The competition mat at Tokyo Budokan’s Grand Martial Arts Hall doesn’t care about records built elsewhere. That’s precisely why Jinnosuke Kashimura, the DEEP promotion’s interim bantamweight champion, chose to step onto it this past weekend, trading the format that made him known for the gi and belt system that shaped him long before he ever competed as a mixed martial artist.
Kashimura entered the 27th All Japan Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship in the Adult Black Belt Featherweight division, weighing in under 154 lbs (70kg). The tournament marked new territory for Kashimura in one specific sense: this was his first tournament appearance since being promoted to black belt.
Kashimura won his first two matches by submission, advancing through the bracket before running into Kazuhiro Suzuki, the eventual champion, who went on to claim his fourth consecutive All Japan title. Kashimura lost that matchup, finishing the tournament in a tie for third place alongside Keito Oyanagi of ARTA.
Writing afterward, Kashimura didn’t dwell on the loss. Instead, he turned his attention to the man who beat him.
“Congratulations to Suzuki on his fourth consecutive championship!” he wrote, acknowledging the difficulty of what he’d just gone up against.
He also offered some insight into why he showed up at a jiu-jitsu tournament in the first place, given that his professional record and reputation have been built inside the cage.
“I entered this tournament because I wanted to rediscover my beginner’s mind,” he explained.
That connection is one Kashimura has been vocal about for a while now. “My backbone is jiu-jitsu,” he said, framing the tournament less as a detour from his MMA career and more as a return to first principles.
His black belt itself came with its own story of gratitude. When he received it back in 2023, Kashimura credited his team at IGLOO for the support that got him there, thanking them warmly for standing behind him throughout the process.
DEEP Interim Bantamweight champ Jinnosuke Kashimura goes 2-1 at the 27th JBJJF Championship pic.twitter.com/nByl2my4qF
— Half Dead Frank (@Halfdeadfrank69) August 23, 2026
