Masayuki Naruse

(born March 15, 1973) is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, competing in the light heavyweight division who fought most of his career in Fighting Network RINGS (RINGS). As a professional wrestler, he notably competed in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). In MMA, Naruse was the first and only RINGS Light-Heavyweight Champion and a former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion in professional wrestling.

Mixed martial arts career Naruse started practising shotokan karate in high school before turning his attention to puroresu. He was eventually accepted in Fighting Network RINGS and trained under his chairman Akira Maeda.

Fighting Network RINGS A longtime competitor in RINGS before the organization began hosting true MMA bouts, Naruse had his first taste of MMA during his early career in mixed-style fights. He had his first shoot fight against submission wrestler Koichiro Kimura which he won via ankle lock. He then had another special shoot fight against kickboxer Atsushi Tamaki which went on for 24 minutes before Naruse emerged the winner via TKO due to lost points. They then had a rematch two months later which Naruse won again, this time via arm triangle choke.

Naruse experienced little success early in his mixed martial arts career, dropping six of his first seven mixed martial arts bouts, including fights against Valentijn Overeem and Magomedkhan Gamzatkhanov (commonly referred to by his nickname Volk Han).

He turned things around as a participant in the eight-man Light-Heavyweight title tournament in 1997, defeating Lee Hasdell, Wataru Sakata and Chris Haseman en route to becoming the first RINGS Light-Heavyweight Champion. Naruse then faced Japanese MMA legend Yuki Kondo at Pancrase: 257 on March 30, 2014. He lost the fight via majority decision.

Professional wrestling career

Fighting Network RINGS Naruse debuted for Fighting Network RINGS in 1992 where he was billed as a scrappy junior heavyweight. Among the wrestlers he took on during the organization's puroresu days include Heavyweight wrestler Yoshihisa Yamomoto, kickboxer Nobuaki Kakuta, UFC 10 participant Dieseul Berto, Volk Han, MMA veteran Satoshi Honma and future tag team partner Mitsuya Nagai.

Naruse and other RINGS wrestlers made the transition to mixed martial arts with the promotion in 1995.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling In 2001 with RINGS on the verge of collapse, he moved to New Japan Pro-Wrestling. It was a well timed move as owner Antonio Inoki was giving former MMA fighters immediate pushes and he was immediately placed into a feud with Minoru Tanaka, who used to work for BattlARTS, RINGS' rival promotion. Within 4 months of his debut, Naruse captured the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship from his rival Tanaka.

He fought for NJPW from 2001 to 2006, defending his Junior Heavyweight title against Shinya Makabe and El Samurai before losing his belt to Tokimitsu Ishizawa, later Kendo Kashin.

His last bout came on January 8, 2006 against Takashi Iizuka, his 375th career match for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Jungle Fight 3

Manaus, Brazil Win

Jan Nortje Submission (rear-naked choke) K-1 PREMIUM 2003 Dynamite!!

Nagoya, Japan Win

Ricardo Fyeet Submission (toe hold) Rings: Battle Genesis Vol. 7

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Hiromitsu Kanehara Decision (unanimous) Rings: Rise 4th

Tokyo, Japan Rings: Third Fighting Integration

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Mikhail Ilyukhin Submission (ankle lock) Rings – Mega Battle Tournament 1997 Semifinal 1

Tokyo, Japan Win

Lee Hasdell Submission (North/South Choke) Rings – Extension Fighting 4

Tokyo, Japan Quarterfinals of Light-Heavyweight Title Tournament. Loss

Yoshihisa Yamamoto Submission (armbar) Rings – Extension Fighting 2

Osaka, Japan Loss

Valentijn Overeem TKO (cut) Rings Holland – The Final Challenge

Amsterdam, Holland Loss

Zaza Tkeshelashvili N/A Rings – Budokan Hall 1997

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Magomedkhan Gamzatkhanov N/A Rings – Battle Dimensions Tournament 1996 Opening Round

Nagoya, Japan Win

Egan Inoue Disqualification Rings – Maelstrom 6

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Willie Peeters Decision (unanimous) Rings Holland – Free Fight

Amsterdam, Holland Loss

Satir Gotchev N/A Rings – Budokan Hall 1995

Tokyo, Japan Mixed rules Win

Atsushi Tamaki Submission (arm triangle choke) Rings Korakuen Experimental League 1993 Round 3

Tokyo, Japan Win

Atsushi Tamaki TKO (lost points) Rings Korakuen Experimental League 1993 Round 2

Tokyo, Japan Win

Koichiro Kimura Submission (ankle lock) Rings Mega Battle Special: Foundation

Yokohama, Japan