is a Japanese retired

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

and a former Shooto Welterweight (76 kg) Champion. He trained alongside Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto with the ''Killer Bee'' team.

Career

After a background in

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

, Kikuchi began his mixed martial arts career in the

Shooto Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the ''Shooto Association'' and the ''International Shooto Commission''. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 198 ...

leagues. As an amateur, Kikuchi won the 2001 All-Japan Shooto Championship. Turning professional, Kikuchi defeated his first five opponents in the organization and one additional opponent in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

's SuperBrawl. He suffered his first loss in August 2003 to American

Jake Shields Jake Sequoyah Shields (born January 9, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist and submission grappler. He was the last Rumble on the Rock Welterweight Champion, the only Elite XC Welterweight Champion, a former Shooto Welterweight ...

in a bout that would determine a contender for the vacant Shooto Welterweight Championship; Shields went on to become the first Welterweight Champion in Shooto since 2001. Kikuchi met Shields in a rematch in December 2004 and was victorious in a unanimous judges' decision, becoming the Welterweight Champion. Following the route of training partner Norifumi Yamamoto, Kikuchi debuted in the

K-1 HERO'S Hero's was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion operated by Fighting and Entertainment Group, the parent entity behind kickboxing organization K-1. Grown from and branched off of K-1's earlier experiments in MMA, including the ''K-1 Romanex' ...

promotion in July 2005, defeating Katsuya Inoue by first-round technical knockout. Kikuchi would secure another victory in HERO'S, overcoming a knockdown to take a decision over former

Pancrase Pancrase Inc. is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the Ancient Olympic Games. Suzuki and Funaki pr ...

Welterweight Champion

Kiuma Kunioku is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently fighting at Welterweight. A longtime veteran of the Pancrase organization, Kunioku captured the King of Pancrase Middleweight Championship and King of Pancrase Welterweight Championship before leavin ...

before returning to Shooto the next year. Kikuchi was defeated in his first title defense against

Shinya Aoki is a Japanese mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and grappler currently competing in ONE Championship's and Rizin Fighting Federation's Welterweight division. He also competes in DDT Pro-Wrestling where he is a former three-time DDT E ...

at ''Shooto: Victory of the Truth'' in February 2006, and controversy following the bout would result in the ''Killer Bee'' gym's suspension from Shooto. Norifumi Yamamoto, a key member of ''Killer Bee'', allegedly struck and verbally assaulted a Shooto official. The official, who was examining a

laceration A wound is a rapid onset of injury that involves lacerated or punctured skin (an ''open'' wound), or a contusion (a ''closed'' wound) from blunt force trauma or compression. In pathology, a ''wound'' is an acute injury that damages the epiderm ...

on Kikuchi's face from the title bout immediately prior to the incident, appeared before the International Shooto Commission. In the hearings, Yamamoto apologized for the incident, and ''Killer Bee'' was relieved of the suspension six months later. Due to the suspension length, Kikuchi fought only once more in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. On February 17, 2007, exactly one year after their first encounter, Kikuchi and Shinya Aoki met for a second time in the Professional Shooto league. Aoki, the champion, defeated Kikuchi and defended the Shooto Welterweight Championship by split judges' decision. In January 2007, it was announced that Kikuchi was entered into a welterweight tournament to be held by the World Wide Cage Network. The WWCN anticipated that the tournament champion will be sent to compete among the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

's welterweight roster. Kikuchi's first bout in the tournament, against Jared Rollins, was scheduled for March 17 in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. Kikuchi was victorious in a second-round technical knockout, advancing him to the next round of the tournament. In the semi-finals of the tournament, Kikuchi fought fellow Shooto veteran

Yoshiyuki Yoshida (born May 10, 1974) is a Japanese mixed martial artist competing in the welterweight division. A student of former Shooto competitor Noboru Asahi, he has competed in Shooto, Cage Force, and the UFC. On December 1, 2007, he became the first Cage ...

. In what was seen as an upset, Yoshida was victorious in a first-round technical knockout due to strikes on the ground. In early 2008, Kikuchi announced his retirement from mixed martial arts.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 16-4 ,

, TKO (elbows) , Greatest Common Multiple: Cage Force 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:33 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 16-3 , Ju Pyo Hong , TKO (punches) , Greatest Common Multiple: Cage Force 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:06 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 15-3 , Jared Rollins , TKO (punches) , Greatest Common Multiple: Cage Force 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:34 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 14-3 ,

, Decision (split) , Shooto: Back To Our Roots 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

, Japan , For Shooto Welterweight Championship , - , Win , align=center, 14-2 ,

Ronald Jhun Ronald Andrew Jhun Jr. (born September 21, 1970) is an American professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 1998, Jhun has formerly competed for the UFC, Strikeforce, ...

, Submission (armlock) , Shooto: Champion Carnival , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:58 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 13-2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: The Victory of the Truth , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , Lost Shooto Welterweight Championship , - , Win , align=center, 13-1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , K-1 Hero's 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 12-1 , Katsuya Inoue , TKO (punches) , K-1 Hero's 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:41 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 11-1 , Jason Brudvik , TKO (punches) , Shooto: 4/23 in Hakata Star Lanes , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:32 ,

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 10-1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: Year End Show 2004 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , Won Shooto Welterweight Championship , - , Win , align=center, 9-1 , Ramunas Komas , Submission (armbar) , Shooto: 9/26 in Kourakuen Hall , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:21 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 8-1 , Jutaro Nakao , Decision (majority) , Shooto 2004: 5/3 in Korakuen Hall , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7-1 , Sammy Morgan , Submission (armbar) , Shooto: 3/4 in Kitazawa Town Hall , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:51 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 6-1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: 8/10 in Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6-0 ,

Seichi Ikemoto is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He is a veteran of Shooto, PRIDE and DEEP. His specialty is a "double punch", in which he puts his hands together and throws them at his opponent. Biography and career Ikemoto is a former holder of the DEE ...

, Submission (armbar) , Shooto 2003: 6/27 in Hiroshima Sun Plaza , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:28 ,

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5-0 , Toru Nakayama , TKO (punches) , Shooto: 2/23 in Korakuen Hall , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:53 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4-0 , Kolo Koka , Submission (keylock) , SuperBrawl 27 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:09 ,

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3-0 , Shigetoshi Iwase , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: Treasure Hunt 9 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2-0 , Jani Lax , Submission (kimura) , Shooto: Wanna Shooto 2002 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:51 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1-0 , Yoichi Fukumoto , Submission (armbar) , Shooto: Treasure Hunt 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:18 ,

, Japan ,

References and footnotes

External links

*
Killer Bee official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kikuchi, Akira Living people 1978 births Japanese male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Japanese male judoka Sportspeople from Miyagi Prefecture

Career

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References and footnotes

External links