Kazushi Sakuraba (Sakuraba Kazushi, born July 14, 1968 in present-day Katagami, Akita, Japan) is a Japanese professional mixed martial arts competitor and professional wrestler. He has competed for UWFi, Kingdom Pro Wrestling, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1 HERO'S and DREAM. He has the distinction of competing in the longest mixed martial arts bout on record, having beaten Royce Gracie in a 90-minute bout in 2000.
In Japan, he is known as "The IQ Wrestler", for his brilliance in the arts of catch wrestling and freestyle wrestling, as well as for his overall cerebral approach to fighting. He is also known as "Saku", which is frequently represented by the number "39" (the Japanese pronunciation of 3 being "san" and 9 "ku"). In the West, he is often referred to as the "Gracie Hunter," due to his victories over the famed Gracie family of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners. He also holds notable wins over Vitor Belfort, Quinton Jackson, Guy Mezger, Kevin Randleman, and Ken Shamrock.
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