awarded, and as Emelianenko could not advance due to the injury, Kosaka did. At the finals, TK faced Randy Couture in a back and forth match. Kosaka controlled the first round of a match fought mostly in the clinch, throwing down the wrestling champion with a harai makikomi and landing abundant ground and pound, but his activity stopped when he received an accidental headbutt. After the injury was checked, Couture took Kosaka down, and although the judoka used his "TK scissors" move to counter an unfavourable north/south position, the American still controlled the second round. The match ended with a trade of strikes in which Couture got the best part, being granted the split decision and eliminating the Japanese. In June 2001, Kosaka fought luta livre specialist Renato Sobral, who had defeated Kosaka's countrymen Kiyoshi Tamura and Hiromitsu Kanehara. Sobral controlled the stand-up segments via wrestling and knee strikes, while Kosaka worked from the bottom and pursued submissions. Action increased at the second round, where Kohsaka and Sobral exchanged positions and reversals, but the Brazilian kept the dominance and it forced Kosaka to resort to sacrifice techniques like kani basami and flying kneebars. Victory by majority decision was given to Sobral. After a quick KO victory over RINGS Russia exponent Koba Tkeshelashvili in August, Kosaka fought Koba's teammate Bazigit Atajev in December 2001 in what would be his last fight in RINGS. The judoka dominated the earlier segments of the match, taking down Atajev and exerting both ground and pound and armlocks attempts, but the Russian changed the tide of the match thanks to his superior stand-up, which drew blood from TK. At the end, Atajev won a majority decision. Ultimate Fighting Championship In 1998, Kosaka signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and debuted at the event UFC 18, facing Kimo Leopoldo. The much heavier Kimo controlled the first minutes of the fight and managed to lock a kneebar, but the Japanese shooter showed his field of expertise by reversing the hold and attempting his own ankle hold, always keeping a strong active defense. At one point, Leopoldo gained the mount, only for Kosaka to reverse the position into a heel hook attempt. As the match progressed, TK started to control an increasingly tired Kimo, landing precise punches and leg kicks until the end of the round. Came the overtime, TK further dominated Leopoldo, stopping his offense and performing ground