Goiti Yamauchi: By Any Means Necessary

Unconventional means are not foreign to Goiti Yamauchi.

The longtime Bellator MMA standout dipped his toes in Professional Fighters League waters for the first time in April, as he outpointed Neiman Gracie to a unanimous decision in their PFL 3 rematch and moved to 2-0 in his head-to-head series with the well-regarded Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. Yamauchi’s preparation extended far beyond the typical tape study associated with traditional mixed martial arts training.

“We are in the era of artificial intelligence,” he told Sherdog.com. “There’s a lot of information on the Internet, and today, you can learn basically everything [there]. I know that most people don’t agree with or like this idea, but it’s true, and I’m a guy who studies a lot of this. I’m a guy who didn’t worry about wrestling for a long time, but when I decided to learn a little bit, I think that helped me a lot. Regardless of whether I have access to American wrestlers [like Gracie does] or not, I believe I did a good job. It was better than his work in this aspect.”

Yamauchi now finds himself on the cusp of a postseason berth ahead of his showdown with former Bellator champion Andrey Koreshkov as part of the PFL 6 undercard this Friday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Koreshkov has posted five wins across his past six outings. However, the Alexander Shlemenko protégé fell short of the mark in his April 19 promotional debut, losing a unanimous decision to fellow Russian Magomed Umalatov. Koreshkov, 33, has secured 18 of his 27 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission.

“He’s a very well-rounded guy, but this sport is about timing, not only your own but also your opponent’s,” Yamauchi said. “I think that now is my time. Without questioning the fire inside him, his motivations, I’ll be more prepared, more motivated, and I’ll knock him out. So as not to seem too optimistic, I’ll say it’s going to happen in the second round.”

Yamauchi continues to train with his local team in Brazil, forgoing the star-studded camps with which fighters of his caliber are generally associated.

“There are several reasons,” he said. “It’s the work I want to do. That’s how I want to be a champion. I want to be a champion without coming in through the back door. I like the way I work, the dynamics of my work. I believe in my potential, in my decisions and in my team. It’s a small team, but we have big intentions. We’re going to make a lot of noise.”

Yamauchi’s plans have gone swimmingly thus far. He sets his sights on Koreskhkov carrying a stellar 29-6 record, with 21 of those 29 wins having resulted in submissions. The thought of a seven-figure payday at the end of the rainbow piques Yamauchi’s interest, just as it does for everyone else in the PFL welterweight field.

“I always think about winning the PFL tournament,” he said. “After this tournament, I don’t know. Only God knows. My focus is to win the tournament, and to win the tournament, I need to beat Andrey.”