Takenori Sato

Takenori Sato
Born	Template:Birth year and age Akita, Japan
Occupation	Mixed martial artist
Years active	2004–present
Known for	Welterweight King of Pancrase

is a professional mixed martial artist from Japan and currently holds the title of Welterweight King of Pancrase.

Japan

Inspired by Kazushi Sakuraba, Sato departed from the Takada Dojo alongside Sakuraba in April 2006. He became one of the founding members of Laughter7, a gym established by Sakuraba in September 2007.

Making his professional debut in December 2004, Sato secured three victories during the Deep 2004 Future King tournament. Throughout a span of five years, he competed across various Japanese promotions such as Cage Force, Demolition, K-1 Hero's, Pancrase, and Sengoku (World Victory Road), where he notably fought Joe Doerksen at Sengoku 10.

Between 2009 and 2010, Sato challenged for the Pancrase middleweight championship against Izuru Takeuchi and Yuki Kondo, earning a draw and a defeat respectively. He eventually claimed the title in 2011 by overcoming Kengo Ura and successfully defended it six times before transitioning to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Sato’s UFC debut came on February 15, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 36 against Erick Silva, stepping in for the injured Nate Loughran. He was defeated via TKO early in the opening round. Later that year, on September 20 at UFC Fight Night 52, he faced Hyun Gyu Lim and again suffered a first-round TKO loss. Following these results, he was released from the UFC roster.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

• Pancrase
  • One-time Welterweight King of Pancrase
  • Six successful defenses of the title
• Deep (mixed martial arts)
  • Champion of the Deep 2004 –82 kg Future King tournament

Mixed martial arts record

|- |Win |align=center| |Yuki Kondo |Unanimous decision |Pancrase 335 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Tokyo, Japan | |- |Loss |align=center|19–12–7 (2) |Arman Tsarukyan |Unanimous decision |MFP 214 - Governor's Cup 2017 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Khabarovsk, Russia | |- |No Contest |align=center|19–11–7 (2) |Sung Chan Hong |Accidental groin kick – No Contest |TFC 15 - Top FC 15 | |align=center|5 |align=center|N/A |Seoul, South Korea | |- |No Contest |align=center|19–11–7 (1) |Sung Chan Hong |Accidental groin strike – No Contest |TFC 12 - Top FC 12 | |align=center|1 |align=center|N/A |Seoul, South Korea | |- ... [Record continues focusing on key bouts to emphasize professional highlights] ... |- Win |align=center |12–8–5 ...

|- Loss ...

|- Loss ... |- Win ...