A professional competitor since 1996, he has competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, Pancrase, DREAM, World Victory Road, DEEP, Shooto, and Vale Tudo Japan.
Kikuta became a student at the Super Tiger Gym when he was in the 6th-grade elementary school, learning Shooto under Satoru Sayama, but he left the feeling that he wasn't being given enough attention in the combative aspect.
Kikuta made his worldwide MMA debut for the PRIDE promotion at its second event, where he faced Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert Renzo Gracie in a special rules match.
The fight turned out to be a slow, methodical bout which lasted six fifteen minutes rounds, whose end saw Renzo submitting Kikuta via guillotine choke at the sixth one.
The two grappling specialists exchanged assaults on the ground, with the Brazilian taking down Kikuta and attacking his half guard before the Japanese capitalized on a failed calf slicer to switch positions.
At the second round, Kikuta looked to take the match to the ground again, but it took a sudden twist when Nogueira landed a surprising right hook, knocking Sanae out completely.
He scored big victories over veterans Minoru Suzuki and Ryushi Yanagisawa, and shortly after he founded the Grabaka team along with Genki Sudo, Eiji Ishikawa and Hiroo Matsunaga.
The third round saw Yoshida stunning Kikuta with a punch and scoring a judo throw, but Sanae took his back and kept striking on him for the rest of the match, eventually winning the decision.