Kenichi Yamamoto (mixed martial artist)

Kenichi Yamamoto (山本 喧一, Yamamoto Ken'ichi) (born June 11, 1976) is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. Known for his pro wrestling career in UWF International, Yamamoto also competed against some of the best MMA fighters of his era in RINGS, Pride and the UFC, taking on Kevin Randleman, Genki Sudo and Pat Miletich, among others.

Kenichi Yamamoto
Born (1976-06-11) June 11, 1976
Other namesYamaken
NationalityJapanese
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight185 lb (84 kg)
DivisionMiddleweight
Light Heavyweight (formerly)
Welterweight (formerly)
TeamPower of Dream
Teacher(s)Nobuhiko Takada
Akira Maeda
Years active1998-present
Mixed martial arts record
Total19
Wins5
By knockout2
By submission2
By decision1
Losses12
By knockout7
By submission3
By decision2
Draws2
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

He returned to the ring against former Pancrase Light Heavyweight titlist Keiichiro Yamamiya on October 27, 2012. He lost via unanimous decision.

Professional wrestling career

A fan of Akira Maeda, Yamamoto was trained in karate since his childhood and entered the Seidokaikan school before turning his attention to professional wrestling. In 1993, he was accepted in Union of Wrestling Forces International and debuted on October 14 in a match against Kazushi Sakuraba. After two years on the mid card, he joined Yoji Anjo and Yoshihiro Takayama to form the Golden Cups stable, in which he gained fame. In 1996, UWF International closed and Yamamoto moved to Kingdom, before eventually joining Fighting Network Rings in 1998. While in Rings, he had to skip several months of action due to a surgery to remove a benign tumor, and ended leaving the company in 1999.

Mixed martial arts career

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In November 1999 Yamamoto had his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at the UFC 23 event, taking part on the night's tournament. His first opponent was Wajutsu Keishukai representative Daiju Takase. The fight was slow, with Yamamoto being the superior striker and Takase constantly pulling guard to stop the action, so Kenichi resorted to headbutts to the midsection to do damage and even performed a cartwheel guard pass inspired on his training partner Sakuraba. Takase tried some high kicks and a triangle choke, but Yamamoto blocked them and landed punches and elbow strikes to the body, winning the decision.

The final fight was against Katsuhisa Fujii, which proved to be a tougher bout. The heavier Fujii took Yamamoto down several times and attacked with ground and pound, consistently endangering the former Rings wrestler. However, after opting to pull guard at the start of the second round, Kenichi surprised Fujii with a kneebar and made him tap out, winning the fight and the tournament.[1]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Professional wrestling

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
19 matches 5 wins 12 losses
By knockout 2 7
By submission 2 3
By decision 1 2
Draws 2
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 5–12–2 Kazuo Takahashi KO (knee) U-Spirits - U-Spirits Again March 9, 2013 1 6:29 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 5–11–2 Keiichiro Yamamiya Decision (unanimous) Grabaka Live 2 October 27, 2012 2 5:00 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 5–10–2 Sanae Kikuta TKO (punches) Grabaka Live: 1st Cage Attack October 15, 2011 1 2:18 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 5–9–2 Diego Lionel Vitosky TKO (corner stoppage) MARS: Bodog Fight October 4, 2006 2 n/a Tokyo, Japan
Loss 5–8–2 Kaream Ellington TKO (punches) Mix FC: USA vs. Russia 3 June 3, 2006 1 4:51 Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win 5–7–2 German Reyes KO (high kick) Ryukyu Fight Night 2 November 13, 2005 2 2:20 Okinawa, Japan
Loss 4–7–2 Ikuhisa Minowa TKO (punches) Pride Bushido 4 July 19, 2004 1 3:23 Nagoya, Japan
Loss 4–6–2 Alexander Otsuka Decision (unanimous) Pride 25 March 16, 2003 3 5:00 Yokohama, Japan
Loss 4–5–2 Kevin Randleman TKO (knees) Pride 23 November 24, 2002 3 1:16 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 4–4–2 Genki Sudo Submission (rear-naked choke) Rings: World Title Series 5 December 21, 2001 2 1:46 Yokohama, Japan
Draw 4–3–2 Akira Yasumura Draw Club Fight Nagoya March 4, 2001 1 10:00 Nagoya, Japan
Draw 4–3–1 Kenji Akiyama Draw Club Fight Osaka January 27, 2001 1 10:00 Osaka, Japan
Loss 4–3 Pat Miletich Submission (guillotine choke) UFC 29 December 16, 2000 2 1:58 Tokyo, Japan For UFC Welterweight Championship
Win 4–2 Tatsuya Kurahashi KO (punches) Club Fight: Round 1 November 12, 2000 1 8:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 3–2 Katsuhisa Fujii Submission (kneebar) UFC 23 November 19, 1999 1 4:15 Urayasu, Japan Won UFC Japan Middleweight Tournament
Win 2–2 Daiju Takase Decision (unanimous) UFC 23 November 19, 1999 3 5:00 Urayasu, Japan
Loss 1–2 Kiyoshi Tamura TKO Rings: World Mega Battle Tournament December 23, 1998 2 1:26 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 1–1 Masayuki Naruse Submission Rings: Fourth Fighting Integration June 27, 1998 1 11:07 Tokyo, Japan
Win 1–0 Chris Haseman Submission Rings: Third Fighting Integration May 29, 1998 1 12:39 Tokyo, Japan

Kickboxing record
Kickboxing record
1 win (1 KO), 0 losses
Result Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 1-0 Den Sakumonti KO (elbow) M-1 Muay Thai Challenge April 11, 2004 3 1:24 Tokyo, Japan Muay thai rules

Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest

gollark: Probably.
gollark: Wait, who *are* these eyewitnesses?
gollark: Nope, still alive, definitely alive and not killed.
gollark: Also, it would probably convince me its policies were best.
gollark: It doesn't like me.

References
  1. Scott Newman (January 3, 2007). "MMA Review: #105: UFC 23: Ultimate Japan II". The Oratory. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.