Satoshi Ishii has already fought some of the mixed martial arts’ biggest names since making his professional debut more than six years ago.
While wins over faded luminaries such as Tim Sylvia, Pedro Rizzo and Jeff Monson are nice, the Olympic judo gold medalist has come up short in his biggest tests, falling twice to Mirko Filipovic and once against Fedor Emelianenko, with all three losses coming via knockout or stoppage.
It’s possible that, even if Ishii had bested Emelianenko or “Cro Cop,” the victories might not have resonated as much as they should have, since they all took place in his home country of Japan.