoue faces Kenta Takizawa at Rizin 37". asianmma.com. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  29. ^ "Naoki Inoue tears meniscus, out of Rizin 37". asianmma.com. July 26, 2022.
  30. ^ "【RIZIN】大みそかBellator対抗戦の最後のカードは武田光司！ 榊原CEOも期待「満場一致でお願いしたい」（オリコン）". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  31. ^ "【RIZIN】井上直樹が1年ぶり復帰戦で鮮やか一本！ 瀧澤の顔が鮮血で染まる（ENCOUNT）". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-01-02.
  32. ^ "【RIZIN】アーチュレッタを迎え撃つのは井上直樹！ 「自分がRIZINのチャンピオンとして顔としてやっていく」（アーチュレッタ）、「次につなげるために勝つ」（井上）". news.yahoo.co.jp. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  33. ^ "【RIZIN】元ベラトール王者アーチュレッタ　井上直樹に判定勝利！バンタム級王座決定戦へ進出". sponichi.co.jp. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  34. ^ "Naoki Inoue faces Shinobu Ota at Rizin Landmark 6". asianmma.com. September 4, 2023.

External links[edit]

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