was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

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, incorp ...

and

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, also known under the ring name . Kimura was known for his work in promotions like

Dramatic Dream Team is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name stands for Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's official name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the promotion was eventually bo ...

W*ING Wrestling International New Generations (W*ING) was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion specialized in deathmatches. History After leaving Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling in the summer of 1991, Kazuyoshi Osako and Kiyoshi "Mickey" Ibarag ...

Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling Fighting of World Japan Pro-Wrestling, frequently shortened to World Japan or WJ was a professional wrestling promotion formed in Japan in 2002 by former New Japan Pro-Wrestling employees Riki Choshu and Katsuji Nagashima, who also served as chairm ...

and

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...

, among others. He was also involved in MMA, facing

Rickson Gracie Rickson Gracie (; born November 21, 1958) is a Brazilian 9th-degree red belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and a retired mixed martial artist. He is a member of the Gracie family: the third oldest son of Hélio Gracie, brother to Rorion and Relson Grac ...

at the second event of

Vale Tudo Japan is an annual mixed martial arts competition held in Japan. Originally arranged by promoter and former professional wrestler Satoru Sayama, he had previously created a hybrid martial art organization named Shooto in 1985. He arranged VTJ in 1994 w ...

and being the founder of the female MMA brands AX and G-Shooto. He also competed in Fighting Network RINGS during its early years and participated in both mixed-style shoot contests and shoot style matches for the company. Kimura died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on October 28, 2014.

Championships and accomplishments

KO-D Openweight Championship The is a professional wrestling world openweight championship and the top singles accomplishment in the Japanese promotion CyberFight currently defended in the DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT) brand division. It is one of CyberFight's top major world tit ...

( 3 times) :*

KO-D Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Japanese promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). The title was established in 2001. In its early days, DDT occasionally referred to the title as the . It is currently the only tag te ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) – with

Mikami is a Japanese name. Place Name * Mount Mikami, a mountain in Yasu City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan * Mikami Shrine, a temple at the foot of Mount Mikami Surname Notable people with the surname include: *Kyohei Mikami, Japanese wrestler * Masat ...

:* DDT Tag League/KO-D Tag League – with

Tomohiko Hashimoto is a Japanese professional wrestler and former judoka and mixed martial artist, best known for his time with Dramatic Dream Team (DDT), where he competed as a mainstay from 2000 to 2006. After working as a freelancer on the Japanese independent c ...

(

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

) and Mikami (

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 1–2 ,

, Submission (rear naked choke) , Vale Tudo Japan 1995 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:07 ,

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 , , - , Win , align=center, 1–1 , Wayne Emons , Submission (guillotine choke) , Vale Tudo Japan 1995 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 6:05 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 ,

Todd Hays Todd Dennys Hays (born May 21, 1969) is a former American bobsledder who competed from 1994 to 2006. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won the silver medal in the four-man event at Salt Lake City in 2002, breaking a 46-year medal drought fo ...

, Submission (guillotine choke) , Vale Tudo Japan 1995 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:05 ,

, Japan ,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kimura, Koichiro Japanese male professional wrestlers Japanese male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing judo People from Gunma Prefecture Mixed martial arts referees 1969 births 2014 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in Japan 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers Ironman Heavymetalweight Champions KO-D Tag Team Champions KO-D Openweight Champions