Kaito Sakaguchi

Kaito Sakaguchi (坂口魁斗, born 28 August 2001), popularly known as Kaito (魁斗), is a Japanese kickboxer, currently competing in the super featherweight division of RISE.

As of August 2021 he was the #9 ranked Super Flyweight kickboxer in the world by Combat Press.

Kickboxing career Shootboxing Kaito made his professional debut against Yu Jin at Shoot Boxing OSAKA 2018 ALPINISME vol.1 on March 18, 2018. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 30–27, 30–28 and 30–29.

Kaito was scheduled to face Satoru Shimizu at Shoot Boxing 2018 act.3 on June 10, 2018. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 30–28, 30–28 and 30–29.

Kaito was scheduled to face Bullseye Ryuta at Shoot Boxing 2018 Young Caesar Cup Central #23 on September 23, 2018. He won the fight by a third-round technical knockout.

Kaito was scheduled to face Shota Tezuka at Shoot Boxing S-Cup World Tournament 2018 on November 18, 2018. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 30–28, 30–27 and 30–27.

Kaito was scheduled to face Kazuya Ueda at Shoot Boxing 2018 Young Caesar Cup act.5 on December 16, 2018, in his fifth and final fight of 2018. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the bout 30–29 in his favor.

Kaito was scheduled to fight Genki at Shoot Boxing Osaka 2019 Alpinisme vol.1 on August 10, 2019. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with two judges awarding him a 30–29 scorecard, while the third judge scored the fight 30–28 in his favor.

Kaito was scheduled to face the #4 ranked featherweight contender Shota Tezuka at Shoot Boxing 2019 act.4 on September 28, 2019. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 29–28, 30–28 and 30–27.

Kaito was scheduled to face the #10 ranked featherweight contender TSUTOMU at Shoot Boxing Hanayashiki Extreme.3 on October 27, 2019. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 30–28, 30–28 and 30–27.

Kaito was next scheduled to fight the #1 ranked Shootboxing featherweight contender Yuki Kasahara at Shoot Boxing 2020 act.1 on February 15, 2020. The fight was ruled a majority draw after the first three rounds, with two of the judges seeing the fight as a draw (30–30 and 29–29), while the third judge scored the fight 30–29 for Kasahara. Accordingly, an extension round was fought and was once again ruled a majority draw, with one judge scoring the round for Kasahara. Kasahara was awarded a majority decision, after a second extension round was fought.

Move up to super featherweight Following his first professional loss, Kaito moved up to super featherweight, a 2.5kg increase in weight from his previous fights. He was scheduled to face Shoki Kaneda for the RKS Super Featherweight title at RKS GOLD RUSH VII on November 29, 2020. Kaito won the fight by majority decision.

Kaito was next scheduled to face Takuya Taira, in a 58.5kg bout, at HOOST CUP KINGS KYOTO 7 on March 7, 2021. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 29–28, 30–27 and 30–27.

Kaito took part in the DEEP KICK super featherweight tournament held at DEEP☆KICK 51 on April 11, 2021, and was scheduled to face Taiki Sawatani in the semifinals. The fight was ruled a majority draw after the first three rounds, with two judges scoring it as a 29–29 draw, while the third judge scored it 29–28 for Sawatani. Sawatani was awarded a majority decision, after an extension round was fought.

RISE Kaito was scheduled to make his promotional debut with RISE against Keisuke Monguchi at Rise World Series 2021 on July 18, 2021. He won the fight by split decision, with scores of 30–29, 30–29 and 29–30.

Kaito was scheduled to challenge Takuya Taira for the HOOST CUP Japan Featherweight title at HOOST CUP KINGS KYOTO 8 on October 17, 2021. He won the fight by unanimous decision after five rounds.

Sakaguchi faced Kyo Kawakami for the vacant Shoot Boxing Japan Featherweight title at Shoot Boxing 2022 act.2 on April 10, 2022. He lost the fight by majority decision, after an extra round was contested.

Sakaguchi faced the former RISE Featherweight champion Taisei Umei at RISE 165: RISE 20th Memorial event on February 23, 2023. He won the fight by majority decision, with two scorecards of 30–29 and one even scorecard of 29–29.

Sakaguchi was expected to face the former two-weight REBELS champion Haruto Yasumoto at RISE World Series 2023 Osaka on July 2, 2023. Yasumoto withdrew from the fight on June 1, after being hospitalized with compartment syndrome he sustained in a prior fight. The fight was rescheduled for August 26, 2023, and took place at RISE World Series 2023 - 2nd Round. Sakaguchi won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 29–27, 29–28 and 29–28.

Sakaguchi challenged the RISE Featherweight champion Keisuke Monguchi at RISE 172 on October 29, 2023. He lost the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 50–47, 49–47 and 49–47.

