Goiti Yamauchi

is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division for Bellator MMA and currently competes in the same division for the Professional Fighters League.

Background Yamauchi was born in Anjō, Aichi to a Japanese father and a Japanese-Brazilian mother, but his family moved to Curitiba, Paraná when he was 3 years old. He started in Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the age of 9, followed by Muay Thai, boxing and wrestling during his youth. At the age of 14, he became Paraná State's amateur boxing champion in 2007, defeating then-reigning champion John Lineker, who was 17.

Mixed martial arts career Early career Before moving to professional mixed martial arts, Yamauchi scored seven wins as an amateur, with seven first-round stoppages.

In January 2013, it was announced that Yamauchi signed a multi-fight contract with Bellator MMA.

In his second fight for the promotion, Yamauchi faced Saul Almeida on November 22, 2013 at Bellator 109. He won via knockout in the first round.

Yamauchi faced Will Martinez in the quarterfinal match of Bellator season ten featherweight tournament on February 28, 2014 at Bellator 110. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Yamauchi faced Mike Richman on May 17, 2014 at Bellator 120. He won the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision.

Yamauchi faced Martin Stapleton on September 19, 2014 at Bellator 125. He won via submission in the first round.

Yamauchi was expected to face former Bellator Featherweight Champion Pat Curran at Bellator 139 on June 26, 2015. However, Yamauchi pulled out of the fight due to injury and was replaced by Emmanuel Sanchez.

Yamauchi faced Isao Kobayashi at Bellator 144 on October 23, 2015. Yamauchi dominated the fight on the ground for the first two rounds, before defeating his opponent via submission in the third, after dropping Kobayashi with a punch and securing a rear-naked choke. With the win, Yamauchi became the first to finish Isao Yobayashi.

Yamauchi next faced fellow prospect, Bubba Jenkins, at Bellator 151 on March 4, 2016. Early in the first round, Yamauchi was able to secure Jenkins' back standing, remaining there for rest of the round. However, in the next two rounds, Jenkins utilised his superior wrestling to take Yamauchi down and control the fight en route to a unanimous verdict.

Move up to lightweight division Yamauchi faced Ryan Couture at Bellator 162 on October 21, 2016. He won the fight via submission just over a minute into the first round and became the first fighter to submit Couture.

Yamauchi faced Valeriu Mircea at Bellator 168 on December 10, 2016. After a near knockout loss, Yamauchi defeated Mircea via a triangle choke submission in the first round.

Yamauchi faced Adam Piccolotti at Bellator 183 on September 23, 2017. He won the fight via submission in the first round.

Yamauchi next faced Michael Chandler at Bellator 192 on January 20, 2018. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Yamauchi faced Saad Awad at Bellator 229 on October 4, 2019. He won the fight via a verbal submission due to an armbar in the first round.

Yamauchi faced Daron Cruickshank at Bellator & Rizin: Japan on December 29, 2019. He won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the first round.

Yamauchi was next expected to face PFL veteran Nate Andrews at Bellator 254 on December 10, 2020. However at weigh ins, Goiti weighed in at 162.8 lbs, 6.8 lbs over the lightweight limit. Mohegan Sun commission head, Mike Mazzulli, said that from now on Yamauchi will be required to fight at Welterweight, 170 lbs.

Yamauchi faced Dan Moret on April 9, 2021 at Bellator 256. He lost the bout via a controversial split decision, where 9/9 media members scored the fight for Yamauchi.

Yamauchi faced Chris Gonzalez on July 31, 2021 at Bellator 263. He won the bout via TKO in the first round, only the second knockout win in Goiti's career.

Yamauchi was scheduled to face Derek Anderson on March 12, 2022 at Bellator 276. The week of the event, the bout was scrapped for unknown reasons.

Move up to welterweight Moving up to Welterweight, Yamauchi faced Levan Chokheli on April 23, 2022 at Bellator 279. He won the bout via armbar in the first round.

Yamauchi headlined Bellator 284 on August 12, 2022 against fellow BJJ expert Neiman Gracie. He won the bout in the second round after knocking out Gracie with an uppercut.

Yamauchi faced Michael Page on March 10, 2023 at Bellator 292. He lost the bout 26 seconds into the bout after a leg kick ruptured his patella tendon.

