Daijiro Matsui

is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A professional MMA competitor since 1998, he has competed for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Cage Rage, DEEP, Pancrase, and King of the Cage. As a professional wrestler, Matsui has wrestled for UWF International, Battlarts, New Japan Pro Wrestling, Inoki Genome Federation and most recently GLEAT.

A former longtime training partner of Kazushi Sakuraba, Matsui is known for his toughness, conditioning, wrestling prowess and unorthodox offense. Despite his mixed success, he holds notable victories over former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton Jackson, former BAMMA World Middleweight Champion Tom Watson, former world kickboxing champion Jose Landi-Jons, BJJ black belt Rory Singer, and a draw against former Pancrase Light Heavyweight Champion and ADCC gold medallist Sanae Kikuta.

Professional wrestling career After training in judo and amateur wrestling at the International Budo University, Matsui joined shoot-style organization Union of Wrestling Forces International, where he trained under the legendary Nobuhiko Takada. He debuted in September 1996 as "Shunsuke Matsui" against Tatsunori Kamiyama, but he couldn't advance up the card as UWFi folded the same year. Matsui then followed the company's members to the new promotion Kingdom, having matches against Kazushi Sakuraba, Yoshihiro Takayama and Hiromitsu Kanehara, until Kingdom fell in 1998. He then transitioned to MMA.

In December 2000, Matsui made a return to pro wrestling at the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye event, teaming with The Great Sasuke to defeat Akira Shoji and Caol Uno. He also competed in Battlarts, beating Ikuto Hidaka, and in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, wrestling Kendo Kashin in a losing effort for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. The same year, he faced Kashin again in All Japan Pro Wrestling, wrestling under the name of "Mr. Problem" and wearing modified Kendo Kashin attire and mask. Matsui had also stints in Pro Wrestling Zero1 and in Inoki Genome Federation.

Mixed martial arts career Early career Matsui transitioned to mixed martial arts from pro wrestling and trained at the Takada Dojo for much of his career along with Kazushi Sakuraba. Matsui made himself known for a surprising technical ability and his unorthodox striking, including the use of the shoulder strike from the guard, as well as forward rolls and cartwheel kicks in an attempt to draw his opponents to the ground. He had his first taste of mixed martial arts when he faced American fighter Wayne Haas in a shoot fight for Kingdom in 1997. Matsui won the fight by decision.

PRIDE Matsui made his true professional mixed martial arts debut in 1998 at PRIDE 3 against Akira "Mr. Pride" Shoji and the bout ended in a draw. In his next bout at PRIDE 4, he faced future Pancrase Light Heavyweight Champion Sanae Kikuta. This bout also ended in a draw because of the time-limit on bouts in the organization at that time.

At PRIDE 6, Matsui fought against future UFC Welterweight Champion and fan-favorite, Carlos Newton. In an entertaining fight, Matsui fended off increasingly difficult submission attempts from the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist and struck when possible, including a notable haymaker exchange at the end of the bout. However, Newton's superior control lost the fight by decision, handing the Japanese fighter his first professional loss via unanimous decision. Matsui fought again at PRIDE 7 against Dutch kickboxer "Dirty" Bob Schrijber, in a fight in which he performed impressively, holding his own against the striker and taking advantage of his superior wrestling skills. Controversy ensued when Matsui was punched in his face while being attended to by the referee because of a problem with his gloves. The two fighters exchanged heated words had to be prevented from brawling before the fight was continued. Matsui continued with renovated aggressivity, performing a takedown attempt which made Schrijber fall through the ropes and brutally land on a table ringside. Well after the bell marking the end of the first round sounded, Schrijber landed a powerful kick to the back of Matsui, who was still down on the ground. The foul immediately resulted in a disqualification win for Matsui, and the first win of his career.

Matsui's next appearance for the organization was at PRIDE 8 where he faced future Pride Middleweight Champion and future PRIDE 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament Champion, Wanderlei Silva. Outweighed and outmatched from the beginning of the fight, Matsui was rocked with a series of knees from the clinch and punches from Silva, but he demonstrated his heart and continued to battle despite bleeding profusely, even managing to put Silva on his back and land some strikes from the guard, leaving Silva's right eye swollen. He ultimately lost in a unanimous decision, but he passed to history as one of the few opponents Silva wasn't able to finish, including Matsui's own partner Kazushi Sakuraba. However, Matsui then fought against Ukrainian kickboxer Igor Vovchanchyn at PRIDE 9, and he was finished the first time in his career after the referee called a stop to the bout at 5:03 into the first round by an eye cut. Matsui's next bout for the organization was at PRIDE 10 against former UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament Champion and future UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort. Matsui was handed his third consecutive loss, via unanimous decision.

