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Kimo Leopoldo
| Kimo Leopoldo | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 4, 1968 Munich, West Germany |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 235 lb (107 kg; 16.8 st) |
| Division | Heavyweight |
| Style | Kickboxing |
| Fighting out of | Hawaii, United States |
| Rank |
black belt in Taekwondo black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Years active | 1994-2006 |
| Kickboxing record | |
| Total | 3 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Losses | 3 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| Draws | 0 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 18 |
| Wins | 10 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By submission | 8 |
| Losses | 7 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By submission | 4 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Draws | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Website | kimo-therapy.com |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Kimo Leopoldo (born January 4, 1968), or simply Kimo, is an American mixed martial artist. He made his MMA debut at UFC 3 in 1994 losing to Royce Gracie by submission. Kimo’s fighting style has been described as freestyle, with a mixture of striking and grappling techniques.[citation needed]
He was credited with a black belt in Taekwondo in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at UFC 3. Kimo is well known for his Christian beliefs: he sports many religious tattoos, and entered the arena at UFC 3 carrying a large cross on his back.[1]
Contents |
Mixed martial arts career
At UFC 3, Kimo fought the reigning, defending UFC 1 and UFC 2 champion Royce Gracie in the quarterfinals. Kimo gave Gracie his toughest fight to date but eventually lost the fight via submission. Gracie was dehydrated following his bout with Kimo and, as a result, Gracie’s corner threw in the towel before the start of his next match. This subsequently made Kimo into an enormous star in the martial arts world.
After three straight wins in Japan, including a dominant, impressive win over UFC 2 finalist Pat Smith, Kimo returned at UFC 8 and fought reigning UFC champion Ken Shamrock in a title match for the UFC Superfight Championship, but lost early in the fight via submission due to a kneebar.
Kimo then fought at the UFC’s Ultimate Ultimate 1996. He won his first fight against UFC 7 finalist Paul Varelans, but withdrew from the tournament after the win due to exhaustion. He then traveled to Japan and fought to a 30 minute draw with 3 time UFC champion Dan Severn in the Pride Fighting Championships. Kimo returned to the UFC at UFC: Battle in the Bayou and fought top Japanese fighter Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. Kimo dominated the first portion of the fight but began to fatigue and eventually lost the fight by decision.
After a four year break from mixed martial arts, Kimo won a warm up fight against Tim Lajcik in the WFA in 2002. He then again returned to the UFC at UFC 43, where he quickly defeated David “Tank” Abbott by arm triangle choke. Kimo went on to fight in the main event of UFC 48, where he fought Ken Shamrock in a rematch. Kimo was knocked out in the first round from knees to the head. After the fight Kimo, tested positive for the steroid Stanozolol, also known as Winstrol, among other drugs. He was suspended for six months and fined $5,000 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Kimo was to fight Bas Rutten at WFA: King of the Streets on July 22, 2006. However, he was forced off the card by the California State Athletic Commission, after testing positive for Stanozolol once again.
