Yoshida announces final bout

[Vince]

Japanese star Hidehiko Yoshida announces final MMA bout set for April 25

Former PRIDE fighter and Japanese star Hidehiko Yoshida will fight for the final time on April 25.

Yoshida, a 1992 Olympic gold medalist in judo who turned pro in MMA in 2002, will help organize an event called "ASTRA," though no opponent has been announced.

The event takes place at the 15,000-seat Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan, and features fellow Yoshida Dojo fighters Kazuhiro Nakamura, Tatsunao Nagakura, Michihiro Omigawa and Makoto Takimoto.

Opponents also have not been named for those fighters.

Yoshida, 40, garnered a large fan following through the early 2000s. His 9-7-1 record is an indication of the quality of opposition he faced during his runs through PRIDE and World Victory Road's Sengoku events series. He's fought everyone from Wanderlei Silva (twice), Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic and Josh Barnett while picking up victories over the likes of Don Frye, Mark Hunt, David "Tank" Abbott and Maurice Smith.

Most recently, though, he appeared at the co-promoted DREAM/WVR "Dynamite!! 2009" event and topped 2008 Olympic judo gold medalist and MMA newcomer Satoshi Ishii via unanimous decision.

For more on the event, go to the Japanese-language site www.astra-official.com.

This guy was an absolute beast back in his day, one of the first big men to bring sound a wrestling and submission game to the ring. Stuck Don Frye with an armbar, fought Royce Gracie to a draw, and choked out Tank Abbott. I watched Yoshida's last fight at Dynamite!! 2009 and he looked phenomnal for age 40. Looking forward to his likeness in EA MMA and the man will be missed in the Japanese MMA world once he's officially retired.

[hammerinhank]

God I miss Pride. He was one of the top dogs back in the day and a legend in the sport.