Matsui returned to PRIDE at PRIDE 14 to fight Brazilian Vale Tudo legend Jose "Pele" Landi-Jons, Matsui being a heavy underdog heading into the fight with a 2-6-2 record. Daijiro started the fight countering a flying knee by catching Pelé mid-air with a front kick, but then he was almost rendered unconscious by another knee strike when he was shooting for a takedown. The Japanese had his back taken with a body triangle, but he recovered from the knee and started countering Pele's submission attempts through sheer heart, driving the Brazilian against the turnbuckle in full runs to fend off rear-naked chokes and dropping him on his head to escape from armbars. Frustrated by his opponent's resistance, Pele landed a series of illegal elbows to the back of Matsui, resulting in a yellow card from the referee which attracted heated words. After the fight was restarted, Matsui took Pelé down and proceeded to attack his guard with ground and pound, throwing shoulder strikes and knees to the tailbone whenever he couldn't throw punches, and also holding Landi-Jons's head and slamming it against the canvas. Through the fight, Matsui's superior wrestling and unorthodox strikes paid off, and he kept control over Pelé while landing consistent punishment from his guard; he also got pops by throwing pro wrestling dropkicks every time the fight went standing. After the match, the judges ruled it a unanimous decision for Matsui, who pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the sport at the time.

Although Daijiro had challenged Wanderlei Silva to a rematch, his next opponent ended up being Ebenezer Fontes Braga at PRIDE 15 and Matsui lost via unanimous decision. In his next bout at PRIDE 16, Matsui faced the future EliteXC Middleweight Champion, Murilo "Ninja" Rua. Matsui was rocked with many stomps and soccer kicks throughout the bout, and the fight was eventually stopped in the beginning of the third round.

Matsui then fought against future UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at Pride 18 and Matsui won via disqualification after he was hit in the groin in the beginning of the fight. Matsui then fought Rodrigo Gracie at PRIDE 19 and lost via guillotine choke submission in the third round. The submission was controversial as Gracie held onto the choke for a significantly long time after Matsui had tapped out. Matsui's next appearance was at PRIDE Shockwave against Dutch kickboxer Jerrel Venetiaan. Matsui lost the bout via split decision after Venetiaan was able to utilize superior striking, especially with powerful kicks. Matsui then fought Rory Singer at PRIDE The Best Vol. 3 and won via unanimous decision, and then followed this up with another unanimous decision win over Kazuki Okubo at PRIDE 24, which would be Matsui's last appearance for the organization.

In March 2006, Matsui left Takada Dojo along with Kazushi Sakuraba, though Matsui remained in the team as a trainer.

Post-PRIDE Matsui's next bout was two years later against Ryo Chonan in the DEEP organization and lost in a majority decision before going 0-2-1 in his next three bouts against the likes of Paulo Filho, Brian Foster, and Elvis Sinosic, respectively. In the Pancrase 2005 Neo-Blood Tournament Finals, Matsui picked up his first win in three years with a TKO over Daisuke Watanbe. To date, this is the only TKO/KO win of his career.

Cage Rage Matsui made his debut for the England-based Cage Rage organization a year later against former Alex Reid and fought to a draw. In his next bout, Matsui faced former UFC veteran Curtis Stout and won via majority decision. Matsui then lost three consecutive bouts before defeating future BAMMA Middleweight Champion and current UFC veteran, Tom "Kong" Watson with an armbar submission, the only submission win of Matsui's career to date. Matsui lost his last fight for the organization against Mark Weir.

Other ventures Since the demise of the Cage Rage organization, Matsui has exclusively fought in Japan, mostly for the DEEP organization. However, he has struggled, going 3-11-2 in his last 16 fights.

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Young Choi TKO (punches) DEEP: Osaka Impact 2021

Osaka, Japan Loss

Hiroki Tanaka Decision (unanimous) DXFC: Demolition Xtreme Fighting Championship

Osaka, Japan Loss

Dae Hwan Kim KO (punch) Wardog Cage Fight 15

Osaka, Japan For the vacant WCF Middleweight Championship. Win

Genya Waku Decision (unanimous) WCF: War Dog Cage Fight

Osaka, Japan Win

Koji Yamade Decision (unanimous) Hoost Cup - Kings Osaka

Osaka, Japan Win

Tetsuo Kondo KO (punch) ACF 23: Kakutogi no Omochabako

Osaka, Japan Draw

Tomoya Suzuki Draw Wardog Cage Fight 10

Osaka, Japan Win

Hideaki Sumi TKO (punches) Wardog Cage Fight 9

Osaka, Japan Loss

Toshikazu Suzuki Decision (unanimous) Grabaka: Grabaka Live! 3

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Kazuhiro Nakamura KO (knee & punches) DEEP: King Kaz Fight in Fukuyama

