Sentoryū Henri

Henry Armstrong Miller (July 16, 1969 – January 29, 2026), known under the shikona , was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler and MMA fighter, raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Sentoryū was the first wrestler from the United States mainland to reach the top makuuchi division.

Sentoryū made his professional debut in 1988 and reached a highest rank of maegashira 12 before retiring in 2003. He last competed in MMA in 2013, losing to Kazuhiro Nakamura.

Early life Henry Miller was born in Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan, the son of a Japanese mother and African-American father. He was born on the same day that the Apollo 11 lunar mission left Earth and his middle name was given to him by his father in honor of Neil Armstrong. He was relatively small at 174 cm and 94 kg when he made his debut in July 1988. He won the yusho or tournament championship in his first tournament in the jonokuchi division in September 1988, defeating three others in a six-way playoff, including a fellow American, Shinnishiki from Los Angeles.

After reverting to the name Sentoryū, a strong 13–2 record in March 2000 sent him to the top of the jūryō division. With an 8–7 mark in May 2000, he finally achieved his goal of promotion to the top makuuchi division in July. It had taken him 72 tournaments from his professional debut to reach makuuchi, which is the slowest amongst foreign-born wrestlers.

Sentoryū came through with a winning record of 8–7 in his debut but was then demoted after only recording a 5–10 score in September 2000. He had to withdraw from the following tournament in November and missed the January 2001 basho. Nevertheless, he managed to hold his own in jūryō and had one more visit to the top division in January 2002. However, he suffered a serious injury and was unable to compete in the March and May 2002 tournaments, falling all the way back to makushita. He refused to give up and fought his way back to sekitori status in September 2003, becoming the fifth oldest wrestler to return to jūryō in the postwar era at 34 years, 1 month. However, another injury convinced him to retire at the end of the year, in the same tournament as Musashimaru. His great fighting spirit, despite all his injuries, won him many admirers. He had spent 20 tournaments as a sekitori, by far the most successful career by anyone from the contiguous United States.

He defeated Asashōryū in their only meeting in November 2000, when both were in the jūryō division. He also had three wins over Kotomitsuki in their four meetings.

Fighting style Sentoryū favoured pushing and thrusting techniques, winning most of his matches by oshi dashi (push out), hatakikomi (slap down) or hikiotoshi (pull down).

Mixed martial arts and kickboxing career After his retirement from sumo, Sentoryū tried his luck at mixed martial arts. He was recommended for PRIDE in April 2004 by Chiyotaikai Ryūji, who saw Akebono Taro make such transition a year before.

He had six wins and sixteen losses in his first 23 fights. He styled himself Henry "Sentoryu" Miller. He made an agreement with World Victory Road and fought Yoshihiro Nakao. On December 25, 2010 he faced Yoichi Babaguchi (former sekiwake Wakashoyo) in the first ever K-1 kickboxing match between former sekitori.

Death Sentoryū died at a hospital in Tokyo, on the night of January 29, 2026, at the age of 56. He suffered from serious lung disease in his later years.

Sumo career record

Kickboxing record Win Wakashoyo Survivor: Round 6 Tokyo, Japan TKO (3 knockdowns)

1-2 Loss Tsutomu Takahagi Big Bang 2: The Way to Unification Japan TKO (corner stoppage)

0-2 Loss Taiei Kin K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Hong Kong Hong Kong KO (right high kick)

0-1 2007 Hong Kong Grand Prix quarter-final bout.

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Kazuhiro Nakamura KO (punch) DEEP 63 Impact

Tokyo, Japan Openweight bout. Loss

Soa Palelei TKO (punches) K-Oz Entertainment: Bragging Rights

Perth, Australia Loss

Shunsuke Inoue TKO (punches) HEAT 20

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Myles Tynanes TKO (punches) HEAT 19

Nagoya, Japan Loss

Takaaki Oban Submission (rear-naked choke) Gladiator 23

Hiroshima, Japan Loss

Taiei Kin TKO (corner stoppage) HEAT 16

Osaka, Japan Loss

Yoshihiro Nakao TKO (punches) World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 12

Tokyo, Japan Win

Kim Min-soo KO (punches and knees) The Khan 2

Seoul, South Korea Loss

Lee Chang-seob TKO (punches) HEAT 12

Nagoya, Japan Loss

Cristiano Kaminishi TKO (punches) HEAT 11

Tokyo, Japan NC

Cristiano Kaminishi NC (accidental knee to groin) HEAT 10

Tokyo, Japan Win

Ryuta Noji KO (punches) HEAT 9

Nagoya, Japan Win

Junpei Hamada KO (punches) HEAT 8

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Cristiano Kaminishi KO (head kick) DEEP 29 Impact

Tokyo, Japan Win

Kim Ji-hoon KO (punch) HEAT 3

Nagoya, Japan Loss

Mostapha al-Turk TKO (punches) Cage Rage 18

London, England Win

Seiji Ogura Submission (rear-naked choke) Pancrase: Blow 6

Yokohama, Japan Loss

Robert Berry TKO (punches) Cage Rage 17

London, England Loss

Zuluzinho TKO (knees) Pride 30

Saitama, Japan Loss

James Thompson KO (punches) Pride Bushido 8

Nagoya, Japan Loss

Makoto Takimoto Decision (unanimous) Pride Shockwave 2004

Saitama, Saitama, Japan Win

Mal Foki KO (punches) Pride Bushido 5

Osaka, Japan Loss

Paulo César da Silva Submission (kimura) Pride Total Elimination 2004

Saitama, Japan