Kevin Rosier

Kevin Rosier
Born	(1962-01-06)January 6, 1962 Buffalo, New York, United States
Died	April 14, 2015(2015-04-14) (aged 53) Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States
Residence	Lancaster, New York, United States
Nationality	American
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	265 lb (120 kg; 18.9 st)
Division	Heavyweight (Boxing, Kickboxing and MMA)
Reach	79 in (201 cm)
Style	Karate, Boxing, Aikido, Judo
Fighting out of	Tampa, Florida
Rank	Black Belt in Karate
Years active	1980–1999 (Kickboxing) 1989–2001 (Boxing) 1993–2000 (MMA)
Professional boxing record
Total	24
Wins	7
By knockout	6
Losses	17
By knockout	7
Kickboxing record
Total	74
Wins	66
By knockout	66
Losses	8
Mixed martial arts record
Total	8
Wins	2
By knockout	1
By submission	1
Losses	6
By knockout	3
By submission	3
Other information
Boxing record from BoxRec
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Kevin Rosier (January 6, 1962 – April 14, 2015) was an American kickboxer, boxer and mixed martial artist. He had much success as a kickboxer, winning a number of titles, but did not transition particularly well into the world of boxing and was mostly seen as a journeyman fighter. Notably, he also took part at the inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship event in 1993 where he reached the semi-finals.

Career

Kickboxing and boxing

Rosier spent the majority of his fighting career in kickboxing where he held a record of 66 wins, all by knockout, and 8 losses. He was also the 3x WKA World Super Heavyweight Champion and ISKA North American Super Heavyweight Champion. His kickboxing career began in the 1980s and his last bout came in 1999 when he lost to Mike Labree in a fight for the vacant IKF International Kickboxing Federation Pro Full Contact Rules Super Heavyweight World Title on May 15, 1999 in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA. At 26 seconds into round 10, LaBree caught Rosier with a short left to the head and Rosier went down to his knees and the bout was stopped.

He also had a 12-year career as a professional boxer in which he held a 7–17 record. He fought between 1989 and 2001 and came up against a number of high-profile opponents including Josué Blocus, Roman Bugaj, Tye Fields, Vincent Maddalone, Joe Mesi, Nikolai Valuev, Taurus Sykes, Dan Voss Jr and Paea Wolfgramm.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In 1993, with only five weeks notice, Rosier elicited the help of his former student World Kickboxing Champion A.J. Verel to coach and train him for UFC 1, the very first mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. His first match in the tournament, the second in the card, pitted him against American Kenpo expert and two-time World Kickboxing Federation super heavyweight champion Zane Frazier.

Rosier opened the match knocking Frazier down with punches, knee strikes and an elbow strike to the turtled up Frazier's back, but his opponent recovered and went to exchange knee strikes with him in the clinch. At that moment, capitalizing on the lack of regulation about hair pulling and groin attacks, Frazier managed to take over by striking Rosier with a low blow and dragging him by the hair. The kenpo fighter dominated the fight with striking combinations both standing and on their knees, even breaking Rosier's jaw with a right hand. Some minutes later, however, Frazier slowed down due to exhaustion, allowing Rosier to recover and come back with several punches that put Frazier against the fence. Rosier then pushed him down to the mat and scored multiple punches and stomps to the back of the head until Frazier's corner threw the towel.

In the semifinals, Rosier came up against Dutch savate fighter Gerard Gordeau. The Dutchman targeted Rosier's knees with leg kicks and kept distance with him through jabbing. When Rosier was forced to cover down after a barrage of knees and elbows, Gordeau scored a stomp to the spleen, prompting Rosier to tap on the mat, signalling his submission. Although eliminated from the tournament, Rosier praised Gordeau and expressed the desire to return.

After this, he continued to compete in MMA and next fought at UFC 4 where he lost via submission 14 seconds into his bout with "The Ghetto Man" Joe Charles. He competed five more times in MMA, losing four and winning one, and retired with a record of two wins and six losses.

Later life

After retiring from competition, Kevin suffered several bouts of illness (including open-heart surgery and a nearly fatal fall while already in intensive care). By August 2013, Kevin was in stable health & reportedly residing in a retirement resort in Nashville.

In April 2015, Rosier died of an apparent heart attack.

Championships and awards

Kickboxing

• 1994 WKKC (World Karate and Kickboxing Council) World Superheavyweight Champion
• 1990 WKA (World Karate Association) World Superheavyweight Champion (above the waist)
• 1990 ISKA (International Sport Karate Association) North American Superheavyweight Champion
• 3X WKA (World Kickboxing Association) World Superheavyweight Champion
• 1989 All-Japan World Champion
• 1987 United States Kung-Fu Karate National No-Rules Tournament Champion
• 1989 WKA (World Karate Association) World Championship Title Fight (full contact karate)

