Masakazu Imanari (Japanese: 今成正和, Imanari Masakazu, born 10 February 1976) is a Japanese mixed martial artist and submission wrestler. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division of Rizin Fighting Federation. A professional competitor since 2000, he is a veteran of ONE Championship, DEEP, ZST, Pancrase, PRIDE Fighting Championships, and Cage Rage. He was in the final Cage Rage Featherweight Champion, DEEP Bantamweight Champion, two-time DEEP Featherweight Champion and DREAM Japan Grand Prix Finalist.

Quick Facts Born, Other names ...

Masakazu Imanari 今成正和
Born	(1976-02-10) February 10, 1976 (age 48) Hadano, Kanagawa, Japan
Other names	"Ashikan Judan", "The Leglock Yokai"
Nationality	Japanese
Height	164 cm (5 ft 4+1⁄2 in)
Weight	61 kg (134 lb; 9.6 st)
Division	Bantamweight Featherweight Lightweight
Style	Shoot wrestling
Fighting out of	Tokyo, Japan
Team	Kingdom Team Roken Nippon Top Team
Rank	Class-A Shootist Black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Years active	2000–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	64
Wins	40
By knockout	1
By submission	29
By decision	10
Losses	22
By knockout	4
By decision	18
Draws	2
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Medal record Combat wrestling All-Japan Championship 2000 Tokyo 69 kg 2001 Tokyo 76 kg

Close

Imanari is a successful submission wrestler, placing as runner-up twice at the All-Japan Combat Wrestling Championship.^[1][2] He is the namesake of the "Imanari roll" maneuver.^[3]

After a childhood marked by a spinal condition which required surgery three times, Masakazu had his first contact with combat sports at age 18, training kickboxing and catch wrestling at the Fujiwara Dojo by Satoru Sayama's mediation.^[4] He later moved to Antonio Inoki's Universal Fighting-Arts Organization, and then Kingdom Ehrgeiz, where he trained shoot fighting (a fighting style based on catch wrestling) and MMA with Hidetada Irie before doing his amateur debut.

Imanari competed at the 6th All Japan Combat Wrestling Championship on March 20, 2000 in Tokyo. He placed second in the 69 kg division behind Kazuya Abe.^[1]

Imanari competed at the 7th All Japan Combat Wrestling Championship on March 20, 2001. He placed second again, this time in the 76 kg division behind Rumina Sato.^[2]

Imanari competed at Quintet Fight Night 5 on October 27, 2020 as a part of Team Tokoro Plus α 2nd. He registered two draws at the event but his team won the tournament.^[16]

He then faced Kenta Iwamoto in the main event of Battle Hazard 8 on November 22, 2020.^[17] He lost the match by submission after Iwamoto caught him in an arm-triangle choke.^[18]

Imanari competed against Mikey Musumeci in a submission grappling match at ONE 156 on April 22, 2022.^[19] Musumeci submitted him with a rear-naked choke at 4:09 that earned a $50,000 'Performance Bonus'.^[20]

Imanari left catch wrestling-based team Team Roken in 2008 and founded Nippon Top Team with Shinya Aoki and Satoru Kitaoka. However, Aoki left for Evolve MMA of Singapore, whereas Kitaoka joined Lotus Paraestra, Setagaya branch of Paraestra. Consequently, Imanari founded his own team, Imanari Jiu JItsu.

Imanari is an A-level shoot wrestler (better known as catch wrestling in the west) under Yuki Nakai. He was later also presented a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt by Marco Barbosa.^[21]

Imanari is primarily a grappler, and is universally known for his skill and preference for leglocks,^[22] which gained him the nickname of "Ashikan Judan" ("The Great Master of Leg Submissions"). Though his striking game is considered inferior,^[22][23] Imanari often engages in stand-up battles in order to bait the opponent to the ground, usually by dropping down after or while seizing control of his leg^[23] or by way of ashi garami.^[24] He stands out for his dexterity in toehold and heel hook variations, and is an avid user of the 50/50 guard in order to transition between submission attempts.^[23] He describes his signature leglock style as not based in sambo as it is popularly believed, but "purely self-taught",^[4] and explained his preference for it as "because it hurts the opponent".^[25]

The "Imanari Roll"^[3][26] (rolling from a stand up position into a leglock) and the "leggy neck choke"^[27][28] (a combination of an omoplata and a rear naked choke) are grappling moves named after him due to his usage of them.

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