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In 1995, a 135lb fighter stepped into an open-weight, no-rules tournament in Japan. What happened next is one of the most brutal, heroic, and unbelievable stories in combat sports history.
Yuki Nakai was a 24-year-old rising star and Shooto champion when he entered the 1995 Vale Tudo Japan tournament. In his very first match against UFC veteran Gerard Gordeau, Nakai was subjected to a horrific, illegal eye gouge that permanently destroyed his vision in his right eye.
Instead of quitting, Nakai fought through the blindness to pull off an impossible submission against the 6’5" giant. But his night didn’t end there. Nakai continued to fight in the tournament half-blind, eventually meeting the legendary Rickson Gracie in the finals.
To protect the fragile, growing reputation of Mixed Martial Arts in Japan, Nakai kept his permanent blindness a secret for years—sacrificing his own fighting career so the sport could survive and evolve into global promotions like PRIDE FC. This is the incredible true story of Yuki Nakai, the man who gave his eye for the sport of MMA, and went on to become the first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt in Japan.
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Gordeau don’t give a single shit!! To this day.
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hahahahahaha @Captain_Kaboom beat me to it
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