Ulka Sasaki

, known professionally as , is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. He also appears in WWE, in their development territory NXT.

A professional competitor since 2010, Sasaki formerly competed for Ultimate Fighting Championship, Shooto, Deep, and Vale Tudo Japan. He is the former Shooto Pacific Rim (132 lbs) Champion.

Background Born and raised in Shizuoka, Sasaki was a talented wrestler and also began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from a young age. He wrestled for three seasons at Hiryū High School, finishing in the top 16 at the All-Japan High School Greco-Roman Wrestling Championships, and in 2009 Sasaki won the All-Japan Combat Wrestling Open Championships for the under 66 kg division. That same year, he also finished second at the All-Japan Amateur Shooto Championships. Later in 2013, Sasaki won the ADCC Japan Trial for the under 66 kg division.

Mixed martial arts career Shooto Sasaki started his professional career in 2010. He fought mainly for Shooto, but also fought for Deep and GCM early in his career. Sasaki faced Yo Saito on December 18, 2010, at Shooto: The Rookie Tournament 2010 Final. He defeated Saito via unanimous decision after two rounds and became the 2010 Shooto 143-pound rookie champion.

Sasaki faced Tetsu Suzuki on January 20, 2013, at Shooto: 1st Round 2013 for the Shooto Pacific Rim 132-pound title. He won via unanimous decision and became the new champion. Sasaki defended his title on July 27, at Shooto: 3rd Round 2013 against Kenji Yamamoto. He won via knockout at 11 seconds in the first round and retained the title. Shortly after the bout, Sasaki relinquished his title in order to be able to fight for Shooto's world title.

Sasaki faced current ZST 132 lb champion Keisuke Fujiwara on January 13, 2014, at Shooto: 1st Round 2014. He won via submission due to a rear-naked choke in the first round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship In July 2014, it was announced that Sasaki had signed with the UFC. He made his debut against Roland Delorme at UFC Fight Night 48 on August 23, 2014. Sasaki won via submission in the first round. The win also earned Sasaki his first Performance of the Night bonus award. Sasaki faced Leandro Issa on December 20, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 58. He lost the fight by submission in the second round.

Sasaki faced Taylor Lapilus on June 20, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 69. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round.

Sasaki faced Willie Gates May 8, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 87. He won the fight via submission in the second round. Sasaki was expected to face Matheus Nicolau on November 19, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 100. However, on November 3, Nicolau was pulled from the bout after USADA revealed a potential anti-doping violation from a sample taken October 13.

Sasaki next faced Wilson Reis on February 11, 2017, at UFC 208. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Sasaki faced Justin Scoggins on June 17, 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Correia. Sasaki suffered almost two rounds of damage but managed to sink his arm around Scoggins' neck and submitted him via a rear-naked choke in the second round to win the fight. This fight won Sasaki his second Performance of the Night bonus award. Sasaki faced Jussier Formiga on September 23, 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Saint Preux vs. Okami. He lost the fight via submission in the first round.

Sasaki was scheduled to face Magomed Bibulatov on April 21, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 128. However, Bibulatov was removed from the card due to back injury, and the bout was cancelled. Sasaki faced Jenel Lausa on June 23, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 132. He won the fight in round two via a rear-naked choke submission. Sasaki faced Alexandre Pantoja on November 17, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 140. He lost the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the first round.

Rizin FF Sasaki faced Manel Kape in a 130lbs catchweight bout at Rizin 14 on December 31, 2018. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Sasaki was then scheduled to face Kai Asakura at Rizin 15 on April 21, 2019. However, Sasaki was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a visceral injury and was replaced by Justin Scoggins. He then faced Shintaro Ishiwatari at Rizin 17 on July 28, 2019. Sasaki lost the fight via second-round submission. The fight with Kai Asakura was then rebooked to take place at Rizin 19 on October 12, 2019. Sasaki lost the fight via first-minute technical knockout due to a broken jaw.

After recovering from two jaw surgeries to repair the damage sustained in his previous fight, Sasaki faced Kenta Takizawa at Rizin 26 on December 31, 2020. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Sasaki faced Yoshinori Horie at Rizin 30 on September 19, 2021. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Sasaki headlined Rizin Trigger 2 on February 23, 2022 against Kleber Koike Erbst. Even after finding initial success with the stand-up in the first round, Sasaki lost the bout in the second round via rear-naked choke. Sasaki was expected to face Yoshiki Nakahara at Rizin 37 on July 31, 2022. He withdrew from the fight on July 26, after he tested positive for COVID-19.

Sasaki faced Boyd Allen at Rizin 42 on May 6, 2023. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Professional wrestling career Pro Wrestling Noah (2023–present) On October 23, 2023, Sasaki himself made an announcement that he would be participating in an exhibition match for Pro Wrestling Noah's November 13 episode of Monday Magic. In a statement made during the October 23 show, he specified that it had been a long-held aspiration of his to perform in Noah, as he had been a devoted fan of the promotion since childhood. He then conveyed on social media that he would "throw all of [his] soul" to enable him to compete in professional wrestling.

