is a Japanese gold-medalist judoka and MMA fighter.

Biography

Hidehiko Yoshida was born in Obu, Aichi, Japan. He won the gold medal in Judo (78kg class) at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and competed in PRIDE Fighting Championships. He is known for his power and strong chin, having never been knocked out in a mixed martial arts bout until PRIDE Shockwave 2006. His first submission defeat was to Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović on 2 July 2006 when he submitted from repeated kicks to the leg. Yoshida is one of the few fighters who still wears a gi when he fights, although he sometimes has worn tights. His notable victories in MMA include armbar submissions over Don Frye and K-1 champion Mark Hunt. In August 2005, he defeated David "Tank" Abbott by submission.

Yoshida lost to the Middleweight champion, Wanderlei Silva, first by unanimous decision at the Final Conflict event on November 9, 2003, and later by split decision at the Total Elimination event on April 23, 2005. Another opponent was Royce Gracie, a well-known Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter and winner of three of the first four UFC tournaments. In their first encounter, Yoshida won by a controversial referee stoppage; the referee believed that Gracie had been choked out on the ground, thus stopping fight, but Gracie jumped up immediately and was fully conscious. As a result, Gracie requested for a rematch in which the referee could not stop the fight. The rematch, which took place at PRIDE's Shockwave 2003 event on December 31, 2003, technically resulted in a draw since neither fighter submitted or was knocked out within the time allotted (Gracie spent much of the latter part of the fight attacking Yoshida from a back mount, with Yoshida defending the attacks).

In March 2008, Yoshida lost by submission to Josh Barnett, a former training partner, at World Victory Road's inaugural show "Sengoku". Most recently Yoshida defeated former UFC Heavyweight Champion Maurice Smith by neck crank in the first round of Sengoku - Third Battle for World Victory Road.

Championships & accomplishments

Judo

• 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games 78 kg class gold medalist
• 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games 86kg 5th place
• 1999 World Judo Championship 90 kg class gold medalist
• 1995 World Judo Championship 86 kg class silver medalist
• 1993 World Judo Championship 78 kg class silver medalist
• 1991 World Judo Championship 78 kg class bronze medalist

Mixed martial arts

• PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament, Semi-Finalist

Video

• Video footage of Hidehiko Yoshida at Judovision
• Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Royce Gracie, 2002

MMA Record

8 wins (8 submissions), 6 losses (3 decisions, 1 TKO, 2 submission), 1 draw

June 8,2008	Win	Maurice Smith	World Victory Road Sengoku 3	Submission (Neck Crank)	Round 1, 2:23
Mar 5,2008	Loss	Josh Barnett	World Victory Road Sengoku	Submission (Heel Hook)	Round 3, 3:23
Dec 31, 2006	Loss	James Thompson	PRIDE Shockwave 2006	TKO (strikes)	Round 1, 7:50
Jul 2, 2006	Loss	Mirko Filipović	PRIDE Critical Countdown Absolute	Verbal Submission (Accumulated damage from strikes)	Round 1, 7:38
May 5, 2006	Win	Yosuke Nishijima	PRIDE Total Elimination Absolute	Technical submission (Triangle choke)	Round 1, 2:33
Dec 31, 2005	Win	Naoya Ogawa	PRIDE Shockwave 2005	Submission (Armbar)	Round 1, 6:04
Aug 28, 2005	Win	David L. Abbott	PRIDE Final Conflict 2005	Submission (Choke)	Round 1, 7:40
Apr 23, 2005	Loss	Wanderlei Silva	PRIDE Total Elimination 2005	Decision (Split)	Round 3, 5:00
Dec 31, 2004	Loss	Rulon Gardner	PRIDE Shockwave 2004	Decision (Unanimous)	Round 3, 5:00
Jun 20, 2004	Win	Mark Hunt	PRIDE Critical Countdown 2004	Submission (Armbar)	Round 1, 5:25
Dec 31, 2003	Draw	Royce Gracie	PRIDE Shockwave 2003	Draw	Round 2, 10:00
Nov 9, 2003	Loss	Wanderlei Silva	PRIDE Final Conflict 2003	Decision (Unanimous)	Round 2, 5:00
Aug 10, 2003	Win	Kiyoshi Tamura	PRIDE Total Elimination 2003	Submission (Ezekiel Choke)	Round 1, 5:06
Dec 31, 2002	Win	Masaaki Satake	Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye vs K-1 2002	Submission (Neck lock)	Round 1, 0:50
Nov 24, 2002	Win	Don Frye	PRIDE 23	Technical Submission (Armbar)	Round 1, 5:32

See also

• PRIDE
• List of male mixed martial artists

External links

• Official website
• MMA record
• Judo Legends