scheduled to fight the future pound for pound great Yoshiki Takei at Krush 63 on February 5, 2016. Takei won by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 28-27 for him, thus handing Gunji his first professional loss. Gunji rebounded from this loss with two consecutive stoppage victories. He first beat Hiroto Ishitsuka by a first-round knockout at Krush 66 on June 12, 2016. This was followed by a first-round knockout of Reiji Kasami at Krush 72 on January 15, 2017. Gunji extended his winning streak to three fights with a unanimous decision victory against Taisuke Degai at Krush 74 on March 3, 2017. Gunji was scheduled to face Tatsuya Tsubakihara for the third time in his career at KHAOS 2 on May 13, 2017. They had met twice previously, as amateurs, with each winning a decision. Tsubakihara won their first professional meeting by majority decision, with scores of 30-29, 29-29 and 30-29. Krush Bantamweight champion Gunji was scheduled to fight Ryusei for the vacant Krush Bantamweight title at Krush 80 on September 8, 2017. Gunji throughouly dominated Ryusei, knocking him down twice in the first round and once in the second round. He won the fight by a wide unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 30-24 in his favor. Gunji was scheduled to fight Shota Oiwa at K-1 SURVIVAL WARS 2017 on December 27, 2017. He won the fight by unanimous decision, knocking Oiwa down twice in the first round, with scores of 30-27, 29-26 and 30-26. He fought another non-title bout against Takumi Tosaka at K-1: K'FESTA.1 on March 21, 2018. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Gunji made his first title defense against Akihiro Kaneko in the co-main event of Krush 89 on June 30, 2018. The fight was ruled a draw after the first three round. Accordingly, an extension round was fought, after which Kaneko was awarded a unanimous decision. Super Bantamweight career Krush Super Bantamweight tournament After losing his title, Gunji moved up from bantamweight (-53 kg) to super bantamweight (-55 kg). He was scheduled to face Riku Morisaka at Krush 93 on September 30, 2018, in the quarterfinals of the Krush Super Bantamweight tournament. He beat Morisaka by majority decision, with two of the judges scoring the fight 30-28 for Gunji, while the third judge scored it 30-30. Advancing to the semifinals of the tournament, Gunji faced Tatsuya