Mamoru Yamaguchi (born May 29, 1977) is a Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in Pancrase. He is the former Shooto Bantamweight (123 lb) Champion, former Shooto Featherweight (132 lb) Champion, former Pancrase Flyweight Champion, as well as a former King of the Cage Junior Flyweight Champion. Mamoru is known for his counter striking and his trilogy with the former Shooto Bantamweight Champion Shinichi Kojima. He has been consistently ranked as one of the top flyweight in the world by Sherdog's Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings. He is considered, by Fight Matrix, to be the third best flyweight in the history of mixed martial arts. His afro is a tribute to Japanese boxing legend, Yoko Gushiken. Martial arts career Yamaguchi made his professional debut in 1999 during Shooto - Renaxis 2, against Shuichiro Katsumura. After making his debut, Yamaguchi went on a five fight unbeaten streak. He earned a decision win over Jin Akimoto, a submission win over Ryan Diaz, a TKO win over Baret Yoshida, a draw against Masaru Gokita and a knee KO win over Yoshinobu Ota. These victories entitled win a fight for the inaugural Shooto Featherweight (132 lb) Championship, in a rematch against Jin Akimoto. Yamaguchi won a unanimous decision. After defeating Gildo Lima by an armbar, Yamaguchi was to defend his title against Masahiro Oishi. He lost through a triangle armbar. Yamaguchi would drop down to bantamweight and accumulate a 2-1 record. He was given a chance to win the inaugural Shooto Bantamweight (123 lb) Championship, when he faced Yasuhiro Urushitani. He won a unanimous decision, winning a Shooto title in two different weight classes. This was the first fight where he wore his iconic afro. He beat Hiroaki Yoshioka in a rematch with a knee to the body, and defended his bantamweight title in a rematch against Robson Moura. He went on a four fight winning streak, most notably beating Junji Ikoma, before defending the bantamweight title for the second time against Shinichi Kojima. This would be the beginning of their rivalry. Afterwards he TKO'd Setsu Iguchi and Erikas Suslovas, before rematching Shinichi Kojima. He lost in by way of rear naked choke in the first round. Achieving three wins in his next four fights, he fought Shinichi Kojima for the third time. He lost by way of guillotine choke. Moving to King of the Cage he won the junior flyweight title by defeating