Takenori Sato

is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist.

Mixed martial arts career Japan Sato has been a follower of Kazushi Sakuraba. Sato left the Takada Dojo with Sakuraba in April 2006, and was one of the initial members of the gym Laughter7 that was founded by Sakuraba in September 2007.

Sato made his professional MMA debut in December 2004 when he fought and won three times in the Deep 2004 Future King tournament. Over the next five years, he fought in several organizations in Japan including Cage Force, Demolition, K-1 Hero's, Pancrase and Sengoku, where he faced Joe Doerksen at Sengoku 10.

In 2009 and 2010, Sato fought against Izuru Takeuchi and Yuki Kondo for the Pancrase middleweight championship, resulting in a draw and loss respectively. A year later in 2011, he faced Kengo Ura for the title again and won. He successfully defended the belt six times before joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Ultimate Fighting Championship Sato made his UFC debut against Erick Silva on February 15, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 36, replacing an injured Nate Loughran. He lost the fight via TKO early in the first round.

Sato faced Hyun Gyu Lim on September 20, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 52. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round and was subsequently released from the organization.

Championships and accomplishments Mixed martial arts

Pancrase Welterweight King of Pancrase (One time) Six Successful Title Defenses Deep Deep 2004 –82 kg class Future King tournament winner

Mixed martial arts record Win

Yuki Kondo Decision (unanimous) Pancrase 335

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Arman Tsarukyan Decision (unanimous) MFP 214 - Governor's Cup 2017

Khabarovsk, Russia NC

Sung Chan Hong NC (accidental groin kick) TFC 15 - Top FC 15

Seoul, South Korea NC

Sung Chan Hong NC (accidental kick to groin) TFC 12 - Top FC 12

Seoul, South Korea Win

Kyung Soo Park Submission (armbar) Kunlun Fight - Cage Fight Series 5 / Top FC 11

Seoul, South Korea Loss

Han Seul Kim Decision (unanimous) TOP FC 10

Seoul, South Korea Win

Chad Reiner Submission (armbar) PRO Fighting 10

Taipei, Taiwan Loss

Hyun Gyu Lim KO (elbows) UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson

Saitama, Japan Loss

Erick Silva KO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Mousasi

Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil Win

Islam Galayev Submission (kimura) Deep: Tribe Tokyo Fight

Tokyo, Japan Win

Shingo Suzuki Submission (keylock) Pancrase: 247

Tokyo, Japan Draw

Akihiro Murayama Draw (unanimous) Pancrase: 246

Tokyo, Japan Win

Keiichiro Yamamiya Decision (unanimous) Pancrase: Progress Tour 10

Tokyo, Japan Win

Kiichi Kunimoto Decision (unanimous) Pancrase: Progress Tour 3

Tokyo, Japan Draw

Eiji Ishikawa Draw (split) Pancrase: Impressive Tour 10

Tokyo, Japan Win

Sojiro Orui Decision (unanimous) Pancrase: Impressive Tour 5

Tokyo, Japan Win

Kengo Ura Technical Submission (kimura) Pancrase: Impressive Tour 1

Tokyo, Japan Win

Shingo Suzuki Decision (unanimous) Pancrase: Passion Tour 11

Tokyo, Japan Win

Yuta Nakamura Submission (kimura) Pancrase: Passion Tour 9

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Keiichiro Yamamiya Decision (majority) Pancrase: Passion Tour 3

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Yuki Kondo Decision (unanimous) Pancrase: Passion Tour 1

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Joe Doerksen TKO (punches) World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 10

Saitama, Japan Draw

Izuru Takeuchi Draw Pancrase: Changing Tour 4

Tokyo, Japan Win

Hoon Kim Submission (armbar) Pancrase: Changing Tour 3

Tokyo, Japan Win

Ichiro Kanai Decision (majority) Pancrase: Changing Tour 2

Tokyo, Japan Win

Rikuhei Fujii Decision (unanimous) Cage Force EX Eastern Bound

Tokyo, Japan Win

Yuji Hisamatsu Decision (unanimous) Pancrase: Shining 8

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Young Choi Decision (majority) Deep: 36 Impact

Osaka, Japan Draw

Masahiro Toryu Draw Pancrase: Shining 2

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Yukiya Naito TKO (doctor stoppage) Cage Force 5

Tokyo, Japan Win

Kenji Nagai Submission (armbar) K-1 HERO's: Tournament Final

Kanagawa, Japan Draw

Yuji Hisamatsu Draw Cage Force 3

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Yusaku Tsukumo KO (punch) Demolition

Tokyo, Japan Draw

Tetsuo Seto Draw Demolition

Tokyo, Japan Draw

Ken Hamamura Draw Deep: 20th Impact

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Ken Hamamura TKO (punches) Deep: clubDeep Toyama: Barbarian Festival 2

Toyama, Japan Win

Marlon Medeiros TKO (punches) Deep: Hero 1

Aichi, Japan Loss

Kosuke Umeda TKO (corner stoppage) Deep: 18th Impact

Tokyo, Japan Win

Moriyuki Yamada Decision (unanimous) Deep: 17th Impact

Tokyo, Japan Win

Ryo Nakajima TKO (punches) Deep: 17th Impact

Tokyo, Japan Win

Shichi Maru TKO (punches) Deep: 17th Impact

Tokyo, Japan