(NOAH) "Martial arts are fireworks, pro wrestling is music" - Ulka Sasaki's true intentions for moving to America at age 36
RollingStone Japan 30th January 2026 Ulka Sasaki once said that martial arts are like "fireworks" and professional wrestling is like "music." From the world of MMA, where instantaneous firepower thrills audiences, to the world of professional wrestling, where the music lingers. Two years have passed since he fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a professional wrestler after competing in the world's top MMA promotion, UFC, and later in RIZIN. On New Year's Day 2023, Noah held an event at the Nippon Budokan. Ulka Sasaki was in the audience watching a historic match between Shinsuke Nakamura, a Japanese superstar in the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE, and The Great Muta, a living legend for wrestling fans worldwide. Backstage after the match, Nakamura asked him, "When are you going to do it?" That fall, he opened a time capsule he'd buried as an elementary school student and found a letter addressed to himself that...
