Kazushi Sakuraba’s son set to make MMA debut at RIZIN’s NYE card

Taisei Sakuraba, the son of Japanese MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba, will compete in the sport for the first time on Dec. 31 when he faces Yusuke Yachi at RIZIN DECADE, the promotion announced Wednesday.

Sakuraba (0-0) began training judo at age 13 and started practicing other forms of martial arts at 24. The 26-year-old “Saku Jr.” competed previously in grappling, submitting two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka Masato Uchishiba with a kneebar in 2023, and scored a knockout in an amateur kickboxing match earlier this year.

Yachi (27-14) won four of his past five under the RIZIN banner, including two submissions. A professional since 2009, Yachi was a featherweight champion at Shooto and PXC but came up short in his attempt to win the RIZIN lightweight belt in 2021, losing to Roberto Satoshi.

RIZIN DECADE will be headlined by Chihiro Suzuki vs. Kleber Koike for the 145-pound championship. The company also announced Mikio Ueda vs. Tae In Kim and “Ya-Man” Ren Sugiyama vs. Karshyga Dautbek for the card, which includes a boxing exhibition between Ryan Garcia and Rukiya Anpo.