He officially made his professional wrestling debut at Noah The New Year 2024 event on January 2, 2024, but was defeated by Takashi Sugiura.

On September 13, 2024, at Destination 2024, he defeated Hayata via referee stoppage to win the GHC National Championship, claiming his first wrestling title. His victory, achieved just six months after his debut, set a record for the fastest title win in the history of the championship.

On October 14, 2024, it was announced that Sasaki would face WWE's Shinsuke Nakamura at Noah The New Year 2025 on January 1, 2025. He would go on to lose the match.

In January 2026, Sasaki announced he will began an excursion to the United States, which was later revealed to be WWE. Sasaki wrestled in a dark match against Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo before the February 24 episode of NXT.

Professional wrestling career and persona His ring name "Ulka" originates from Sanskrit and means "Tengu". He has expressed his fondness for this mythical creature and often wears a long-nosed Tengu mask during his professional wrestling entrances.

Championships and accomplishments Mixed martial arts Shooto Shooto Pacific Rim 132 lb title (One time) One successful title defense Shooto rookie 143 lb champion (2010) Ultimate Fighting Championship Performance of the Night (Two times) Roland Delorme and Justin Scoggins

Professional wrestling Pro Wrestling Illustrated Ranked No. 270 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2024 Pro Wrestling Noah GHC National Championship (1 time) GHC Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kenoh

Mixed martial arts record Win

Boyd Allen Decision (unanimous) Rizin 42

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Kleber Koike Erbst Submission (rear-naked choke) Rizin Trigger 2

Fukuroi, Japan Loss

Yoshinori Horie Decision (unanimous) Rizin 30

Saitama, Japan Win

Kenta Takizawa Decision (unanimous) Rizin 26

Saitama, Japan Loss

Kai Asakura TKO (broken jaw) Rizin 19

Osaka, Japan Loss

Shintaro Ishiwatari Submission (north-south choke) Rizin 17

Saitama, Japan Win

Manel Kape Decision (unanimous) Rizin 14

Saitama, Japan Loss

Alexandre Pantoja Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Ponzinibbio

Buenos Aires, Argentina Win

Jenel Lausa Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Edwards

Kallang, Singapore Loss

Jussier Formiga Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Saint Preux vs. Okami

Saitama, Japan Win

Justin Scoggins Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Correia

Kallang, Singapore Loss

Wilson Reis Decision (unanimous) UFC 208

Brooklyn, New York, United States Win

Willie Gates Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Arlovski

Rotterdam, Netherlands Loss

Taylor Lapilus TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Jedrzejczyk vs. Penne

Berlin, Germany Loss

Leandro Issa Submission (neck crank) UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Dollaway

Barueri, Brazil Win

Roland Delorme Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Le

Macau, SAR, China Win

Hong Jung-Gi KO (punches) Deep: Fujisan Festival

Fuji, Japan Win

Teruto Ishihara Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) Vale Tudo Japan 4th

Tokyo, Japan Win

Keisuke Fujiwara Submission (rear-naked choke) Shooto: 1st Round 2014

Tokyo, Japan Win

Geun Do Park Submission (rear-naked choke) Vale Tudo Japan 3rd

Ota, Japan Win

Kenji Yamamoto KO (punch) Shooto: 3rd Round 2013

Tokyo, Japan Win

Kota Onojima Decision (majority) Shooto: Gig Tokyo 14

Tokyo, Japan Win

Tetsu Suzuki Decision (unanimous) Shooto: 1st Round 2013

Tokyo, Japan Draw

Manabu Inoue Draw (majority) Shooto: 12th Round

Tokyo, Japan Win

Teruyuki Matsumoto Submission (guillotine choke) Shooto: Gig Tokyo 10

Tokyo, Japan Win

Kazuhiro Ito Submission (rear-naked choke) Shooto: Gig Tokyo 9

Tokyo, Japan Win

Satoshi Watanabe Decision (unanimous) Deep: Fujisan Festival

Fuji, Japan Loss

Guy Delumeau Decision (unanimous) Shooto: Shootor's Legacy 4

Tokyo, Japan Win

Kosuke Kindaichi Decision (majority) Shooto: Shootor's Legacy 3

Tokyo, Japan Win

Yoshifumi Nakamura Decision (majority) Shooto: Shootor's Legacy 2

Tokyo, Japan Draw

Yusuke Kagiyama Draw Deep: Shizuoka Impact 2011

Shizuoka, Japan Win

Yo Saito Decision (unanimous) Shooto: The Rookie Tournament 2010 Final

Tokyo, Japan Win

Motohiro Takenawa Decision (unanimous) Shooto: Kitazawa Shooto Vol. 4

Tokyo, Japan Win

Keiji Sakuta Submission (rear-naked choke) GCM: Cage Force Preliminary Festival 1

Tokyo, Japan Win

Shinji Maeguchi Submission (rear-naked choke) Shooto: Gig Central 20

Nagoya, Japan Win

Atsushi Masukura Submission (rear-naked choke) GCM: Cage Force 16

Tokyo, Japan