Daijiro Matsui

Professional wrestling career

After training in judo and amateur wrestling at the International Budo University, Matsui joined shoot-style organization Union of Wrestling Forces International, where he trained under the legendary Nobuhiko Takada. He debuted in September 1996 as "Shunsuke Matsui" against Tatsunori Kamiyama, but he couldn't advance up the card as UWFi folded the same year. Matsui then followed the company's members to the new promotion Kingdom, having matches against Kazushi Sakuraba, Yoshihiro Takayama and Hiromitsu Kanehara, until Kingdom fell in 1998. He then transitioned to MMA.

In December 2000, Matsui made a return to pro wrestling at the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye event, teaming with The Great Sasuke to defeat Akira Shoji and Caol Uno. He also competed in Battlarts, beating Ikuto Hidaka, and in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, wrestling Kendo Kashin in a losing effort for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. The same year, he faced Kashin again in All Japan Pro Wrestling, wrestling under the name of "Mr. Problem" and wearing modified Kendo Kashin attire and mask. Matsui had also stints in Pro Wrestling Zero1 and in Inoki Genome Federation.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Matsui transitioned to mixed martial arts from pro wrestling and trained at the Takada Dojo for much of his career along with Kazushi Sakuraba. Matsui made himself known for a surprising technical ability and his unorthodox striking, including the use of the shoulder strike from the guard, as well as forward rolls and cartwheel kicks in an attempt to draw his opponents to the ground. He had his first taste of mixed martial arts when he faced American fighter Wayne Haas in a shoot fight for Kingdom in 1997. Matsui won the fight by decision.

PRIDE

Matsui made his true professional mixed martial arts debut in 1998 at PRIDE 3 against Akira "Mr. Pride" Shoji and the bout ended in a draw. In his next bout at PRIDE 4, he faced future Pancrase Light Heavyweight Champion Sanae Kikuta. This bout also ended in a draw because of the time-limit on bouts in the organization at that time.

At PRIDE 6, Matsui fought against future UFC Welterweight Champion and fan-favorite, Carlos Newton. In an entertaining fight, Matsui fended off increasingly difficult submission attempts from the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist and struck when possible, including a notable haymaker exchange at the end of the bout. However, Newton's superior control lost the fight by decision, handing the Japanese fighter his first professional loss via unanimous decision. Matsui fought again at PRIDE 7 against Dutch kickboxer "Dirty" Bob Schrijber, in a fight in which he performed impressively, holding his own against the striker and taking advantage of his superior wrestling skills. Controversy ensued when Matsui was punched in his face while being attended to by the referee because of a problem with his gloves. The two fighters exchanged heated words had to be prevented from brawling before the fight was continued. Matsui continued with renovated aggressivity, performing a takedown attempt which made Schrijber fall through the ropes and brutally land on a table ringside. Well after the bell marking the end of the first round sounded, Schrijber landed a powerful kick to the back of Matsui, who was still down on the ground. The foul immediately resulted in a disqualification win for Matsui, and the first win of his career.

Matsui's next appearance for the organization was at PRIDE 8 where he faced future Pride Middleweight Champion and future PRIDE 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament Champion, Wanderlei Silva. Outweighed and outmatched from the beginning of the fight, Matsui was rocked with a series of knees from the clinch and punches from Silva, but he demonstrated his heart and continued to battle despite bleeding profusely, even managing to put Silva on his back and land some strikes from the guard, leaving Silva's right eye swollen. He ultimately lost in a unanimous decision, but he passed to history as one of the few opponents Silva wasn't able to finish, including Matsui's own partner Kazushi Sakuraba. However, Matsui then fought against Ukrainian kickboxer Igor Vovchanchyn at PRIDE 9, and he was finished the first time in his career after the referee called a stop to the bout at 5:03 into the first round by an eye cut. Matsui's next bout for the organization was at PRIDE 10 against former UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament Champion and future UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort. Matsui was handed his third consecutive loss, via unanimous decision.

Post-PRIDE

Matsui's next bout was two years later against Ryo Chonan in the DEEP organization and lost in a majority decision before going 0-2-1 in his next three bouts against the likes of Paulo Filho, Brian Foster, and Elvis Sinosic, respectively. In the Pancrase 2005 Neo-Blood Tournament Finals, Matsui picked up his first win in three years with a TKO over Daisuke Watanbe. To date, this is the only TKO/KO win of his career.

Cage Rage

Matsui made his debut for the England-based Cage Rage organization a year later against former Alex Reid and fought to a draw. In his next bout, Matsui faced former UFC veteran Curtis Stout and won via majority decision. Matsui then lost three consecutive bouts before defeating future BAMMA Middleweight Champion and current UFC veteran, Tom "Kong" Watson with an armbar submission, the only submission win of Matsui's career to date. Matsui lost his last fight for the organization against Mark Weir.

Other ventures

Since the demise of the Cage Rage organization, Matsui has exclusively fought in Japan, mostly for the DEEP organization. However, he has struggled, going 3-11-2 in his last 16 fights.