Kimo Leopoldo

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 a military father and a German mother. 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 with his huge size advantage, Leopoldo did not win the match.

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.

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 sworn officers during an environmental disaster, he also appeared to be under the influence of methamphetamine.^[5][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]

Record

Mixed martial arts record

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) 2 2:06 2003-8-15 Loss Bob Sapp K-1 WORLD GP 2003 IN LAS VEGAS Las Vegas, Nevada, United States KO (punch) 2 1:11 1995-3-3 Loss 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

External links

• Kimo Leopoldo on Facebook
• Kimo Leopoldo on Google+
• Kimo Leopoldo at the Internet Movie Database
• Kimo Leopoldo on Myspace
• Official website
• Professional MMA record for Kimo Leopoldo from Sherdog
• Kimo Leopoldo on Twitter
• Kimo Leopoldo on UFC.com
• Kimo Leopoldo's channel on YouTube