of them. The second round saw Gomi landing damaging punches, as well as Sato utilizing an active guard to counterattack, and the striker eventually bypassing his defenses and controlling the pace. Come the third and final, Gomi landed the last punches against the guard before winning the bout by unanimous decision. Despite PRIDE Fighting Championships and Ultimate Fighting Championship being both interested in signing him up, Rumina famously vowed to never compete in any other organization than Shooto (unless representing Shooto in special matches) until he won a title there. He won the Shooto Pacific Rim Lightweight Tournament on March 11, 2005, from Makoto Ishikawa, but still remained in the promotion until his retirement in May 2014. On July 10, 2009, Sato competed in a grappling super fight at the UFC 100 Fan Expo Grappler's Quest against Ulysses Gomez, winning by submission with an inverted triangle choke/wrist lock combination. Fighting style Sato was primarily a grappler whose main strength was found in his offensive skills. He would attempt submissions relentlessly from unusual positions and entries, and was prone to try and often accomplish low percentage moves, among them flying holds, intrincated leglocks, and several variations of triangle chokes, which he utilized to set up ground and pound and other submissions. His technique was praised by Rickson Gracie, labelling it as "excellent." Though later years showed a weakened chin as his main weak spot, Sato was also an aggressive striker, sometimes indulging in moves like spinning backfists and axe kicks. Championships and accomplishments Shooto Shooto Pacific Rim Lightweight Championship (1 Time, First) 1994 All Japan Amateur Shooto Championship, Welterweight Runner Up 1st Shooto Pacific Rim Lightweight Tournament Champion (March 11, 2005) Ultimate Fighting Championship Grapplers Quest at UFC Fan Expo Superfight Champion Las Vegas (July 10, 2009) Mixed martial arts record |- | Loss | align=center| 26–17–2 | Hideo Tokoro | TKO (punches & elbows) | Vale Tudo Japan 2012 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 0:39 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Loss | align=center| 26–16–2 | Nico Verresen | KO (punch) | Shooto: Shooto the Shoot 2011 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 4:17 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Loss | align=center| 26–15–2 | Masakatsu Ueda | TKO (kick to the body) | Shooto: Shootor's Legacy 3 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 4:23 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Win | align=center| 26–14–2 | Ryota Matsune |