Enson Inoue

Background

Inoue was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, to third-generation Japanese American parents Errol and Evangeline Inoue, making him a Yonsei (fourth-generation Japanese-Hawaiian). He attended University High School, and began practicing the martial arts hapkido and taekwondo in order to defend himself from bullies. Inoue also played football, baseball, basketball, volleyball, ran in track and field, and also excelled in racquetball, alongside his brother Egan.

Inoue began learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He and his brother were awarded black belts in Brazilian jiu-jitsu by John Lewis. He demoted himself to purple belt in July 2016 citing that the sport has moved on since attaining his black belt, though he would change his mind after conversations with Lewis. He also holds a yondan (fourth degree black belt) in Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu.

Mixed Martial Arts Career

Inoue was given a tryout by Satoru Sayama for Shooto after contacting every Japanese MMA promotion he could. He sparred with Yuki Nakai, impressing Sayama and earning his first fight which took place three months later. His debut bout was against Shingo Shigeta at Shooto: Vale Tudo Access 3 on January 21, 1995, which ended in a victory by technical knockout. He won the Shooto Heavyweight Champion against Joe Estes at Shooto: Reconquista 4, on October 12, 1997.

Inoue competed professionally from 1995 to 2010, retiring with a 12-8-0 record. His other achievements include a victory over UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, and giving Frank Shamrock one of his toughest matches. His final bout was against Antz Nansen on April 25, 2010, in Tokyo, which he won by submission.

Other activities

Inoue runs several MMA gyms located in Japan, Saipan, and Guam under the name Purebred. He also has affiliated gyms located in Thailand, Canada and the USA.

He appeared in the 2008 martial arts film Redbelt as a cameo role, and was featured in the documentary film Rites of Passage: The Rebirth of Combat Sports.

Personal life

Inoue has a stepson (Erson) and is the brother of Egan Inoue, a mixed martial artist and a two time racquetball World Champion player. He was married to the sister of Ultimate Fighting Championship Bantamweight fighter Norifumi Yamamoto. He took in and trained Norifumi in mixed martial arts after an incident with the yakuza. Enson has asserted that he is "not yakuza" but admits to doing business with members of yakuza.

In the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Enson travelled to northeast Japan to directly help the victims.

In 2020, news broke that the IBJJF had refused to recognize Inoue's official rank as a BJJ black belt, despite him competing at the highest levels of the sport as early as 1999.

Enson is married to Sarah Jane McCann, who is from New Zealand of Māori descent.

Legal issues

In October 2008, Inoue was arrested in Tokyo for marijuana possession and spent 28 days in prison before being released on November 14, 2008. He was eventually given a two-year suspended sentence and ordered to serve four years probation. During his probation period, he was forbidden from leaving Japan.

Championships and accomplishments

• Shooto
  • Heavyweight Championship (One time)
• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC 13 Lightweight Tournament Finalist

Mixed martial arts record

|ko-wins=5 |ko-losses=5 |sub-wins=7 |sub-losses=1 |dec-wins=0

| | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Loss | Tommy Sauer | TKO (punches) | SB 35: SuperBrawl 35 | | Hawaii, United States | |- | Win | Soichi Nishida | Submission (choke) | FFCF 1: Fury Full Contact Fighting 1 | | Guam | |- | Loss | Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira | Technical submission (triangle choke) | PRIDE 19 | | Saitama, Japan | |- | Loss | Heath Herring | TKO (knees) | PRIDE 12 | | Saitama, Japan | |- | Loss | Igor Vovchanchyn | TKO (doctor stoppage) | PRIDE 10 | | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Loss | Mark Kerr | Decision (unanimous) | PRIDE Grand Prix 2000: Opening Round | | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Win | Soichi Nishida | Submission (rear-naked choke) | PRIDE 5 | | Nagoya, Japan | |- | Win | Randy Couture | Submission (armbar) | VTJ 1998: Vale Tudo Japan 1998 | | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Loss | Frank Shamrock | TKO (punches) | VTJ 1997: Vale Tudo Japan 1997 | | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Win | Joe Estes | TKO (submission to punches) | Shooto: Reconquista 4 | | Tokyo, Japan

| | Augusta, Georgia, United States | |- | Win | Rei Zulu | TKO (elbows) | Shooto: Reconquista 2 | | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Win | Mushtaq Abdullah | TKO (submission to punches) | Shooto: Let's Get Lost | | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Loss | Igor Zinoviev | TKO (punches) | VTJ 1996: Vale Tudo Japan 1996 | | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Loss | Joe Estes | Decision (majority) | Shooto: Vale Tudo Junction 3 | | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Win | Andre Mannaart | TKO (punches) | Shooto: Vale Tudo Junction 1 | | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Win | Ed de Kruijf | Technical Submission (armbar) | Shooto: Complete Vale Tudo Access | | Japan | |- | Win | Rene Rooze | Submission (rear naked choke) | VTJ 1995: Vale Tudo Japan 1995 | | Japan | |- | Win | Shingo Shigeta | TKO (punches) | Shooto: Vale Tudo Access 3 | | Tokyo, Japan |

Submission grappling record

|- ! Result ! Opponent ! Method ! Event ! Date ! Round ! Time ! Notes |- |Win||Tully Kulihaapai || Submission (armbar) || PRIDE 7|| 1999|| 1|| || |- |Loss||Mario Sperry || Points || ADCC 1999 Absolute|| 1999|| 1|| || |-

References

References

1. Rosser, Evan. (November 1, 2011). "Warrior's Sacrifice: The Enson Inoue story".
2. (21 April 2015). "Enson Inoue".
3. Ordoñez, Milan. (2016-07-05). "Former UFC fighter demotes himself from BJJ black belt to purple belt".
4. Canaria, Kitt. (2016-07-05). "Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Demotes Himself To Purple Belt".
5. {{YouTube. OIPmMNtR8xk. "Why Enson Inoue Demoted Himself to Purple Belt"
6. "'Enson Inoue and the Bujinkan,' Kutaki no Mora".
7. (August 20, 2018). "Chris Leben interviews MMA Legend Enson Inoue".
8. (2008-05-02). "Interview: Enson Inoue & George Sotiropoulos (Part Two)". total-mma.com.
9. "Purebred USA". purebredusa.com.
10. "Purebred".
11. (2010-05-02). "Purebred Canada". grizzlygym.com.
12. (2007-05-31). "Inoue On Red Belt MMA Movie, R-1 Training & More". mmanews.com.
13. "Hawaii Martial Arts News & Rumors - Dedicated to Hawaii-Specific Martial Arts News & Rumors".
14. Hody Jae Huh. [http://www.ironlife.com/mag/issue24/upcoseandpersonalwithensoninouepartI.shtml Up Close and Personal with Enson Inoue Part I] {{Webarchive. link. (2011-07-13)
15. (2011-11-04). "Enson Inoue Discusses Charity Work". mmafighting.com.
16. (30 September 2020). "IBJJF Refuse to Recognise Enson Inoue as a Black Belt".
17. (November 30, 2008). "MMA pioneer Enson Inoue a new man after 26 days in prison".