Enson Inoue

Enson Shoji Inoue (Japanese: エンセン井上 ; born April 15, 1967) is a Japanese-American jiu-jitsu practitioner and retired professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1995 until 2010, he fought for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, the UFC, Shooto, and Vale Tudo Japan. He was the first and only Shooto Heavyweight Champion, and was a finalist in the Lightweight category at UFC 13.

Born and raised in Hawaii, he has resided in Japan since the 1990s. He is sometimes known by the moniker "Yamatodamashii," a Japanese phrase meaning "the spirit of ancient Japan." His brother, Egan Inoue, is also a martial artist and a professional racquetball competitor.

Inoue was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, to third-generation Japanese immigrant parents, making him a Yonsei (fourth-generation Japanese-American). 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, valleyball, 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.

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.

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.[10][11]

He appeared in the 2008 martial arts film Redbelt as a cameo role,[12] and was featured in the documentary film Rites of Passage: The Rebirth of Combat Sports.

Inoue has a stepson (Erson) and is the brother of Egan Inoue, a mixed martial artist and a two time racquetball World Champion player.[13] 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.[citation needed ] Enson has asserted that he is "not yakuza" but admits to doing business with members of yakuza.[14]

In the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Enson travelled to northeast Japan to directly help the victims.[15]

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.[16]

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

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 charged with a two-year suspended sentence with four years probation. During his probation period he was not allowed to leave the country.[17]