Kit Cope

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Kit Cope
Born Kristopher Lee Cope
(1977-03-17) March 17, 1977
Mesa, Arizona, United States
Other names The Prophecy
Nationality United States American
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 70.0 kg (154.3 lb; 11.02 st)
Division Lightweight
Welterweight
Reach 71.5 in (182 cm)
Style Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai
Fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Team Twisted Genetiks
Hyena Muay Thai
Wand Fight Team
SitWishan
Trainer Master Toddy
Rank      purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Years active 1999-present
Professional boxing record
Total 2
Wins 1
By knockout 1
Losses 1
By knockout 1
Draws 0
Kickboxing record
Total 26
Wins 23
By knockout 9
Losses 3
By knockout 2
Draws 0
Mixed martial arts record
Total 13
Wins 6
By knockout 3
By submission 3
Losses 7
By knockout 1
By submission 6
Draws 0
Other information
Website www.kitcope.com
last updated on: September 8, 2012

Kristopher Lee "Kit" Cope (born March 17, 1977) is an American kickboxer and mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight and welterweight divisions. A one-time IPMTO World Light Heavyweight Champion, Cope later went on to fight in the K-1, Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting promotions.

Career

Kit Cope was born on Williams Air Force Base in Mesa, Arizona and later relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada. He began his fighting career as a Muay Thai kickboxer, going 15-0 and winning the lightly-regarded IPMTO World Light Heavyweight Championship before suffering the first loss of his career on November 22, 1999 when he was knocked out by Akeomi Nitta in the All Japan Kickboxing Federation in Tokyo, Japan. Nitta attacked Cope, who has noticeably thin legs for a nak muay, with low kicks throughout the bout and scored a knockdown in round three. Cope was able to beat the referee's count but Nitta switched to a high kick which left Cope unconscious at the 2:21 mark of round three.[1]

On March 17, 2000, Cope defeated reigning ISKA World Super Welterweight (-69.5 kg/153.2 lb) Muay Thai Champion Alex Gong by unanimous decision in a non-title bout in Las Vegas. He also fought in shoot boxing that year, losing a unanimous decision to Kenichi Ogata in Tokyo on May 21, 2000. Cope made his K-1 debut on August 17, 2002 and stopped Heath Harris with a low kick in the opening round on the K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 in Las Vegas undercard.[2]

He was featured in an episode of True Life entitled "I'm a Muay Thai Fighter", which chronicled his training and journey to Thailand where he knocked out Burmese fighter Mojo Mawadee in a bare-knuckle lethwei match at the Songkran Festival in Mae Sot on April 13, 2004.

Having begun his mixed martial arts career in 1999, Cope debuted in the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale in his hometown of Las Vegas on November 5, 2005. He was caught in an armbar at the end of round one and actually tapped out. The bell signaling the end of the round had already rung, however, and he continued in round two with his arm noticeably injured. He submitted to a rear-naked choke soon after. During the broadcast, commentator Mike Goldberg made a number of dubious and misleading comments on Cope's Muay Thai accomplishments, calling him "the cream of the crop in Muay Thai" and "one of the best" strikers in the world.

On January 20, 2007, he fought fellow Muay Thai stylist Rob McCullough for the vacant WEC Lightweight Championship at WEC 25 and lost via submission due to an injury. Following the bout, he tested positive for the anabolic steroid Boldenone[3] which is on the banned substances list of all the major athletic commissions and sports leagues.[3]

He was expected to make his return to Muay Thai against Jose Palacios for the WBC Muaythai United States welterweight (-66.678 kg/147 lb) title at Lion Fight: Battle in the Desert 4 on November 19, 2011.[4][5] However, he was not cleared to fight by the Nevada Athletic Commission for unknown reasons and was replaced by Malaipet Sasiprapa.[6] The fight was rescheduled for Lion Fight: Battle in the Desert 5 on February 25, 2012[7] but he again withdrew.[8]

Cope returned to K-1 ten years after his first appearance in the promotion, facing Chaz Mulkey at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2012 in Los Angeles on September 8, 2012. He injured himself while attempting a spinning kick in round two, and Mulkey was able to knock him down three time by attacking his injured leg, which caused referee Vichai "Rex" Supkitpol to stop the bout and announce Mulkey as the winner by TKO.[9]

Personal life

Cope was once engaged to Gina Carano.[10]

He was a contestant on a March 15, 2004 episode of Fear Factor, a reality television game show, and also featured twice on MTV's True Life in the episodes "I'm a Muay Thai Fighter" and "I'm a Mixed Martial Arts Fighter". In 2007, he was one of three hosts on Wild World of Spike, a television series featuring amateur sports footage and the hosts' attempts at recreating them.

