Hayato Sakurai (桜井 速人, Sakurai Hayato?, マッハ Mahha, born August 24, 1975) is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He was born in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. He has a professional MMA record of 35-11-2 as of April 5, 2009. Sakurai has been fighting in mixed martial arts since October 1996 and was at one time considered pound for pound one of the greatest fighters. Sakurai finished 2nd (Silver) in the Absolute Class (no weight limit) Abu Dhabi Combat Club submission wrestling annual competition in 1999 at just under 77 kg. During the height of his career in 2000 and 2001 he was considered to be one of the top pound for pound fighters in MMA.
Sakurai holds notable wins over Ryo Chonan, Frank Trigg, Shinya Aoki, Jens Pulver, and Mac Danzig.
His nickname, "Mach", pronounced ma-ha in Japanese, was taken as a tribute to his childhood pro wrestling hero, Higo Shigehisashi better known as Mach Hayato, the first Japanese professional wrestler to completely embrace the Mexican style of Lucha Libre and was also among the group of professional wrestlers who made the transition to shoot wrestling as part of the original UWF movement.
Read more about Hayato Sakurai: Personal Life, Championships and Accomplishments, Mixed Martial Arts Record, Kickboxing Record