Takenori Sato

Takenori Sato (佐藤豪則) is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist and current Welterweight King Of Pancrase.

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