Championships and awards

Amateur wrestling

  • Nevada State Wrestling
    • Nevada State Freestyle Wrestling Champion (Two times)

Kickboxing

  • International Professional Muay Thai Organization
    • IPMTO World Light Heavyweight Championship

Boxing record

Boxing record
1 win (1 KO), 1 loss, 0 draws
Date Result Opponent Venue Location Method Round Time Record
2000-11-18 Loss United States Francisco Corrales The Orleans Las Vegas, Nevada, USA TKO 3 2:59 1-1
2000-07-28 Win United States Edward Scolaro The Orleans Las Vegas, Nevada, USA TKO 2 0:16 1-0

Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw/No contest       Notes

Kickboxing record

Kickboxing record
23 wins (9 KOs), 3 losses, 0 draws
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time
2012-09-08 Loss United States Chaz Mulkey K-1 World Grand Prix 2012 in Los Angeles Los Angeles, California, USA TKO (right low kick) 2 2:16
2004-04-13 Win Myanmar Mojo Mawadee 2004 Songkran Festival Mae Sot, Thailand KO (right cross) 1 1:59
2002-08-17 Win United States Heath Harris K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 in Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada, USA KO (low kick) 1
2000-05-21 Loss Japan Kenichi Ogata WSBA: Invade 3rd Stage Tokyo, Japan Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
2000-03-17 Win United States Alex Gong Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Decision (unanimous) 5 3:00
1999-11-22 Loss Japan Akeomi Nitta AJKF: WAVE-XIII Tokyo, Japan KO (high kick) 3 2:21

Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw/No contest       Notes

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 6–7 Daniel Smyrk TKO (punches) Kings of Kombat 7 June 23, 2012 2 Keysborough, Victoria, Australia
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 5–7 Jeff Harrison Submission (armbar) Wreck MMA: Road to Glory April 20, 2012 1 2:12 Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 4–7 Freddy Assuncao Submission (rear-naked choke) Fight Night Entertainment: Round 13 – Impact March 11, 2011 2 3:47 Bellingham, Washington, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 4–6 Corey Hill Submission (triangle choke) Raging Wolf VIII: Cage Supremacy July 17, 2010 1 2:30 Salamanca, New York, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 4–5 Cameron Dollar Submission (rear-naked choke) Ring of Fire 36 December 5, 2009 1 4:38 Denver, Colorado, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 4–4 Zach Skinner TKO (punches) Fight Night Events May 31, 2008 2 3:27 Anaheim, California, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 3–4 Dave Cochran Submission (triangle choke) World Fighting Championships 7: Lockdown May 31, 2008 1 4:32 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 2–4 Rob McCullough Submission (injury) WEC 25 January 20, 2007 1 2:53 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States For the WEC Lightweight Championship.
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 2–3 Kenny Florian Submission (rear-naked choke) The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale November 5, 2005 2 0:37 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 2–2 Mike Lucero TKO (strikes) Valor Fighting: Home of the Brave July 2, 2005 1 2:50 Susanville, California, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 1–2 Emmett Olvera Submission (guillotine choke) Venom: First Strike September 18, 2004 1 2:37 Huntington Beach, California, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 0–2 Tiki Ghosn TKO (retirement) WFA 2: Level 2 July 5, 2002 2 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 0–1 William Sriyapai Submission (rear-naked choke) KOTC 1 - Bas Rutten's King of the Cage October 30, 1999 1 3:18 San Jacinto, California, United States

External links

References

  1. ↑ 99･11･22 全日本キックボクシング連盟 "WAVE-XIII" 後楽園ホール
  2. ↑ K-1 USA Semi Finals
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=3332&zoneid=3
  4. ↑ Kit Cope rumored to be returning to Muay Thai against Jose Palacios at Lion Fight Promotions "Battle in the Desert 4"
  5. ↑ Updated Lion Fight Promotions "Battle in the Desert 4" fight card; Palacios, Cope, Richardson, Maxwell, Leung and Otterbein confirmed
  6. ↑ BREAKING NEWS: Malaipet replaces Kit Cope at Lion Fight Promotions "Battle in the Desert 4"
  7. ↑ Coke, Embree, Leffler, Palacios and more expected to be in action at Lion Fight Promotions "Battle in the Desert 5"
  8. ↑ Shane Oblonsky expected to replace Kit Cope against Jose Palacios at Lion Fight Promotions "Battle in the Desert 5"
  9. ↑ Results and Recap: K-1 Los Angeles MAX Tourney fights
  10. ↑ She stepped out of an engagement with Muay Thai fighter Kit Cope.
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