Kestutis Smirnovas is a

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

MMA 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, incorp ...

fighter and

Judoka is an unarmed 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 Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

who fought in

Pride Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

RINGS Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

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 ...

and

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'' ...

. He is also a politician and a public figure.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Smirnovas started his career in 2000. He fought mainly for Rings Lithuania and Shooto Lithuania, obtaining a record of sixteen victories and five losses until the first half of 2005.

K-1 and K-1 Hero's

Smirnovas faced Tadeush Cholodinskij on March 10, 2006 at ''K-1: East Europe Max GP'' for the K-1 East Europe Max heavyweight title. He won via split decision after three, five-minutes rounds. Smirnovas faced

Pride FC PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

veteran

Kazushi Sakuraba is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and submission wrestler, currently signed to Rizin Fighting Federation and Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was formerly one-half of the former GHC Tag Team Champions with Takashi Sugiura. ...

on August 5, 2006 at ''K-1 Hero's 6'' in the quarterfinal of Hero's 2006 light heavyweight grand prix. Despite dominating the beginning of the contest, almost knocking Sakuraba out with a long sequence of

ground-and-pound 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 ...

, Smirnovas lost via submission due to an armbar still in the first round. Smirnovas replaced Sakuraba in the semifinal as he was unable to compete due to medical conditions. He faced

Yoshihiro Akiyama , also known as and by his nickname Sexyama, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and judoka who won the gold medal at the 2001 Asian Championships for South Korea and for Japan at the 2002 Asian Games. A fourth-generation Japanese of ...

on October 9, 2006 at ''K-1 Hero's 7'', losing via TKO in the first round.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993, well known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights and Grand Prix tournaments. In January 2012, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired ...

**K-1 East Europe Max heavyweight title (2006)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 24–8–1 , Grzegorz Lenart , Submission (armbar) , King of Kings: World Grand Prix 2014 in Vilnius , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:35 ,

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 23–8–1 , Mike Jonker , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Bushido Lithuania - Hero's 2013 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:58 ,

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 22–8–1 , David Marcina , Submission (kimura) , Shooto Lithuania: Bushido 2008 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:37 ,

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 21–8–1 , Damba Radnaev , Submission (armbar) , K-1 Hero's: Hero's Lithuania 2007 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:20 ,

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 20–8–1 , Vladimir Yushko , Submission (armbar) , Bushido Lithuania: Battle of Saule 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:40 , Siauliai, Lithuania , , - , Loss , align=center, 19–8–1 ,

Nobutatsu Suzuki is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist who last competed in the Lightweight division of ONE FC. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, he has also competed for Vale Tudo Japan. He was the inaugural ONE FC Welterweight Champion. Bac ...

, TKO (doctor stoppage) , Zst 13 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 ...

, Japan , , - , Draw , align=center, 19–7–1 , Valentin Golubovskij , Draw , K-1: East Europe Max , , align=center, 3 , align=center, N/A ,

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 19–7 , Thomas Valentin , KO (punches) , K-1 Hero's Lithuania , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:01 ,

, Lithuania , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–7 ,

, TKO (punches) , K-1 Hero's 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:01 ,

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 , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–6 ,

, Submission (armbar) , K-1 Hero's 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 6:41 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 18–5 , Tadeush Cholodinskij , Decision (split) , K-1: East Europe Max GP , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 17–5 ,

Hiromitsu Miura is a Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight division. He is also a former boxer who competed in the light heavyweight division. Mixed martial arts career Miura earned a WEC title fight against WEC Welterweight Champion C ...

, TKO (punches) , K-1 Hero's: Hero's Lithuania 2005 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:30 ,

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 16–5 , Grazhuydas Smailis , Submission (armbar) , Shooto Lithuania: Chaosas , , align=center, N/A , align=center, N/A ,

, Lithuania , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–5 , Rodolfo Amaro da Silva , TKO , Shooto Lithuania - Bushido , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:58 ,

, Lithuania , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–4 , Sam Nest , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Zst: Grand Prix 2 Opening Round , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:58 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 15–3 , Romualds Garkulis , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Shooto Lithuania: Gladiators , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:37 ,

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Petras Markevicius , Submission (choke) , Shooto Lithuania: Bushido King , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:50 ,

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Vidmantas Tatarunas , Submission (choke) , Bushido Lithuania: Storm , , align=center, N/A , align=center, N/A , Sakiai, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Grazhuydas Smailis , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Shooto Lithuania: Vendetta , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Egidijus Petrushkevicius , align=center, N/A , Bushido Lithuania: Ronin , , align=center, N/A , align=center, N/A ,

Alytus Alytus is a city with municipal rights in southern Lithuania. It is the capital of Alytus County. Its population in 2022 was 53,925. Alytus is the historical centre of the Dzūkija region. The city lies on the banks of the Nemunas River. The maj ...