Fukuyama, Japan 90 kg bout. Loss

Keiichiro Yamamiya Decision (points) U-Spirits: U-Spirits Again

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Eiji Ishikawa Decision (unanimous) Grabaka: Grabaka Live! 2

Tokyo, Japan Draw

Hiromitsu Kanehara Draw (majority) DEEP: 57 Impact

Tokyo, Japan Light Heavyweight bout. Draw

Hiroki Ozaki Draw DEEP: Tokyo Impact 2

Tokyo, Japan Win

Tomoaki Hata Decision (unanimous) DEEP: Cage Impact 2010 in Hamamatsu

Hamamatsu, Japan Loss

Dool Hee Lee Decision (split) Gladiator FC 6

Kobe, Hyogo, Japan Win

Il Chul Park Decision (split) Gladiator FC: Japan-Korea International Friendship Rally

Okayama, Japan Loss

Daniel Madrid Submission (inverted triangle choke) Art of War 14

Macau, SAR, China Loss

Min Suk Heo TKO (punches) DEEP: Grachan 2

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Ichiro Kanai Technical Submission (arm-triangle choke) Pancrase: Shining 10

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Lee Eun-Soo Decision (unanimous) DEEP: Gladiator

Okayama, Japan Loss

Yuichi Nakanishi Decision (unanimous) DEEP: 35 Impact

Tokyo, Japan Win

Young Choi Decision (split) DEEP: 34 Impact

Tokyo, Japan Middleweight debut. Loss

Carlos Toyota TKO (punches) DEEP: clubDEEP Kanazawa

Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan Loss

Mark Weir Decision (unanimous) Cage Rage 21

London, England Win

Tom Watson Submission (armbar) Cage Rage 20

London, England Loss

Flavio Luiz Moura Decision (unanimous) DEEP: 26 Impact

Tokyo, Japan 85 kg bout. Loss

Yuki Kondo Decision (unanimous) Pancrase: Blow 6

Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan Loss

Pierre Guillet TKO (cut) Cage Rage 17

London, England Win

Curtis Stout Decision (majority) Cage Rage 15

London, England Draw

Alex Reid Draw Cage Rage 14

London, England Win

Daisuke Watanabe TKO (doctor stoppage) Pancrase: 2005 Neo-Blood Tournament Finals

Tokyo, Japan Draw

Elvis Sinosic Draw Pancrase: Spiral 5

Yokohama, Japan Loss

Brian Foster KO (knee) Shoot Boxing: Ground Zero Fukuoka

Fukuoka, Japan Loss

Paulo Filho Decision (unanimous) Gladiator FC: Day 2

South Korea Loss

Ryo Chonan Decision (majority) DEEP: 13th Impact

Tokyo, Japan 90 kg bout. Win

Kazuki Okubo Decision (unanimous) PRIDE 24

Fukuoka, Japan Win

Rory Singer Decision (unanimous) Pride FC: The Best, Vol. 3|PRIDE FC: The Best, Vol. 3

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Jerrel Venetiaan Decision (split) PRIDE Shockwave

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Rodrigo Gracie Submission (guillotine choke) PRIDE 19

Saitama, Japan Win

Quinton Jackson DQ (knee to groin) PRIDE 18

Fukuoka, Japan Loss

Murilo Rua TKO (soccer kicks and stomps) PRIDE 16

Osaka, Japan Loss

Ebenezer Fontes Braga Decision (unanimous) PRIDE 15

Saitama, Japan Win

Jose Landi-Jons Decision (unanimous) PRIDE 14: Clash of the Titans

Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan Win

Rick Kerns Decision (unanimous) KOTC 8: Bombs Away

Williams, California, United States Loss

Amir Rahnavardi Decision (unanimous) KOTC 5: Cage Wars

San Jacinto, California, United States Loss

Vitor Belfort Decision (unanimous) PRIDE 10: Return of the Warriors

Saitama, Japan Loss

Todd Medina Decision (unanimous) KOTC 4: Gladiators

San Jacinto, California, United States Loss

Igor Vovchanchyn TKO (doctor stoppage) PRIDE 9

Nagoya, Aichi, Japan Loss

Wanderlei Silva Decision (unanimous) PRIDE 8

Tokyo, Japan Win

Bob Schrijber DQ (kicked after bell) PRIDE 7

Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan Loss

Carlos Newton Decision (unanimous) PRIDE 6

Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan Draw

Sanae Kikuta Draw (time limit) PRIDE 4

Tokyo, Japan Draw

Akira Shoji Draw (time limit) PRIDE 3

Tokyo, Japan