Akira Okada Japan’s Hardened Lightweight Ranked Eighteen
Akira Okada, a 38-year-old veteran from Tokyo’s Kugayama Rascal Gym, has carved out a niche in the Asia Pacific lightweight ranks. With a professional record of 19 wins, 11 losses and 4 draws, Okada has stepped into the cage more than 30 times over the course of his career. His body of work and recent activity have placed him at number 18 in the Asia Pacific region and the Japan sub-region, a ranking determined by his six most recent bouts and his lightweight appearances in the last two fights.
Standing five feet six inches tall, Okada may lack size but not experience. He has maintained his eligibility in the lightweight classifications by competing at 155 pounds in his last two outings, and he has logged at least two of his last six fights on Japanese soil, satisfying regional ranking requirements. At 38, he is among the elder statesmen in a division increasingly populated by younger contenders, yet he remains a steady fixture on domestic cards and a barometer for emerging talent in Tokyo’s underground MMA circuit.
