Who is the best judo fighter in the world?

As ever with lists like this, there will always be a degree of unhappy readers who point towards certain Judoka’s that haven’t been included. With this in mind, this list is purely subjective and is not in any kind of ranked order. Obviously, it’s difficult to judge people over different eras, weight classes, genders, and other factors. With this said, hopefully this list isn’t taken seriously but instead acts as a celebration of the best Judoka’s to ever do it.

It should also be noted that Jigaro Kano has not been included in this list. For obvious reasons, Kano founded Judo so it’s unfair to include him as he’s in his own unique category. Nonetheless, there are still 10 top Judoka’s to read about as well as historical tidbits which should make for interesting reading.

Teddy Riner

Although this list mostly features Japanese Judoka for obvious reasons, Teddy Riner is an exception to the rule. The Frenchman is known as one of the greatest modern day Judoka’s and at 6’9 feet tall he dominated the heavyweight division for years. At his peak, he almost went ten years without losing a competitive match which says it all.

Nicknamed ‘The Teddybear’, he racked up two Olympic gold medals, countless World and European championships as well as even more gold in the IJF competitions too. As a result, he’s one of the most successful Judoka’s ever and during his prime collected gold medals for fun. His emergence and dominance also signaled a change from the previous culture of Japanese athletes controlling the pinnacle of Judo.

Shohei Ono

Another modern day Judo great is Shohei Ono, who had a staggering 65% of wins coming by Ippon and is known as an Uchi Mata specialist. Winning gold medals in every competition available throughout his 20s, Ono proved that Japan still had elite Judokas at the highest level of the sport. Speaking of percentages, his win rate is over 90% too, so even if you do manage to evade an Ippon, the chances are that Ono will still beat you using other techniques such as submissions and points victories.

Kosei Inoue

Another member of the Olympic gold medal club is Kosei Inoue who won it at the Sydney 2000 Olympic games. Known for his devastating Uchi Mata, he also won various other gold medals from numerous other Judo competitions. During this time (the early 2000’s) he was often considered the greatest Judoka in the world at that time.

Although he is now retired, Inoue eventually went on to manage the Japanese international Judo team from 2012 onwards. As a result, you could argue that his coaching skills have become just as good as his competition skills once were after making the transition.

Toshihiko Koga

Although Toshihiko Koga managed to get a gold medal at the Olympics like many his career was sadly blighted by injury and this meant he couldn’t go on to achieve more. Still, by the time that he had retired – he had still won practically everything available to win in Judo. Furthermore, Koga was best known for his incredible Ippon Seoi Nage which is widely regarded as the best of all time.

Like many Japanese Judokas, after his career in competitive Judo, he went into coaching. Sadly, he passed away from cancer aged 53 in 2021 and was awarded his 9th dan a day before his death. Oddly, a lot of top level Judoka’s seem to have died from cancer over the years, with Koga being one of the youngest.

Kayla Harrison

Perhaps the USA’s greatest ever Judoka is Kayla Harrison, who has a medal haul that isn’t too far off Teddy Riner’s in terms of golds and also has two Olympic gold medals to her name. Trained by the USA’s best ever Judo coach Jimmy Pedro and training alongside the likes of Ronda Rousey, it’s not too surprising that Harrison rapidly became one of the best Judokas ever.

Interestingly, from 2018 onwards she made her professional MMA debut and proved her Judo was just as effective in the cage. In her first 10 fights she won them all, with nearly half of them coming by submission. Kayla Harrison is an example of how Judo isn’t just useful for competition and still has self defense applications within an MMA setting.

Yasuhiro Yamashita

Yasuhiro Yamashita secured one Olympic gold medal during his reign, but also scored many other gold medals across other competition settings. Firstly, he was best known for combining his Osoto Gari with the Ouchi Gari which made him very effective when it came to stand up and throws. However, he was also very good on the ground when it came to Newaza and was highly skilled when it came to chokes.

Although Yamashita had a fantastic career, it was sadly blighted by injuries that led to his early retirement at age 28. If not for his injuries, he would have very possibly won even more medals over the next few years. Still, shortly after his retirement, Yamashita joined the IJF and eventually got a role in the Judo Olympic Committee which shows his life long devotion to the art.

Isao Okano

Although Isao Okano was one of the greatest Judoka’s ever, sadly his competitive career was incredibly short as he quickly moved on to teaching instead of competing. By the age of 21 he had an Olympic gold medal and had won the World Championships. What’s even crazier is that he was famed for competing and winning in the open class, despite only being 80KG at the time. In other words, it didn’t matter about the size of his opponent, Okano would often find a way to win.

Retiring at age 25, people often look back at Okano as a case of what could have been, and had he continued to compete, his legacy would undoubtedly be more solidified. That’s not to bash his achievements that he did in a short space of time anyway, but more as proof that he could have gone on to achieve more. After retirement, he went on to teach various influential Brazilian Jiu Jitsu pioneers due to his skilled Newaza, proving his teaching skills were as good as his competitive game.

Masahiko Kimura

The story of Masahiko Kimura is one of legend and it’s fair to say that he changed the face of Judo forever. Firstly, he was said to train and work out for roughly 9 hours a day which included over 1000 press ups. Obviously, if do this then you will see results, and he did. At the time he was probably the biggest Judoka ever and was incredibly strong.

His talent led him to get noticed from outside Judo circles, and in 1949 he fought Brazilian Jiu Jitsu pioneer Helio Gracie in a special grappling match. Kimura eventually broke the shoulder of Gracie with a shoulder lock which led to it getting renamed ‘The Kimura’. It’s not very common that a submission is named after someone but this shows you everything you need to know about his legacy. He eventually went into pro wrestling and further impacted Japanese grappling culture.

Kyuzo Mifune

Born in 1883, Kyuzo Mifune was considered as one of Kano Jigaro’s greatest ever students and eventually went on to teach after his master passed away. Mifune was also nicknamed ‘The God of Judo’ which tells you everything you need to know about his prowess. He was also considered a technical mastermind, and his influence on Judo in terms of its progression cannot be understated. According to some, Mifune may have also been behind the evolution of Judo in terms of making it rougher.

So, not only did he contribute technical skills to the martial art, but he also made it what it is today. In terms of competition, he died a year before it became an Olympic sport and although he was an avid competitor, this was during an era when there were fewer competitions and records. He did however, defeat a sumo wrestler which helped advertise Judo as a sport.

Tadahiro Nomura

Tadahiro Nomura is the only ever Judoka to have won three Olympic gold medals in a row. This took place below 60KG, where Nomura cornered his weight category and made a name for himself. At 5’5 feet tall, he’s also arguably the greatest ever Judoka at that size and weight. As you can imagine, he also won medals in the other prestigious Judo competitions but for some reason, it was the Olympics where he really excelled and turned it on when it most mattered.

What’s even more impressive about Tadahiro Nomura is that his career also suffered from various injuries but he still managed to compete and fight through such problems on a regular basis. A true legend of the game, he went on to retire aged 40 and could still hang with the youngsters even as he aged.