Naoki Tanaka

Naoki Tanaka (田中直樹, born 24 June 1992) is a Japanese kickboxer, currently competing in the lightweight division of RISE, where he is the incumbent champion. A professional competitor since 2015, Tanaka has spent his entire professional career with RISE. Combat Press ranks him as the #5 super bantamweight kickboxer in the world. He's been continually ranked in the top ten since November 2020, peaking at #6 in November and December 2020. Kickboxing career Background Tanaka began training Gōjū-ryū karate at the age of five. After he entered junior high school, Tanaka went to his current gym, Paraestra Koiwa, with the intention of becoming a mixed martial artist. However, after taking a kickboxing class on his first day at the gym, Tanaka decided to become a professional kickboxer.