Hiromasa Ougikubo

Hiromasa Ougikubo (扇久保 博正) is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing as a flyweight in the Rizin Fighting Federation.

Considered a standout fighter in the Asian MMA scene, with an impressive fight style and being undefeated in three years, Ougikubo was invited to the 24th season of The Ultimate Fighter, called The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions.

His first fight was against the EFC flyweight champion Nkazimulo Zulu.

Ougikubo entered the fight as a favorite, being the no.5 seed, while Zulu was the no.12 seed.

Ougikubo submitted Zulu in the second round, with a rear naked choke.

Next, he faced Adam Antolin, in a fight between two high level grapplers.

Ougikubo would aggressively out grapple Antolin, with the American being forced to defend for the entirety of the fight.

The Japanese fighter won a clear unanimous decision.

Ougikubo would then face the no.1 seed Alexandre Pantoja.

He would force wrestling exchanges with Pantoja, working from his opponents guard, grinding away a unanimous decision win.

In his final fight of the show, Ougikubo fought against Tim Elliott.

He fell short for the first time, and lost the finals by a unanimous decision.

Returning to Shooto he fought against the Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Danny Martinez.

Ougikubo won a unanimous decision.

Hiromasa Ougikubo began his mixed martial arts career in 2005, as an amateur in Shooto.

He first competed in the East Japan Amateur Shooto Freshman tournament, where he lost the finals.

Following that loss he entered and won the 4th Tohoku Amateur Shooto Open Tournament.

A professional since 2006, he has also competed for Shooto, Vale Tudo Japan, and The Ultimate Fighter.

Ougikubo made his professional debut with Shooto in 2006, when he defeated Nobuhiro Hayakawa by a unanimous decision.

After a draw against Naoki Yahagi, Ougikubo would beat Satoru Ota and Kazuya Tamura to set up a fight in the Shooto Rookie Featherweight tournament finals fight against Yasuhiro Kanayama.

He won the bout in the second round by way of a rear naked choke.

Over the next five years, Ougikubo would accumulate a 5-2-1 record, most notably losing to the future Shooto Featherweight Champion Koetsu Okazaki, and winning the Shooto Pacific Rim featherweight title by defeating Teriyuki Matsumoto.

As an amateur, he was the 12th All Japan Amateur Shooto Featherweight tournament champion and the 4th Tohoku Amateur Shooto Open Tournament champion.

He holds notable wins over the former ONE Championship and Shooto strawweight champion Yosuke Saruta, the former Pancrase Flyweight Champion Kiyotaka Shimizu, the current Pancrase Bantamweight Champion Shintaro Ishiwatari, as well as wins over Alexandre Pantoja and Adam Antolin.

His last amateur appearance was at the 12th All Japan Amateur Shooto Featherweight Championship Tournament.

Ougikubo defeated all four of his opponents to win the tournament.

In 2012, at Shooto 5th Round, Ougikubo would get a chance to avenge that loss.

Hiromasa would win the fight in the third minute of the third round, by way of a rear naked choke, in what was considered, at the time, a major upset.

His first title defense was scheduled against the young prospect Kyoji Horiguchi.

Horiguchi would defend or reverse the takedowns, deliver ground and pound from the guard, and would eventually submit Ougikubo in the second round.

He is the former Shooto World Bantamweight (123 lb) Champion, a former Shooto Featherweight Champion and the 2014 Vale Tudo Japan flyweight tournament champion.

Looking to bounce back, Ougikubo entered the 2014 Vale Tudo Japan Flyweight tournament.

In the quarterfinals he defeated Takeshi Kasugai by a majority decision.

In the semifinals he submitted Kana Hyatt in the first round.

Proceeding to the finals against Czar Sklavos, Ougikubo came out the victor after 25 minutes, being declared the tournament champion, by a clear unanimous decision.

Returning to Shooto he was scheduled to face Mamoru Yamaguchi.

The fight had to cancelled, after Ougikubo dislocated his shoulder.

His next fight was scheduled against Yosuke Saruta, which he won by a unanimous decision.

This gave him his second chance at Shooto gold, as he was set to fight the bantamweight champion Masaaki Sugawara.

He won the fight in the last seconds of the fifth round by a guillotine choke.