Kimo Leopoldo

Kimo Leopoldo (born January 4, 1968) is a retired Hawaiian mixed martial artist, often billed as simply Kimo. 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.

He was erroneously credited with a black belt in Taekwondo in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at UFC 3 (it is unclear whether Kimo or fight promoters originated this claim). 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.

Biography

At UFC 3, Kimo fought 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. Kimo exhausted Gracie to the point that Royce could not continue in the tournament, which subsequently made Kimo into an enormous star in the martial arts world. After three straight wins in Japan, including two wins over UFC 2 finalist Pat Smith, Kimo returned at UFC 8 and fought Ken Shamrock in a title match for the UFC Superfight Championship, but lost early in the fight via submission.

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 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.

In his two most recent fights, Kimo lost to Dave Legeno by submission. He then lost to Wes Sims by TKO in X-1.

Various media outlets reported that Leopoldo had died from complications from a heart attack at age 41. 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. 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.

Drug issues

In July, 2006, Leopoldo was slated to fight former UFC heavyweight champion and King of Pancrase Bas Rutten in the World Fighting Alliance. Two days before the match was scheduled to take place, Kimo tested positive for the banned substance Stanozolol, a form of anabolic steroids. Earlier in his career, he had been handed a six-month fight suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission following his match with Ken Shamrock at UFC 48 after testing positive for Stanozolol and illegal stimulants.

On February 16, 2009, it was reported that Leopoldo was arrested in Tustin, CA on charges of possession of a controlled substance. Leopoldo was standing by his car, wearing sandals, playing with a yo-yo, and donning a Long Beach, CA Police department jumpsuit which included a stitched-on badge that can only be worn by sworn officers. The cotton jumpsuit was designed for officers in the 1990s to wear in the event of major disaster response, such as a massive earthquake.

Upon arrest methamphetamine was found in the car, but later it was revealed Leopoldo was not the owner of the vehicle. However, Leopoldo was charged with possession of marijuana.

Record

MMA record

Professional record breakdown
17	10 wins	7 losses
By knockout	2	2
By submission	8	4
By decision	0	1
By disqualification	0	0
Draws	0
No contests	0

Template:Start box |- | align="center" style="background: #f0f0f0"|Date | align="center" style="background: #f0f0f0"|Outcome | align="center" style="background: #f0f0f0"|Record | align="center" style="background: #f0f0f0"|Opponent | align="center" style="background: #f0f0f0"|Method | align="center" style="background: #f0f0f0"|Event | align="center" style="background: #f0f0f0"|Round, time | align="center" style="background: #f0f0f0"|Notes |- ||2006-10-06 |style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss |10–7–1 | Wes Sims |TKO (Referee Stoppage) |Extreme Wars 5-Battlegrounds |1, 1:13 |- ||2006-09-30 |style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss |10–6–1 | Dave Legeno |Submission (Guillotine Choke) |Cage Rage 18: Battleground |1, 4:15 |- |2005-07-17 |style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss |10–5–1 | Ikuhisa Minowa |Submission (Achilles Lock) |PRIDE Bushido 8 |1, 3:11 |- |2005-05-07 |style="background: #ddffdd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-yes2" |Win |10–4–1 | Marcus Royster |Submission (Forearm Choke) |ROTR 7 |1, 4:18 |- |2004-06-19 |style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss |9–4–1 | Ken Shamrock |TKO (Knee) |UFC 48: Payback |1, 1:26 |- |2003-06-06 |style="background: #ddffdd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-yes2" |Win |9–3–1 | Tank Abbott |Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) |UFC 43: Meltdown |1, 1:59 |- |2002-07-05 |style="background: #ddffdd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-yes2" |Win |8–3–1 | Tim Lajcik |TKO (Broken Toe) |WFA 2: Level 2 |1, 1:55 |- |1998-03-13 |style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss |7–3–1 | Tsuyoshi Kohsaka |Decision |UFC 16: Battle in the Bayou |1, 15:00 |- |1997-10-11 |style="background: #c5d2ea"|Draw |7–2–1 | Dan Severn |Draw |PRIDE 1 |1, 30:00 |- |1997-04-16 |style="background: #ddffdd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-yes2" |Win |7–2 | Brian Johnston |Submission (Forearm Choke) |Ultimate Explosion |1, 1:43 |- |1996-12-07 |style="background: #ddffdd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-yes2" |Win |6–2 | Paul Varelans |TKO (Strikes) |UFC: Ultimate Ultimate 1996 |1, 9:08 |- |1996-11-17 |style="background: #ddffdd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-yes2" |Win |5–2 | Scott Bigelow |Submission (Rear Naked Choke) |U-Japan |1, 2:15 |- |1996-07-14 |style="background: #ddffdd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-yes2" |Win |4–2 | Kazushi Sakuraba |Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) |Shoot Boxing-S-Cup 1996 |1, 4:20 |- |1996-02-16 |style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss |3–2 | Ken Shamrock |Submission (Kneebar) |UFC 8: David vs. Goliath |1, 4:24 |For UFC Superfight title |- |1995-09-08 |style="background: #ddffdd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-yes2" |Win |3–1 | Patrick Smith |Submission (Punches) |United Full Contact Federation 1 |1, 2:59 |- |1995-09-08 |style="background: #ddffdd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-yes2" |Win |2–1 | Fred Floyd |Submission (Rear Naked Choke) |United Full Contact Federation 1 |1, 0:47 |- |1994-12-10 |style="background: #ddffdd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-yes2" |Win |1–1 | Patrick Smith |Submission (Punches) |K-1 Legend |1, 3:00 |- |1994-09-09 |style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss |0–1 | Royce Gracie |Submission (Armlock) |UFC 3: The American Dream |1, 4:40 |- Template:End box

Kickboxing record

Kickboxing record

3 Fights 0 wins 3 Losses 0 Draw Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time 2004-2-15 Loss Hiromi Amada K-1 Burning 2004 Okinawa, Japan KO (Left hook, 3 Knock Downs) 2 2:06 2003-8-15 Loss Bob Sapp K-1 WORLD GP 2003 IN LAS VEGAS Las Vegas, Nevada, US KO (2 Knock Downs) 2 1:11 1995-3-3 Loss Masaaki Satake K-1 Grand Prix '95 Opening Battle Tokyo, Japan TKO (3 Knock Downs, Left Middle Kick) 2 2:27 Fails to qualify for K-1 World Grand Prix 1995. Legend: Template:Legend2 Template:Legend2 Template:Legend2 Template:Legend2

External links

•  Professional MMA record for Kimo Leopoldo from Sherdog Fight Finder

fr:Kimo Leopoldo ja:キモ・レオポルド fi:Kimo Leopoldo