Yoshida versus Cro Cop. Photo: Susumo Nagao
One of Japan’s greatest heroes, 1992’s Olympic judo gold medalist Hidehiko Yoshida had his farewell fight this Sunday. The bout was on the card of Astra, a new event promoted by Dream and World Victory Road in Tokyo. The result wasn’t the best. Yoshida ended up dropping a unanimous decision to Kazuhiro Nakamura.
Despite his great judo record, Yoshida’s results oscillate a great deal in MMA. The judoka holds nine wins, eight losses and a draw. In his career, he has beaten such beasts as Don Frye, Maurice Smith and Tank Abbott; drawn with Royce Graciel; and lost to such well known fighters as Wanderlei Silva (twice), Mirko Cro Cop and Josh Barnett.
Check out some of the fighter’s career in the video below: