Career
He is best known for his participation in Shooto and Pancrase fighting organizations. On December 17, 1994 Yamada advanced to the finals of the King of Pancrase Tournament where he lost to Ken Shamrock via unanimous decision. Yamada started training with Satoru Sayama at the Super Tiger Gym after a background in karate, debuting in Shooto in 1990.
He faced Kenji Kawaguchi twice in matches for the Shooto Middleweight Championship, but he was submitted in both occasions.
After two important wins over Kazuhiro Kusayanagi and Naoki Sakurada, he left Shooto and joined Pancrase in 1993. Manabu had his Pancrase debut against Katsuomi Inagaki, winning fastly by submission.
Yamada lost points early due to a rear naked choke and a liver shot, but he came back knocking down Oetelaar with a high kick and then cutting him with a strike, winning the fight by doctor stoppage. Afterwards, Yamada suffered his first defeat in the promotion when he was caught in a heel hook by Takaku Fuke, despite having the points advantage for most of the match.
In December 1994, Yamada took part in the tournament for the first King of Pancrase championship.
He eliminated Christopher DeWeaver in two minutes, moving forward to face rising star Frank Shamrock. Despite his opponent"s superior strength and late comeback, Yamada caught him in a ankle hold early in the match and resisted all his submission attempts, which gave him the victory by points at the education In the beginning of a classic fight, Yamada was taken down and had his back fastly taken, but his defensive acumen allowed him to avoid being submitted, and he stole a point from Suzuki with a scrambling rear naked choke.
He then overpowered Suzuki and controlled him until locked an armbar from side control, making Suzuki tap out for one of his biggest career wins.
The same night, Yamada came again to fight Ken Shamrock in the finals, giving another impressive exhibition by going to the distance with the much stronger Shamrock after 30:00. Yamada again resisted his opponent"s grip while turtled up, threatening him with Kimura locks and rolling leglocks from the position, and he even threw a pro wrestling dropkick at the end of the bout, but he lost by decision at the end, with Shamrock being declared King of Pancrase.
Yamada"s next match saw an upset when he was submitted by Bas Rutten. Despite his top control, Yamada was trapped in an arm triangle choke and was rendered unconscious due to his refusal to tap out.
Yamada retired in January 2000, after losing to Yuki Kondo, and currently works as Mobile Marketing Association trainer and seitai teacher.
Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling
1994 King of Pancrase Tournament Runner Up.