Kickboxing record

Kickboxing record

66 wins (66 KOs), 8 losses, 0 draws
Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Location	Method	Round	Time	Record
1999-05-15	Loss	Mike Labree	Mass Destruction: The Ultimate Night of Fighting	Lowell, Massachusetts, USA	TKO (left hook)	10	0:26	66-8
For the IKF World Super Heavyweight Full Contact Championship.
1994-00-00	Win	Houston Dorr		Biloxi, Mississippi, USA	KO (right hook)	2	1:25
Wins the WKKC World Super Heavyweight Championship.
1990-01-20	Loss	Maurice Smith	AJKF: Inspiring Wars 1	Tokyo, Japan	KO (left jab and right overhand)	2	1:42	15-4
For the WKA World Heavyweight Championship.
1989-05-14	Win	Don Nakaya Nielsen	AJKF: Knockout of the Century - Part 3	Tokyo, Japan	TKO (referee stoppage/right uppercut)	6	1:05	15-2
Retains WKA World Super Heavyweight Championship.
1989-04-27	Win	Dan Voss Jr	Coors: SUPERFIGHTS Full Contact Karate -	Santa Clara, CA	TKO (referee stoppage)	2	1:36
Retains WKA World Super Heavyweight Championship.
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown

8 matches	2 wins	6 losses
By knockout	1	3
By submission	1	3
By decision	0	0
Draws	0

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	2–6	Brad Gabriel	TKO (punches)	IFC: Battleground 2000	January 22, 2000	1	1:12	Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada
Win	2–5	Joe Bramante	Submission (rear-naked choke)	IFC: Fighters Revenge	April 2, 1999	1	1:01	Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada
Loss	1–5	Dan Severn	Submission	Cage Combat 1	December 8, 1998	1	1:00	Conesville, Iowa, United States
Loss	1–4	Dan Severn	TKO (knees)	Extreme Challenge 15	February 27, 1998	1	0:53	Muncie, Indiana, United States
Loss	1-3	Houston Dorr	Submission (guillotine choke)	IFC 2: Mayhem in Mississippi	August 23, 1996	1	11:10	Biloxi, Mississippi, United States
Loss	1–2	Joe Charles	Submission (armbar)	UFC 4	December 16, 1994	1	0:14	Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
Loss	1–1	Gerard Gordeau	TKO (corner stoppage)	UFC 1	November 12, 1993	1	0:59	Denver, Colorado, United States	Semifinal bout.
Win	1–0	Zane Frazier	TKO (corner stoppage)			1	4:20		Quarterfinal bout.

Professional boxing record

7 Wins (6 knockouts, 1 decision, 0 disqualification), 17 Losses, 0 Draws, 0 No Contests

Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	7–17	Carlton Johnson	UD	6 (6), 3:00	01/12/2001	Chester, West Virginia, U.S.
Loss	7–16	Josué Blocus	TKO	1 (?), N/A	09/12/2000	Villeurbanne, France
Loss	7–15	Tye Fields	TKO	1 (4), 1:37	28/04/2000	Mashantucket, Connecticut, U.S.
Loss	7–14	Keith Govan	UD	4 (4), 3:00	06/04/2000	Worley, Idaho, U.S.
Loss	7–13	Vinny Maddalone	PTS	6 (6), 3:00	14/03/2000	Yonkers, New York, U.S.
Loss	7–12	Roman Bugaj	UD	4 (4), 3:00	02/03/2000	Rosemont, Illinois, U.S.
Loss	7–11	Taurus Sykes	PTS	4 (4), 3:00	24/02/2000	New York, New York, U.S.
Loss	7–10	Shannon Miller	UD	4 (4), 3:00	19/11/1999	Verona, New York, U.S.
Loss	7–9	Brian Hollins	UD	4 (4), 3:00	17/09/1999	Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Loss	7–8	Derrick Brown	PTS	4 (4), 3:00	11/06/1999	Verona, New York, U.S.
Loss	7–7	Bradley Rone	PTS	4 (4), 3:00	03/06/1999	Mount Pleasant, Michigan, U.S.
Win	7–6	Dave Slaughter	TKO	4 (6), 2:56	29/01/1999	Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Win	6–6	Ed Gissendanner	TKO	1 (6), 1:55	27/11/1998	Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Win	5–6	Tony Velasco	UD	8 (8), 3:00	30/10/1998	Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Loss	4–6	Joe Mesi	TKO	2 (4), N/A	26/07/1998	Verona, New York, U.S.
Loss	4–5	Paea Wolfgramm	TKO	1 (6), 1:12	16/01/1998	Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Loss	4–4	Nikolai Valuev	KO	1 (?), N/A	27/09/1997	Moscow, Russia
Win	4–3	Christer Markusas	TKO	2 (?), N/A	06/09/1997	Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win	3–3	Jim Ellis	TKO	2 (?), N/A	27/08/1994	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Win	2–3	Lee Moore	TKO	3 (?), N/A	12/11/1990	Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
Loss	1–3	David Dixon	TKO	1 (?), N/A	07/04/1990	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win	1–2	John Elacqua	TKO	2 (?), N/A	0/03/1989	Laughlin, Nevada, U.S.
Loss	0–2	Curtis Jackson	PTS	4 (4), N/A	28/02/1989	Inglewood, California, U.S.
Loss	0–1	Andrew Matthews	TKO	1 (?), N/A	14/01/1989	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.

External links

• Boxing record for Kevin Rosier from BoxRec (registration required)
• Kevin Rosier at IMDb
• Professional MMA record for Kevin Rosier from Sherdog
• Kevin Rosier at UFC
• Kevin Rosier — retired MMA fighter and bodyguard