Kanehara was announced as a participant in World Victory Road's Featherweight Grand Prix. He advanced to the semi-final round with a pair of closely contested decision victories over Jong Man Kim in the first round and Chan Sung Jung in the second round. Kanehara lost in the semi-finals to Hatsu Hioki, but ended up replacing Hioki in the final against judoka Michihiro Omigawa after Hioki was not medically cleared due to a concussion. A 17-to-1 long shot, Kanehara ended up winning the tournament, making him the 2009 Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix Champion and Sengoku Featherweight Champion. Following the announcement that Sengoku Lightweight ChampionMizuto Hirota would vacate his belt, Kanehara accepted a challenge from Marlon Sandro. The two met in a Featherweight title bout at World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 13. Kanehara lost via KO in the first round.
Post-Sengoku
After the demise of Sengoku, Kanehara compiled a record of 7-2 which included a 21-second knockout of Joe Pearson at Pancrase 252.
In July 2014, it was announced that Kanehara had signed with the UFC. Kanehara was briefly linked to a bout with Urijah Faber on September 20, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 52. However, before the bout was officially announced, Faber was removed and Kanehara instead faced Alex Caceres. He was successful in his debut winning via unanimous decision. Kanehara was expected to face Rani Yahya on June 27, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 70. However, as the event approached, several international fighters experienced travel restrictions due to technical issues within the Bureau of Consular Affairs division of the U.S. State Department which produces travel visas. The issue lead to a major altering of the card as multiple fights were postponed. Yahya/Kanehara eventually took place on July 15, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 71. Kanehara lost the fight by split decision. Kanehara faced Michael McDonald on January 2, 2016 at UFC 195. After a dominant first round and catching McDonald with an arm triangle in round two, McDonald slipped out and found a choke of his own. Kanehara lost the fight via submission in the second round and was subsequently released from the promotion following the loss.
Post-UFC career
After the release from the UFC, Kanehara returned to Deep and was expected to face Roman Alvarez in his promotional debut at Deep Cage Impact 2016: DEEP vs. WSOF-GC on December 17, 2016. Alvarez was replaced by Charlie Alaniz, whom Kanehara won via first-round doctor stoppage. Next he faced Jomhod Chuwattana at DEEP Hachioji Chojin Matsuri 2018 on April 1, 2020. Kanehara won the fight via submission in the first round. After the two victories in a row, Kanehara signed with Rizin FF and made his promotional debut against Victor Henry at Rizin 21 – Hamamatsu on February 22, 2020. Kanehara lost the fight via second-round knockout.
