Shoji Otani

Self-Defense Forces trained kick boxer

He grew up in the great nature of Matsuno, Kita-Uwa-gun, the least populated town in Ehime Prefecture. He loved physical activity from an early age and spent his youth playing baseball from elementary school through high school.

He spent his youth playing baseball from elementary school through high school. He spent his youth in the early 2000s, when Japan was experiencing a martial arts boom, and what he really longed for was not to be a baseball player but a fighter. After graduating from high school, he joined the Japan Self-Defense Forces with the dream of becoming a professional fighter. His superiors were very understanding of Otani's passion for martial arts, and after joining the Self-Defense Forces, he was assigned to a manual combat training unit specializing in martial arts.

After five years of experience, he retired from the Self-Defense Forces and moved to Tokyo, where he went undefeated in the amateur ranks with 14 fights, 12 wins and 2 draws. In 2022, he entered "RIZIN," the pinnacle of the Japanese martial arts world, aiming for a higher level. He will be a KO winner.

Photo: ©Def Fellow