Yoshiro Maeda (Japanese: 前田吉朗, Maeda Yoshirō, born October 31, 1981) is a Japanese mixed martial artist who currently competes in DEEP's flyweight division, and formerly fought in DEEP's bantamweight division, the latter of which he is a former champion, recently losing the title to Daiki Hata who is still the reigning champion.
With a professional career spanning 10 years, Maeda has competed in notable Japanese promotions such as Pancrase, PRIDE FC and DREAM, as well as the WEC in America.
Following a drop in weight to the bantamweight division, Maeda debuted in the WEC with a first-round KO due to a kick to the body against King of the Cage champion, Charlie Valencia.
[5] Maeda would then face BJJ black belt, Rani Yahya, in a catchweight bout of 137 pounds at WEC 36.
[7] Followed by a controversial first-round KO loss to Hiroyuki Takaya, he rebounded with a win over former WEC champion Chase Beebe.