[4] Sato made his professional MMA debut in December 2004 when he fought and won three times in the Deep 2004 Future King tournament.
In 2009 and 2010, Sato fought against Izuru Takeuchi and Yuki Kondo for the Pancrase middleweight championship, resulting in a draw and loss respectively.
He successfully defended the belt six times before joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Sato faced Hyun Gyu Lim on September 20, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 52.
[6] He lost the fight via TKO in the first round and was subsequently released from the organization.