Professional Fighter's League In his PFL debut, Yamauchi faced Neiman Gracie in a rematch at PFL 3 on April 19, 2024. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

Yamauchi next faced Andrey Koreshkov at PFL 6 (2024) on June 28, 2024, losing the fight via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments Mixed martial arts Bellator MMA Most submission wins in Bellator MMA history (nine) Tied for most submission wins in Bellator Lightweight division history (five) First fighter in Bellator MMA history to earn stoppages in three weight classes Iron Fight Combat Iron Fight Combat featherweight title (One time) Smash Fight Smash Fight featherweight tournament winner (2013)

Amateur boxing Paraná State Amateur Boxing Championship (2007)

Mixed martial arts record Win

Shogo Sato Submission (rear-naked choke) Pancrase 360

Tachikawa, Japan Win

Yura Naito KO (punches) Pancrase 353

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Andrey Koreshkov Decision (unanimous) PFL 6 (2024)

Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States Win

Neiman Gracie Decision (unanimous) |PFL 3 (2024)

Chicago, Illinois, United States Loss

Michael Page TKO (leg kick) Bellator 292

San Jose, California, United States Win

Neiman Gracie KO (punches) Bellator 284

Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States Win

Levan Chokheli Submission (armbar) Bellator 279

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Win

Chris Gonzalez TKO (punches) Bellator 263

Los Angeles, California, United States Loss

Dan Moret Decision (split) Bellator 256

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Win

Daron Cruickshank Submission (rear-naked choke) Bellator & Rizin: Japan

Saitama, Japan Win

Saad Awad Verbal submission (armbar) Bellator 229

Temecula, California, United States Win

Daniel Weichel Decision (split) Bellator 210

Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States Loss

Michael Chandler Decision (unanimous) Bellator 192

Inglewood, California, United States Win

Adam Piccolotti Submission (rear-naked choke) Bellator 183

San Jose, California, United States Win

Valeriu Mircea Submission (triangle choke) Bellator 168

Florence, Italy Win

Ryan Couture Submission (armbar) Bellator 162

Memphis, Tennessee, United States Loss

Bubba Jenkins Decision (unanimous) Bellator 151

Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States Win

Isao Kobayashi Submission (rear-naked choke) Bellator 144

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Win

Martin Stapleton Submission (rear-naked choke) Bellator 125

Fresno, California, United States Win

Mike Richman Decision (unanimous) Bellator 120

Southaven, Mississippi, United States Loss

Will Martinez Decision (unanimous) Bellator 110

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Win

Saul Almeida KO (punches) Bellator 109

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States Win

Musa Toliver Submission (rear-naked choke) Bellator 99

Temecula, California, United States Win

Sergio Silva Rodrigues Submission (rear-naked choke)

Win

Diego Marlon Submission (armbar)

Win

Jurandir Sardinha Decision (unanimous) Iron Fight Combat 3

Feira de Santana, Brazil Win

José Ivanildo Lopes Decision (unanimous) Iron Fight Combat 2

Aracaju, Brazil Win

Gustavo Wurlitzer Submission (rear-naked choke) Power Fight Extreme 8

Curitiba, Brazil Win

Dymitry Damiani Submission (rear-naked choke) Iron Fight Combat 1

Feira de Santana, Brazil Win

Juliano Wandalen Submission (rear-naked choke) Shooto Brazil 31

Brasília, Brazil Win

Edenilson Junior Submission (rear-naked choke) Nitrix Champion Fight 9

Itajaí, Brazil Win

Jonathan José de Faria Submission (armbar) Brave FC: Gold Edition

Curitiba, Brazil Loss

Rodrigo Cavalheiro Correia Decision (unanimous) Adventure Fighters Tournament 1

Curitiba, Brazil Win

Tiago Sartori Submission (rear-naked choke) Capital Fight 4

Brasília, Brazil Win

Arivaldo Lima Silva Submission (armbar) Brazilian Fight League 12

Curitiba, Brazil Win

Alessandro Martins Submission (rear-naked choke) Brave FC: Tryouts

Curitiba, Brazil Win

Eduardo Wellington Submission Brazilian Fight League: Fight Night 1

Curitiba, Brazil Win

Andre Pedroso Submission (rear-naked choke) Gladiators FC 2

Curitiba, Brazil