though very past his prime physically, yasuda made his transition to mixed martial arts as a njpw representative in march 2001. he had his debut at the pride 13 against similarly retired kickboxer and karate champion masaaki satake. yasuda received damage and bled from his face, but he nullified most of satake' attacks by rushing him through sumo techniques against the ropes every time they were separated. at the end, the unanimous decision was given to yasuda for controlling the fight.