A representative of Yoshinori Nishi's Wajyutsu Keishukai MMA dojo, Takase made his debut in PRIDE Fighting Championship at its third event, facing amateur sumo champion Emmanuel Yarborough.
Takase came to the fight wearing orange tights similar to "Gracie Hunter" Kazushi Sakuraba's, including his initials on the back.
During the match, Gracie took down repeatedly Takase and landed hard ground and pound, but the Japanese was skilled enough to keep him from passing guard or knocking him out.
At this point, however, Sakurai started coming back, hijacking the standing segments with superior striking and negating Takase's submission attempts in order to do damage through his guard.
After defeating Chris Brennan by decision, Takase accomplished another of his biggest wins in his match on May 23, 2004, against grappling expert Carlos Newton.
Takase made his debut in Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 16, 1999 at UFC 21, where he was pitted against Jeremy Horn, who sported a large size advantage and a 31-4-4 record.