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Masaharu Funaki (船木 優治 Funaki Masaharu), best known under his stage name Masakatsu Funaki (船木 誠勝 Funaki Masakatsu) is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling, PWFG, as well as the UWF. He is currently signed to a one-year contract with All Japan Pro Wrestling. He is also the co-founder of Pancrase, one of the first mixed martial arts organizations and non-rehearsed shoot wrestling promotions (following five years after the inception of Shooto but predating America's Ultimate Fighting Championship). Not only the organization's co-founder, Funaki was also one of Pancrase's most successful fighters to date, scoring submission victories over the likes of Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Guy Mezger, Yuki Kondo and Bas Rutten through the course of his 50-fight career. He is the only fighter in mixed martial arts to hold wins over both Shamrock brothers and Bas Rutten, and was the first man to win the King of Pancrase title twice. Along with Kazushi Sakuraba, Funaki is widely considered to be one of the greatest Japanese fighters in mixed martial arts history.
[edit] Early lifeThe son of a movie theater owner, Funaki was exposed to martial arts films at an early age. He idolized Bruce Lee above all others, but also eagerly devoured the films of Sammo Hung and Sonny Chiba. Though his father would ultimately abandon a young Funaki and his family, the exposure to such films left an indelible mark on him, one that would forever influence the course of his life. [edit] Pro wrestling career[edit] New Japan Pro Wrestling (1984-1989)Instead of entering high school, he applied to the New Japan Pro Wrestling Dojo. He was in the same class as Puroresu legends Keiichi Yamada (better known as Jushin Liger), Shinya Hashimoto, Minoru Suzuki, and Masahiro Chono. The Canadian grappler Chris Benoit, who went on to fame in the WWE, was also a classmate of his. The New Japan Dojo had a reputation for being particularly harsh on its trainees, both mentally and physically, with the intent of only graduating the very best of each class. However, Funaki stunned the New Japan trainers with his athleticism, timing and natural talent for submission grappling. Along with the former Olympic alternate Minoru Suzuki, Funaki formed a strong bond with the dojo's head grappling instructor, Yoshiaki Fujiwara. Funaki debuted as a Jr. Heavyweight at the tender age of 15; it was a record for the youngest debut in NJPW. After debuting for New Japan with a time-limit draw against fellow New Japan Dojo graduate Chris Benoit, Funaki was not given much of a chance to shine, as the Jr. Heavyweight division was in a transition period. And as such, the owner, Antonio Inoki, decided to shift the focus towards his heavyweight division which dominated the cards. He did, however have many stellar matches with Naoki Sano & Keiichi Yamada (who would later become Jushin Liger) & was the first person to take the Shooting Star Press from Yamada. When New Japan top draw Akira Maeda became so frustrated with backstage politics that he shoot kicked Riki Choshu and broke his eye socket, he was fired and left to form Newborn UWF. Funaki, seeing a opportunity to shine and showcase what he could do, wanted to follow. And Maeda negotiated the acquisition of his, along with friend Suzuki and mentor Yoshiaki Fujiwara's contracts for an undisclosed amount of money. [edit] Newborn UWF and Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi (1989-1993)With his flashy moves and movie star good looks, Funaki became a top draw and an excellent nemesis to Akira Maeda, and their matches had many fast paced strikes & exciting slams. When Newborn UWF folded in December 1990, Funaki decided to sign with mentor Fujiwara's new "Fujiwara Gumi" promotion. [edit] Mixed Martial Arts career[edit] Pancrease (1993-2000)Funaki's MMA career began when he founded Pancrase along with Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase became immensely popular and paved the way for other mixed martial arts organizations to make their way in Japan, including Pride Fighting Championships. Funaki went on to become one of the greatest fighters in Pancrase history, defeating other MMA legends such as Bas Rutten, Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Minoru Suzuki, and Guy Mezger. Funaki retired from competition after a win over Tony Petarra in September 1999 due to accumulated injuries and, according to fellow Pancrase fighter and friend Bas Rutten, being burnt out from the hectic Pancrase schedule. In 2000, Funaki returned for a fight against the legendary Rickson Gracie. Funaki scored the first takedown of the bout and subsequently broke Rickson's orbital bone, which temporarily blinded Rickson, but he was ultimately defeated by a rear-naked choke. Funaki refused to submit to the hold, passing out before the referee intervened. [edit] K-1 and DREAM (2007-2008)On 12/31/2007, Funaki fought Kazushi Sakuraba at the K-1 Dynamite event at Kyocera Dome Osaka. Funaki almost caught Sakuraba with a kneebar early in the opening round, but eventually tapped out due to a kimura near the end of Round 1. Funaki signed a contract with FEG's MMA promotion, DREAM. On April 28, 2008, Funaki participated in DREAM's first ever Middle-weight Grand Prix. Funaki was matched against legendary Japanese fighter Kiyoshi Tamura at the opening round of the DREAM.2 Middleweight Grandprix 2008 in Saitama, Japan. After a hard opening exchange between the two, Funaki was staggered by a punch and pulled guard on Tamura, from where he was pounded to an eventual TKO at 0:57 of Round 1. This was his first (T)KO stoppage loss since September 14, 1998, when he was knocked out with a body blow by Semmy Schilt. Funaki was eliminated from the Middle-weight Grand Prix. After losing twice in a row since Funaki's comeback to the MMA ring, Funaki was determined to prove that he was still a worthy competitor of the sport and participated again in the DREAM.6 Middleweight Grandprix 2008 Final round event that took place on September 23, 2008 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Funaki was matched with one of his former Pancrase students, fan favourite "Minowaman" Ikuhisa Minowa. Prior to the bout, Funaki suggested that if this fight was going be equivalent to a ritual suicide, there was none he found more worthy than Minowa to assist him in carrying it out. At the opening seconds of the first round of the match, Funaki came at his former charge with a series of kicks, practically forcing Minowa to catch one of the kicks. The former two-time King of Pancrase capitalized immediately, leaping directly into a heel-hook. Minowa escaped the hold, but Funaki maintained control of his leg and immediately attacked with a heel-hook from the cross-body position, forcing his protege to tap at 52 seconds of the first round. [edit] Return to Pro Wrestling[edit] All Japan Pro Wrestling (2009-present)In August 2007, Funaki and Keiji Mutoh discussed the possibility of Funaki returning to regular professional wrestling in Mutoh's company, All Japan Pro Wrestling. On August 31, 2009, Funaki signed a one year contract with All Japan, following a tag team victory with Mutoh against Minoru Suzuki and Masahiro Chono. [edit] AccoladesIn 2006, he was elected to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame. According to Sherdog.com's ratings, he was one of the top four mixed martial artists in the world from 1993 to 1998 (being the top-rated mixed martial artist in 1996) and is currently rated as the second most successful Japanese fighter of all-time behind Kazushi Sakuraba.[citation needed] [edit] Appearances[edit] Anime
[edit] Movies
[edit] Championships and accomplishments[edit] Mixed martial arts record
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