Sakaguchi faced Ryoga Hirano at Shoot Boxing 2024 act.4 on August 17, 2024. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Titles and accomplishments

Professional Real Kakutou Spirits 2020 RKS Super Featherweight Champion HOOST CUP 2021 Hoost Cup Japan Featherweight Champion

Amateur All Japan Glove Karate Federation 2008 Glove Karate Federation All Japan Elementary School Champion 2012 Glove Karate Federation All Japan Elementary School Champion 2013 Glove Karate Federation All Japan Elementary School Champion 2014 Glove Karate Federation All Japan middle school Runner-up 2015 Glove Karate Federation All Japan middle school Runner-up 2017 Glove Karate Federation All Japan -60kg Champion DEEP KICK 2013 TOP RUN -40kg Champion 2014 All Japan Jr Kick -40kg Runner-up Shootboxing 2013 Shoot Boxing All Japan Junior -40kg Champion 2015 Shoot Boxing All Kansai Junior -50kg Champion 2016 Shoot Boxing All Japan -55kg Champion 2017 Shoot Boxing All Japan -60kg Champion

Fight record

Amateur record 2017-12-17 Win Shota Tezuka All Japan Amateur Shoot Boxing Tokyo, Japan Decision 2017-10-29 Win Tadahiko Tsushima Amateur Shoot Boxing Kansai Osaka, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 2 2:00 2017-06-25 Win Kohei Nagaoka Amateur Shoot Boxing Kansai Osaka, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 2 2:00 2017-04-30 NC Koki Ueno NEXT LEVEL Kansai 38 Osaka, Japan Doctor stoppage (head clash) 1 2017-03-05 Win Haru Furumiya AJGKF XIII Osaka, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 2016-12-18 Win Masahito OkuyamaAll Japan Amateur Shoot Boxing Osaka, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 2 2:00 2016-09-25 Win Ryouga Yoshiharu All Japan Amateur Shoot Boxing West Japan Selection Osaka, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 2 2:00 2016-08-13 Win Fumito Ando SHOOT BOXING OSAKA 2016 "ALPINISME vol.1" Osaka, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 2 2:00 2016-01-24 Loss Yuki Kasahara All Japan Shoot Boxing Amateur Tokyo, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 2 2:00 2015-10-03 Loss Ayumu Mita SHOOT BOXING THE LAST BOMB Japan Ext.R Decision (Split) 3 2:00 2015-09-06 Win Tomoya Nishida Shoot Boxing Amateur Kansai Osaka, Japan Ext.R Decision (Split) 3 2:00 2015-03-15 4th All Japan Jr. Kick -45kg, Quarter Final Tokyo, Japan Decision 2014-11-09 Win Aoi Takahashi Shoot Boxing Amateur Kansai Osaka, Japan Decision (Majority) 2 2:00 2014-09-28 Loss Shogo Tanaka DEEP KICK 22 Osaka, Japan Decision (Majority) 3 2:00 2014-06-29 Win Ruki Kawamura Amateur Shoot Boxing Kansai Osaka, Japan Decision (Majority) 2 2:00 2014-06-15 Win Haruhi Tokunaga NEXT LEVEL Kansai 15 Sakai, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 2 2:00 2014-03-30 Loss Haruto Yasumoto 3rd All Japan Jr. Kick -40kg, Final Tokyo, Japan Decision 2014-03-30 Win 3rd All Japan Jr. Kick -40kg, Semi Final Tokyo, Japan Decision 2014-02-23 Win Naoki Nagano DEEP KICK 19 Osaka, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 3 2:00 2014-02-16 Win Aoi Takahashi Shoot Boxing Amateur Kansai Osaka, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 2 2:00 2014-02-11 Win Naoki Nagano Double Impact IV – All Japan Jr Kick Kansai Selection Osaka, Japan Ext.R Decision (Unanimous) 2013-11-16 Win Haruto Yasumoto Shoot Boxing GROUND ZERO TOKYO 2013Tokyo, Japan Decision (Majority) 2 2:00 2013-10-14 Win Taichi Isogai Shoot Boxing West Japan Selection Osaka, Japan Decision (Split) 2 2013-09-22 Win Yosuke Sekimoto DEEP KICK 17 Osaka, Japan Ext.R Decision (Split) 4 2:00 2013-09-01 Win Naoki Nagano NEXT LEVEL Kansai 9 Higashiōsaka, Japan Ext.R Decision (Unanimous) 2 2:00 2013-07-07 Win Naoki Nagano NEXT LEVEL Kansai 8 Sakai, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 2 2:00 2013-06-15 Win Ayumu Mita Shoot Boxing Amateur Kansai Kansai, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 2 2:00 2013-04-14 Win Kyo Kawakami Shoot Boxing Amateur Kansai Kansai, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 2 2:00 2013-02-24 Win Ayumu Mita Shoot Boxing Amateur Kansai Kansai, Japan Ext.R Decision (Unanimous) 3 2:00 2013-01-27 Loss Ryo Mandokoro NEXT LEVEL Kansai 4 Sakai, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 2 2013-01-27 Win Naoki Asada NEXT LEVEL Kansai 4 Sakai, Japan TKO (Knee) 2 2012-12-16 Loss Ryo Mandokoro NEXT LEVEL Kansai 3 Osaka, Japan Decision (Majority) 2 2012-07-16 Loss Riku Kitani NEXT LEVEL Sakai, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 2 2012-05-20 Win Toma Maezono Shoot Boxing Osaka 2012 Alpinisme Young Caesar Cup Vol.2 Osaka, Japan Decision (Split) 2 2012-05-06 Win Yuka Sato NEXT LEVEL Osaka, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 2 2012-03-25 Draw Keisuke NEXT LEVEL Habikino, Japan Decision 2012-03-25 Win Yoshiho Tane NEXT LEVEL Habikino, Japan Ext.R Decision (Unanimous) Legend: