“The Gracie Hunter” Kazushi Sakuraba is an icon in Japanese MMA, but it was almost a running joke among fans that promoters might’ve been trying to kill him with all those dangerous matches late in his career.

He was KO’d by Melvin Manhoef at 39, then closed out his career deep into his 40s with five straight losses to much younger champions like Marius Zaromskis and Shinya Aoki.

The UFC Hall of Famer’s son, Taisei Sakuraba, is now looking to follow in his father’s footsteps. Unfortunately for him, it looks like that brutal matchmaking will carry over onto the next generation.

“Saku Jr.” is now set to compete in MMA for the very first time, and RIZIN booked him straight away against a veteran title contender in Yusuke Yachi (27-14).

Yachi, 34, is undefeated in his last four RIZIN fights. His only loss in almost three years happened in his Bellator fight against Mansour Barnaoui.

The younger Sakuraba, 26, has been primarily a grappler, with a couple of appearances in Quintet team grappling. He submitted 45-year-old Olympic Judo champ Masato Uchishiba in 2023, and went to a draw with 38-year-old RIZIN vet Kazuma Kuramoto last October. After taking on older grapplers, Saku Jr. somehow got a massive step up now that strikes are involved.

Japan’s storied New Year’s Eve specials typically play on nostalgia. It seems like on the next one, RIZIN is keeping the tradition of brutalizing a Sakuraba alive and well.