Former UFC star Dean Lister shared a chilling encounter with the Japanese Yakuza during his time competing in PRIDE Championships.
Following a victory in Japan, Lister was asked to stay a few extra days while his cornermen were sent home. He was summoned to a mysterious meeting in a hotel, where he unexpectedly found himself in an elevator with PRIDE’s Nakamura and the legendary Fedor Emelianenko.
“I get in, ‘Oh hello Fedor, nice to meet you.’ He speaks no English but very classy guy,” Lister recalled in a revealing episode of the MMA History Podcast.
They were taken to a top floor that required a special key to access, essentially trapping them in a room filled with Yakuza members.
Lister described the distinctive appearance of the Yakuza present:
“Typically Yakuza… they look normal except for a lot of them will have one thing that stands out.”
He mentioned one man wearing unusual layered glasses with a feather and another with extremely long fingernails who unnervingly tapped them on the table throughout the meeting.
The conversation primarily focused on Fedor until attention turned to Lister. Through a female translator, the PRIDE officials informed Lister he would be facing Ricardo Arona. This created a serious dilemma for Lister, who was already scheduled to face Arona in an Abu Dhabi event just a month later.
When Lister attempted to decline, citing his “personal bushido” code, the response was threatening:
“No, Dean Lister, you are PRIDE fighter and you will fight who we say,” the translator relayed from the head official.
Feeling intimidated in the room full of Yakuza, Lister reluctantly agreed.
“I couldn’t really say no,” he explained.
The situation caused significant problems with the ADCC promotion, which nearly canceled their event. Fortunately, Jean Jacques Machado stepped in to replace Lister in the Abu Dhabi match.
The encounter provides a rare glimpse into the rumored Yakuza connections to Japanese MMA during the PRIDE era, showcasing the intense and sometimes dangerous business environment fighters navigated beyond the ring.
