Hikaru Sato

[Necro]

Hiroaki Sato (佐藤 弘明, Satō Hiroaki, born July 8, 1980)[1][2][4] is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, better known by the ring name Hikaru Sato (佐藤 光留, Satō Hikaru). Sato started his MMA career in February 2000, fighting for Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling. During the next eight years, Sato fought, on average, five times a year, compiling a record of 18 wins, 19 losses and four draws, which included fights against the likes of Keiichiro Yamamiya, Nathan Marquardt, Ryo Chonan and Yushin Okami. In May 2008, Sato transitioned into the world of professional wrestling, when he was signed by the Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) promotion. He has since had ten MMA fights. In November 2010, Sato first became a triple crown trios champion with Michael Nakazawa and Tomomitsu Matsunaga and then also won DDT's top singles title, the KO-D Openweight Championship. Sato remained affiliated with DDT until January 2014. He is currently working for the All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion, where he is a former two-time World Junior Heavyweight Champion and three-time All Asia Tag Team Champion, while also being a three-time winner of the Jr. Tag Battle of Glory tournament.

Other information
Mixed martial arts record
Hikaru Sato
Sato in 2017
Born	Hiroaki Sato[1] July 8, 1980 (age 41)[2] Okayama, Okayama, Japan[2]
Native name	佐藤光留
Nationality	Japanese
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[1][2]
Weight	79 kg (174 lb; 12.4 st)[1][2]
Division	Middleweight[3]
Fighting out of	Okayama, Okayama, Japan[3]
Team	Pancrase-ism[2] Pancrase Mission[1][3]
Years active	2000–present
Total	54
Wins	24
By knockout	3
By submission	12
By decision	9
Losses	26
By knockout	11
By submission	4
By decision	11
Draws	4
Website	ameblo.jp/sassato-hikkoshi/
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: February 5, 2017

Hiroaki Sato (佐藤 弘明, Satō Hiroaki, born July 8, 1980)[1][2][4] is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, better known by the ring name Hikaru Sato (佐藤 光留, Satō Hikaru). Sato started his MMA career in February 2000, fighting for Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling. During the next eight years, Sato fought, on average, five times a year, compiling a record of 18 wins, 19 losses and four draws, which included fights against the likes of Keiichiro Yamamiya, Nathan Marquardt, Ryo Chonan and Yushin Okami. In May 2008, Sato transitioned into the world of professional wrestling, when he was signed by the Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) promotion. He has since had ten MMA fights. In November 2010, Sato first became a triple crown trios champion with Michael Nakazawa and Tomomitsu Matsunaga and then also won DDT's top singles title, the KO-D Openweight Championship. Sato remained affiliated with DDT until January 2014. He is currently working for the All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion, where he is a former two-time World Junior Heavyweight Champion and three-time All Asia Tag Team Champion, while also being a three-time winner of the Jr. Tag Battle of Glory tournament.

Contents​

• 1Mixed martial arts career
• 2Professional wrestling career
• 3Championships and accomplishments
• 4Mixed martial arts record
• 5References
• 6External links

Mixed martial arts career[edit]​

Sato, with a high school background in amateur wrestling,[1] started training mixed martial arts with Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling in June 1999.[5] He made his fighting debut as a middleweight on February 27, 2000, losing to Daisuke Watanabe with a unanimous decision.[2][3] He picked up his first win in his second fight on April 30, 2000, by defeating American Michael Sa Jin Kwok with an armbar in the first round.[2][3] Early on, Sato became known for his eccentric personality, which included him wearing cat ears and dressing up as a maid while walking to the ring for his fights.[4] In 2001, Sato fought three high-profile fights, losing to American King of Pancrase Middleweight Champion Nathan Marquardt via submission on March 31, defeating Ryo Chonan via unanimous decision in Chonan's professional debut on May 5 and losing to King of Pancrase Light Heavyweight Champion Keiichiro Yamamiya via unanimous decision on August 30.[2][3] On January 18, 2004, Sato defeated Daisuke Nakamura to win Greatest Common Multiple's (GMC) 2004 Demolition Middleweight 4Men Tournament.[2][3] After his win, Sato proceeded to challenge King of Pancrase Openweight Champion Josh Barnett to a match.[6] During his early years in Pancrase, Sato lost more fights than he won. On February 28, 2007, Sato defeated Rikuhei Fujii and, as a result, for the first time in his career, Sato's number of wins exceeded his number of losses, with a record of 17 wins, 16 losses and 3 draws.[3] On December 22, 2007, Sato finally got into a ring with Josh Barnett, however, the match was contested under catch wrestling rules. Barnett won the match, submitting Sato at the end of the first round.[2] The following year, Sato transitioned into the world of professional wrestling, which led to a drop in his number of fights per year. His most recent fight took place on February 5, 2017, when he defeated Johnathan Ivey via technical knockout, giving him a record of 24 wins, 23 losses and 4 draws.[2][3]

Professional wrestling career[edit]​

Professional wrestling career
Hikaru Sato
Birth name	Hiroaki Sato[1]
Born	July 8, 1980 (age 41)[4][7] Okayama, Okayama[7]
Ring name(s)	Baba[8] Hentaiō[9] Hikaru Sato
Billed height	1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)[4][7]
Billed weight	90 kg (200 lb)[4][7]
Trained by	Minoru Suzuki[10]
Debut	February 27, 2000[11]

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