Kimo Leopoldo

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Kimo Leopoldo
Born (1968-01-04) January 4, 1968 (age 56)
Munich, West Germany
ResidenceHawaii (previous)
Los Angeles, California (current)
NationalityAmerican
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight250 lb (110 kg; 18 st)
DivisionHeavyweight
Fighting out ofSanta Ana, California
TeamTeam Kimo
Gold's Gym Santa Ana (current)
Rank4th degree black belt in Taekwondo
Black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Years active1994-2006
Kickboxing record
Total3
Losses3
By knockout3
Mixed martial arts record
Total18
Wins10
By knockout2
By submission8
Losses7
By knockout2
By submission4
By decision1
Draws1
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Kimo Leopoldo (born 4 January 1968), or simply Kimo, is a retired American mixed martial artist. He made his MMA debut at UFC 3 in 1994 losing to Royce Gracie by submission.

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]

Background

Leopoldo was born in Munich to an American father of Caucasian and Polynesian descent and a half-German; half-French mother from Germany. Four months after he was born his family moved to Hawaii. Leopoldo was a natural athlete growing up, playing football, wrestling, and he also had an interest in surfing. Leopoldo was a dominant wrestler at Waianae High School and played on the team that won the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Championship. Leopoldo was also a very talented middle linebacker in football, and attended the University of Washington on a partial athletic scholarship, but he was unprepared for college, and returned to Hawaii shortly after.

In Huntington Beach, California, he sought to renew his career in football. Going under the name "Kim Leopold" he quickly became an NJCAA All-American and gained interest from many Division I colleges. However, he tore both of his ACLs, and his success only lasted until the middle of his sophomore year. Depressed and with seemingly no future, he met Joe Son and turned to mixed martial arts after studying films of fights including UFC 1, among other fights featuring Royce Gracie, who Leopoldo would later make his debut against.[2][3]

Mixed martial arts career

At UFC 3, Kimo fought the reigning, defending UFC 1 and UFC 2 champion Royce Gracie in the quarterfinals. Even though Leopoldo was dominating the fight, Gracie who's known for not being much of a striker found the chance to put him in an armbar once on the ground, thus winning the fight. It should be noted that after the fight Royce Gracie was so hurt he couldn't fight two other bouts he had that night.

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.[4] Kimo has not fought since 2006 and has decided to transition away from mma. Leopoldo has retired from mma since 2006.

Acting career

He worked since 1996 besides his fighting career as Actor of Indie production. Leopoldo starred in the direct to video production R.I.O.T.: The Movie and the films The Process, The Dog Problem, In the Closet, Bullet and Avengers Grimm.[5]

Personal life

In February 2009 Leopoldo was arrested in Tustin, California for possession of a controlled substance. In the police report Leopoldo was standing by his car, wearing sandals, playing with a yo-yo, and donning a Long Beach Police Department jumpsuit that can only be worn by the motor pool mechanics. name="blogs.ocweekly.com"/>[6]

Various media outlets reported that Leopoldo had died from complications from a heart attack at age 41.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

Leopoldo is a devout Christian.

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
Res. 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 (ankle lock) UFC 8 February 16, 1996 1 4:24 San Juan, Puerto Rico For UFC Superfight Championship
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

3 Fights 0 wins 3 Losses 0 Draw
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time
2004-2-15 Loss Japan Hiromi Amada K-1 Burning 2004 Okinawa, Japan KO (left hook) 2 2:06
2003-8-15 Loss United States Bob Sapp K-1 WORLD GP 2003 IN LAS VEGAS Las Vegas, Nevada, United States KO (punch) 2 1:11
1995-3-3 Loss Japan Masaaki Satake K-1 Grand Prix '95 Opening Battle Tokyo, Japan TKO (3 knockdowns, left middle kick) 2 2:27
Fails to qualify for K-1 World Grand Prix 1995.

Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

References

  1. ^ The religion of Kimo Leopoldo, Ultimate Fighting champion
  2. ^ http://poptop.hypermart.net/testkl.html/
  3. ^ http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2009/02/former_ufc_fighter_kimo_leopol.php
  4. ^ Recent Articles at Sherdog.com
  5. ^ Fairy Tale Heroines Assemble for The Asylum’s Avengers Grimm
  6. ^ http://www.cagepotato.com/kimo-leopoldo-arrested-impersonating-officer-possession/
  7. ^ Jon Wiener (2009-07-21). "Former UFC star Kim "Kimo" Leopoldo reportedly dead at 41". Daily News. New York. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  8. ^ John Joe O'Regan. "Kimo Leopoldo is not dead". Fighters Only Magazine. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  9. ^ "Ex-UFC Fighter: My 'Death' Greatly Exaggerated". Fox News. 2009-07-21.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kimo_Leopoldo&oldid=727068912"