Kazuma Maruyama Record: 12-8-0

Finding his footing in Pancrase

The middle of the decade brought the usual ups and downs of the regional grind. Maruyama absorbed losses to Glenn Sparv and Akihiro Takanabe in late 2015, then strung together wins in 2016 and 2017, including an arm-triangle submission of Yusheng Wang and a first-round right straight that flattened Kohei Tokeshi. The pattern of his career began to crystallize: a finisher capable of ending fights with either hands or chokes, but one who could be caught himself, as a 2019 first-round left-hook loss to Kenta Takagi demonstrated.

A late-career surge and the Road to UFC

Maruyama hit his most consistent stretch from 2020 onward, rattling off four straight wins – a triangle choke of Kota Shirakawa, decisions over veteran Shinichi Taira, and a front-choke finish of Shin Iraha. That form earned him a spot on the UFC’s Road to UFC tournament in May 2023, the closest he came to the sport’s biggest promotion, where he was submitted by Sang Uk Kim via first-round D’Arce choke. He bounced back with another decision win over Taira at Pancrase 339 before closing out his recorded run with a 2024 rear-naked choke loss to Kazuki Kasai.

Fighting style

Maruyama is a balanced finisher, and his record shows it plainly: his 12 wins break down into four knockouts, four submissions and four decisions, giving him a 67% finish rate and no obvious bias toward either striking or grappling. That versatility – flattening opponents with a straight right one night and locking up arm-triangles or front chokes the next – makes him a difficult stylistic read. The flip side is durability against higher-level finishers: his eight losses are split across knockouts, submissions and decisions, a sign of a competitive veteran who can be finished by the sharper, more polished opponents he met as he stepped up.

Career highlights

• Balanced finishing arsenal — Maruyama’s wins split evenly into four knockouts, four submissions and four decisions, marking him as one of Pancrase’s more versatile lightweights.
• Four-fight winning streak — his 2020–2021 run of finishes and decisions was the strongest stretch of his career and earned him a shot at the sport’s biggest stage.
• Road to UFC appearance — competing in the UFC’s 2023 Road to UFC tournament placed Maruyama on the doorstep of the world’s premier promotion.