Giant Ochiai

Takayuki Okada (May 8, 1973 – August 8, 2003), more widely known as Giant Ochiai, was a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Okada's MMA record was 3-3-2 (Win-Loss-Draw).[1]

Takayuki Okada
Born(1973-05-08)May 8, 1973
Oga, Akita, Japan
DiedAugust 8, 2003(2003-08-08) (aged 30)
Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Giant Ochiai
Billed height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Billed weight130 kg (290 lb; 20 st)
Trained byNew Japan Dojo
Kenzo Suzuki

Career

As a student, Okada won the All Japan Industrial High School Judo League Championship four times. After graduating from college, he would went to train at the Seidokaikan Tokyo Bom-Ba-Ye dojo with Naoyuki Taira. He also joined the amateur division of Shooto, placing second in its All Japan Amateur Shooto Championship in 1998 and 1999.

In 2000, after Seidokaikan mainstay Masaaki Satake tried his luck in PRIDE Fighting Championships, Okada followed him in order to do his own debut. He gained the ring name of "Giant Ochiai", sporting shades and a large afro wig over his actual afro hair during his entrances, which drew popularity among the fans. The origin of the name would be found in his large height and weight and his mother's maiden name, Ochiai.

Ochiai trained with former Shooto founder Satoru Sayama and got to participate in his Ultimate Boxing event, a month later he debuted in PRIDE, fighting Ricco Rodriguez in a losing effort. His performance, however, was remarkable, defending multiple submission attempts and only being taken down for a failed judo throw, until he was submitted by smother choke. He continued fighting for PRIDE, defeating karate stylist Soichi Nishida and professional wrestler Tomohiko Hashimoto, as well as Pancrase exponent Kim Jong Wang.[2] He would also fight in King of the Cage.[3]

Also in 2000, Ochiai debuted in professional wrestling, working sporadically in the stiff style Battlarts organizations. He joined Riki Choshu's World Japan promotion for proper training.

Death

After an August 2003 training accident while training with Kenzo Suzuki[4] at World Japan's dojo, Okada suffered an acute subdural hematoma and entered a coma from which he never recovered.[5] Okada died on August 8, 2003. Okada's August 13 wake was attended by Masaaki Satake, Nobuhiko Takada, Kazushi Sakuraba and World Japan Management Director Katsuji Nagashima. A moment of silence was held in PRIDE Grand Prix 2003 in his honor.

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
8 matches 3 wins 3 losses
By knockout 2 1
By submission 1 1
By decision 0 1
Draws 2
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Draw 3-3-2 Memo Diaz Draw Deep - 9th Impact May 5, 2003 2 5:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 3-3-1 Kim Jong Wang Submission (broken hand) Pride FC: The Best, Vol. 3 October 20, 2002 1 0:24 Tokyo, Japan
Win 2-3-1 Tomohiko Hashimoto KO (strikes) Pride The Best Vol.2 July 20, 2002 1 2:10 Tokyo, Japan
Win 1-3-1 Soichi Nishida TKO (punches) Pride The Best Vol.1 February 22, 2002 1 2:00 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 0-3-1 Zane Frazier Decision (unanimous) KOTC 10 - Critical Mass August 4, 2001 1 7:00 San Jacinto, California, USA
Draw 0-2-1 Yoshinori Nishi Draw S - Samurai 2000 October 22, 2000 N/A Tokyo, Japan
Loss 0-2 Ricco Rodriguez Submission (smother choke) Pride 10 - Return of the Warriors August 27, 2000 1 6:04 Saitama, Japan
Loss 0-1 Igor Borisov TKO (punches) Ultimate Boxing - Pride vs Seikendo June 11, 2000 1 7:07 Yokohama, Japan

References
  1. "Takayuki". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2015-10-16.
  2. "PRIDE". UFC.TV. Retrieved 2015-10-16.
  3. "KOTC 10 - Critical Mass". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2015-10-16.
  4. "Kenzo Suzuki : Biography". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2015-10-16.
  5. Archived November 1, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
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