Kazuo Misaki signs with Strikeforce/ Update: Retired

Japanese mixed martial arts superstar Kazuo Misaki (24-11-2) has signed an exclusive contract with Strikeforce and is expected to make his welterweight debut for the promotion later this year. "The Hitman," who holds PRIDE wins over Dan Henderson and Denis Kang, has one appearance under the Strikeforce banner, a technical knockout victory over Joe "Diesel" Riggs at the Playboy Mansion back in 2008.


http://www.mmamania.com/2011/7/14/2275498/japanese-mixed-martial-arts-superstar-kazuo-misaki-24-11-2-has-signed

Great signing for SF... is this the WW they were talking about last week?

killerofchicken wrote:

Great signing for SF... is this the WW they were talking about last week?

Yes.




He's a really good guy. Have a nice pic of him with my daughter when he came out and trained with us last year.

is he fluent in English? just wondering

they said they'd give who ever they signed a tittle shot right off the back

killerofchicken wrote:

is he fluent in English? just wondering

they said they'd give who ever they signed a tittle shot right off the back

They said they could challenge for the title right away.

OU wrote:

killerofchicken wrote:

is he fluent in English? just wondering

they said they'd give who ever they signed a tittle shot right off the back

They said they could challenge for the title right away.

got it.

Misaki is a gamer, but he is not serious championship material at this point to me. He will make for good fights with SF's few decent WW's though. Given that Diaz is gone, he has a chance to actually win the belt, though I would favor Daley or Woodley over him if it came to it.

I heard he was dropping but wasn't sure if it would actually happen

http://blogs.thescore.com/mma/2012/10/19/report-kazuo-misaki-calling-it-quits/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: SpinalTapOut (Spinal Tap Out)
Kazuo Misaki has apparently decided to end his MMA career.

The 2006 PRIDE welterweight grand prix champion announced earlier
today at DEEP 60 that he plans on hanging up the four-ounce gloves for
good, although he does plan on fighting one more time for DEEP in
December.

Misaki’s retirement is
according to AsianMMA.com, who also said that Misaki’s contract with
Strikeforce might mean his final fight in DEEP has to be marketed as a
“special rules” bout.

The timing is odd for Misaki (25-11-2, 1 NC in his career) to retire,
considering he is currently on a three-fight win streak including a big
win over Paul Daley earlier this year, but with the uncertainty of
Strikeforce and the fact Misaki hasn’t had a fight for them in seven
months, it’s possible his inactivity combined with his age (he’s 36)
meant that now was as good a time as any to call it quits.

Misaki holds career wins over notables such as Daley, Dan Henderson,
Ed Herman, Denis Kang, and Siyar Bahadurzada, and in 2010 combined with
Jorge Santiago in Sengoku for one of the best MMA fights of the decade
so far, even though he did end up losing the bout.

Overall, he went 2-0 in Strikeforce with a win over Daley and Joe
Riggs, but it’s his two bouts against each of Henderson and Santiago
that most fans will remember him for.

Misaki had a very good career. One of the more underappreciated good fighters over the years.

Glad to see him retire on a good win at WW against Daley.

Yeah, the guy had some big moments in his career. Loved the santigo fight too.