In his two most recent fights, Kimo lost to Dave Legeno by submission. He then lost to Wes Sims by TKO in X-1.[2]
Various media outlets reported that Leopoldo had died from complications from a heart attack at age 41.[3] Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports reported on his Twitter that Leopoldo’s publicist refuted reports that Leopoldo was in Costa Rica and instead was seen alive in Orange County the night before.[4] At a July 21, 2009 press conference Leopoldo denied anyone close to him created the rumor, he also expressed his desire to return to fight one last time.[5]
Record
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 18 matches | 10 wins | 7 losses |
| By knockout | 2 | 2 |
| By submission | 8 | 4 |
| By decision | 0 | 1 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 10–7–1 |  Wes Sims |
TKO (punches) | Extreme Wars 5: Battlegrounds | October 6, 2006 | 1 | 3:21 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| Loss | 10–6–1 |  Dave Legeno |
Submission (guillotine choke) | Cage Rage 18 | September 30, 2006 | 1 | 3:21 | London, England | |
| Loss | 10–5–1 |  Ikuhisa Minowa |
Submission (achilles lock) | PRIDE Bushido 8 | July 17, 2005 | 1 | 3:11 | Nagoya, Japan | |
| Win | 10–4–1 | Marcus Royster |
Submission (forearm choke) | Rumble on the Rock 7 | May 7, 2005 | 1 | 4:18 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| Loss | 9–4–1 | Ken Shamrock |
KO (knee) | UFC 48 | June 19, 2004 | 1 | 1:26 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 9–3–1 | Tank Abbott |
Submission (arm-triangle choke) | UFC 43 | June 6, 2003 | 1 | 1:59 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 8–3–1 | Tim Lajcik |
TKO (broken toe) | WFA 2: Level 2 | July 5, 2002 | 1 | 1:55 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 7–3–1 | Tsuyoshi Kohsaka |
Decision (unanimous) | UFC 16 | March 13, 1998 | 1 | 15:00 | Kenner, Louisiana, United States | |
| Draw | 7–2–1 | Dan Severn |
Draw | PRIDE 1 | October 11, 1997 | 1 | 30:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 7–2 | Brian Johnston |
Submission (forearm choke) | Ultimate Explosion | April 16, 1997 | 1 | 1:43 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| Win | 6–2 | Paul Varelans |
TKO (corner stoppage) | Ultimate Ultimate 1996 | December 7, 1996 | 1 | 9:08 | Birmingham, Alabama, United States | |
| Win | 5–2 | Scott Bigelow |
Submission (rear naked choke) | U-Japan | November 17, 1996 | 1 | 2:15 | Japan | |
| Win | 4–2 | Kazushi Sakuraba |
Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Shoot Boxing – S-Cup 1996 | July 14, 1996 | 1 | 4:20 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 3–2 | Ken Shamrock |
Submission (kneebar) | UFC 8 | February 16, 1996 | 1 | 4:24 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | For UFC Superfight title |
| Win | 3–1 | Patrick Smith |
Submission (punches) | United Full Contact Federation 1 | September 8, 1995 | 1 | 2:59 | Sapporo, Japan | |
| Win | 2–1 | Fred Floyd |
Submission (rear naked choke) | United Full Contact Federation 1 | September 8, 1995 | 1 | 0:47 | Sapporo, Japan | |
| Win | 1–1 | Patrick Smith |
Submission (punches) | K-1 Legend | December 10, 1994 | 1 | 3:00 | Nagoya, Japan | |
| Loss | 0–1 |  Royce Gracie |
Submission (armlock) | UFC 3 | September 9, 1994 | 1 | 4:40 | Charlotte, North Carolina, United States |
Kickboxing record
| Kickboxing record | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3 Fights 0 wins 3 Losses 0 Draw
Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest Notes |
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References
- ^ The religion of Kimo Leopoldo, Ultimate Fighting champion
- ^ Recent Articles at Sherdog.com
- ^ Jon Wiener (2009-07-21). “Former UFC star Kim “Kimo” Leopoldo reportedly dead at 41″. Daily News (New York). http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2009/07/21/2009-07-21_ufc_star_ki.html. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
- ^ John Joe O’Regan. “Kimo Leopoldo is not dead”. Fighters Only Magazine. http://www.fightersonlymagazine.co.uk/news/viewarticle.php?id=2781. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
- ^ “Ex-UFC Fighter: My ‘Death’ Greatly Exaggerated”. Fox News. 2009-07-21. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,534314,00.html?test=latestnews.
External links
- 1968 births
- Living people
- American Christians
- American kickboxers
- Kickboxers from Hawaii
- Super heavyweight kickboxers
- American mixed martial artists
- Mixed martial artists from Hawaii
- Heavyweight mixed martial artists
- American practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
- American taekwondo practitioners
- American sportspeople in doping cases
- Doping cases in mixed martial arts
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