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Grzegorz Jakubowski , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Shooto Lithuania: King of Bushido Stage 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:35 ,

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 , Roman Sukoterin , Decision (split) , Shooto Lithuania: King of Bushido Stage 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3 ,

Masaya Inoue Masaya Inoue (born September 10, 1973) is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He competed in the Light heavyweight division. Mixed martial arts record , - , Loss , align=center, 3-3 , Riki Fukuda , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: 1/29 in ...

, TKO (retirement) , Shooto - 9/5 in Korakuen Hall , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3 , Kestutis Stankevicius , Decision , Rings Lithuania: Explosion , , align=center, N/A , align=center, N/A ,

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 6–3 , Mariusz Ligizynski , Submission (kimura) , Rings Lithuania: Bushido Rings 7 – Adrenalinas , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:45 ,

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 5–3 , Darius Jonyla , Submission (armbar) , Rings Lithuania: Bushido Rings 6: Dynamite , , align=center, N/A , align=center, N/A ,

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 4–3 , Vladimir Smantster , Submission (armbar) , Rings Lithuania: Bushido Rings 5: Shock , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 3–3 , Takahiro Oba , Submission (armbar) , Pride FC: The Best, Vol. 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:55 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2–3 , Pavel Dolgov , Decision , Rings Lithuania: Bushido Rings 4 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Lithuania , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–3 ,

Hirotaka Yokoi (born June 8, 1978) is a Japanese former mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A professional MMA competitor from 2000 until 2007, Yokoi fought for PRIDE, Shooto, RINGS, and DEEP, while in professional wrestling he wrestled mainly for P ...

, Decision , Rings Lithuania: Bushido Rings 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Lithuania , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–2 ,

Mikhail Ilyukhin Mikhail Ilyukhin (born November 21, 1966) is a retired Russian mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who competed in the light heavyweight division. He competed in both Fighting Network Rings, and Pride Fighting Championships, and was ...

, Submission (achilles lock) , Rings Lithuania: Bushido Rings 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 1–1 , Ruslan Mirzoev , Decision (3–2 points) , Rings Russia: Russia vs. Bulgaria , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 10:00 ,

Ekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administrat ...

, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 , Victor Yerohin , Submission (leg lock) , Rings Lithuania: Bushido Rings 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 8:00 ,

, Lithuania ,

Politics and activism

Social activities: President of Šakiai judo sports club "Audra", member of the board of the Šakiai branch of LVTGO "Save the Children", member of the board of the Šakiai youth union "Apskritas stalas"Seimas elections of the Republic of Lithuania, Kęstutis Smirnovas data
(archived copy)
/ref> Since 2007 he is council member of Šakių district municipality. In 2016 he was elected to the

Seimas The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas), or simply the Seimas (), is the unicameral parliament of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of government in Lithuania, enacting laws and amendmen ...

, defeating Prime Minister

Algirdas Butkevičius Algirdas Butkevičius (born 19 November 1958) is a Lithuanian politician and was Prime Minister of Lithuania, serving between 2012 and 2016. He also served as the Minister of Finance from 2004 to 2005 and the Minister of Transport and Communicati ...

in the

Vilkaviškis Vilkaviškis () is a city in southwestern Lithuania, the administrative center of the Vilkaviškis District Municipality. It is located northwest from Marijampolė, at the confluence of of and rivers. The city got its name from the Vilkau ...

electoral district.Laura Ivaškaitė
"Premjerą nokautavęs kovotojas Kęstutis Smirnovas atskleidė, kas padėjo laimėti"
October 24, 2016, '' lrytas.lt''

Personal

Daughter Julija Smirnovaitė from the first marriage with Gintarė, Simona, Paulina, Jakūbas from the second marriage.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smirnovas, Kestutis People from Šakiai Lithuanian male mixed martial artists Lithuanian male judoka 1976 births Living people Heavyweight mixed martial artists Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Sportspeople from Vilnius 21st-century Lithuanian politicians Lithuanian politicians