The legacy of Japanese combat sports legend Kazushi Sakuraba might soon extend to a new generation as his son Taisei Sakuraba expresses interest in facing Kron Gracie at Quintet.
Taisei, who makes his mixed martial arts debut against veteran Yusuke Yachi on December 31 at RIZIN DECADE in Saitama, Japan, sees potential in meeting the son of Rickson Gracie in a team-based competition.
“If there’s a demand and if there are people who want to see this match, I’m down,” Taisei Sakuraba said regarding the possibility of competing against Kron Gracie in a new interview.
The 26-year-old Sakuraba, nicknamed “Saku Jr.,” fondly recalls his father’s theatrical entrances rather than his matches. “My favorite moment is when my father walked out as Mario,” Sakuraba said with a smile. “I don’t remember the match itself, but I remember that walkout.”
The elder Sakuraba, now 55, gained fame for his victories over multiple members of the Gracie family, earning the moniker “The Gracie Hunter.” His last competition was in 2015 against Shinya Aoki.
Looking ahead, Taisei envisions potential opportunities beyond Japan. “I’m not so sure about how the RIZIN system is going to work,” Sakuraba said, “but Quintet is a grappling promotion, and that’s a team versus team type concept. It’s only grappling, but I think under Quintet, there’s a high probability of that happening. That would be interesting. But for me, I wanna travel abroad. So I hope, whenever this happens, I hope it happens outside of Japan.”
The younger Sakuraba even joked about competing alongside his father, noting that “my father is invincible, so he’s saying that he’s never going to retire,” suggesting they could potentially appear on the same card.
