Kevin Rosier (January 6, 1962 – April 14, 2015) was an American

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, gener ...

, boxer and

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 ...

. He had much success as a kickboxer, winning a number of titles, but did not transition particularly well into the world of boxing and was mostly seen as a

journeyman A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that f ...

fighter. Notably, he also took part at the inaugural

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 ...

event in 1993 where he reached the semi-finals.

Career

Kickboxing and boxing

Rosier spent the majority of his fighting career in

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, gen ...

where he held a record of 66 wins, all by knockout, and 8 losses. He was also the 3x WKA World Super Heavyweight Champion and

ISKA The ISKA (originally International Sport Karate Association, later also called the International Sport Kickboxing Association) is one of the major international bodies regulating sport karate and kickboxing matches, and is based in the Unite ...

North American Super Heavyweight Champion. His kickboxing career began in the 1980s and his last bout came in 1999 when he lost to Mike Labree in a fight for the vacant IKF International Kickboxing Federation Pro Full Contact Rules Super Heavyweight World Title on May 15, 1999 in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA. At 26 seconds into round 10, LaBree caught Rosier with a short left to the head and Rosier went down to his knees and the bout was stopped. He also had a 12-year career as a

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

in which he held a 7–17 record. He fought between 1989 and 2001 and came up against a number of high-profile opponents including

Josué Blocus Josué Edmond Blocus (born 20 November 1969) is a French heavyweight boxer who competed in the 1996 Olympics. Blocus is a black Frenchman whose family is from Guadeloupe. Amateur career At the 1996 European Championships in Vejle, Denmark, he ...

, Roman Bugaj,

Tye Fields Walter Tyeson "Tye" Fields (born February 8, 1975) is an American former professional boxer who held the USBA heavyweight title. Boxing career Tye Fields grew up in Beaverton, Oregon. Fields played college basketball and was a starter at forwar ...

, Vincent Maddalone, Joe Mesi, Nikolai Valuev,

Taurus Sykes Taurus Jabbar Sykes, (born May 20, 1975) is a professional boxer. He has been fighting as a heavyweight, and has fought against several contenders, and currently holds a record of 25-6-1. He turned pro in 1998. Overview Sykes, who hails from B ...

, Dan Voss Jr and

Paea Wolfgramm Paea Wolfgramm (born December 1, 1969) is a Tongan retired boxer. Nicknamed "The Tongan Warrior", Wolfgramm won the Super Heavyweight silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics, making him the first athlete from Tonga to win an Olympic medal. Pe ...

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In 1993, with only five weeks notice, Rosier elicited the help of his former student World Kickboxing Champion

A.J. Verel A. J. Verel (born March 2, ?) is an American kickboxer, martial artist, actor, stuntman and inductee into the Pro Martial Arts/MMA Hall of Fame. Verel is a former Light Heavyweight & Middleweight sport karate and kickboxing Champion. In 1992 ...

to coach and train him for

UFC 1 ''The Ultimate Fighting Championship'' (later renamed ''UFC 1: The Beginning'') was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, United States, on November ...

, the very first

mixed martial arts 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 strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

event held by the

. His first match in the tournament, the second in the card, pitted him against

American Kenpo American Kenpo Karate (), also known as Ed Parker's Kenpo Karate, American Kenpo and Kenpo Karate, is an all-inclusive system of martial arts based on ancient martial arts methods applied to solve modern-day violent scenarios using logic and pract ...

expert and two-time World Kickboxing Federation super heavyweight champion

Zane Frazier Zane Troy Frazier (born July 16, 1966) is an American former karateka, kickboxer and mixed martial artist who competed in the heavyweight division. After a successful career in karate during the 1980s in which he won numerous international accola ...

.Don Beu, ''The Ultimate Fighting Championship: Jujutsu and Royce Gracie Reign Supreme at No-Holds-Barred Tournament'', Black Belt magazine, March 1994 Rosier opened the match knocking Frazier down with punches,

knee strike A knee strike (commonly referred to simply as a knee) is a strike with the knee, either with the kneecap or the surrounding area. Kneeing is a disallowed practice in many combat sports, especially to the head of a downed opponent. Styles such a ...

s and an

elbow strike An elbow strike (commonly referred to as simply an elbow) is a strike with the point of the elbow, the part of the forearm nearest to the elbow, or the part of the upper arm nearest to the elbow. Elbows can be thrown sideways similarly to a hook ...

to the turtled up Frazier's back, but his opponent recovered and went to exchange knee strikes with him in the

clinch Clinch may refer to: * Nail (fastener) or device to hold in this way * Clinching, in metalworking * Clinch fighting or the clinch, a grappling position in boxing or wrestling, a stand-up embrace * Clinch County, Georgia, USA * Clinch River, near T ...

. At that moment, capitalizing on the lack of regulation about hair pulling and

groin attack A groin attack is a deliberate strike to the groin area of one's opponent. The technique can be quickly debilitating due to the sensitivity of the groin area and genitalia, and is sometimes used as a self-defense technique. The technique is often ...

s, Frazier managed to take over by striking Rosier with a low blow and dragging him by the hair. The kenpo fighter dominated the fight with striking combinations both standing and on their knees, even breaking Rosier's jaw with a right hand. Some minutes later, however, Frazier slowed down due to exhaustion, allowing Rosier to recover and come back with several punches that put Frazier against the fence. Rosier then pushed him down to the mat and scored multiple punches and stomps to the back of the head until Frazier's corner threw the towel. In the semifinals, Rosier came up against Dutch

savate Savate (), also known as boxe française, savate boxing, French boxing or French footfighting, is a French kickboxing combat sport that uses the hands and feet as weapons combining elements of English boxing with graceful kicking techniques. ...

fighter

Gerard Gordeau Gerard Gordeau (born March 30, 1955) is a Dutch former Savateur, Karateka, Kickboxer, and mixed martial artist. He is the 1991 World Champion Savate and holder of the Dutch Champion Karate title for 8 consecutive years, but foremost known interna ...

. The Dutchman targeted Rosier's knees with leg kicks and kept distance with him through jabbing. When Rosier was forced to cover down after a barrage of knees and elbows, Gordeau scored a stomp to the

spleen The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes .

, prompting Rosier to tap on the mat, signalling his submission. Although eliminated from the tournament, Rosier praised Gordeau and expressed the desire to return. After this, he continued to compete in MMA and next fought at

UFC 4 ''UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on December 16, 1994, at the Expo Center Pavilion in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. The event was seen live on pay-per-vie ...

where he lost via submission 14 seconds into his bout with "The Ghetto Man"

Joe Charles Joe Charles (born July 18, 1958) is an American mixed martial artist. He competed in the Heavyweight division. He is best known for his time in the UFC from 1994 to 2000. Career Charles was an accomplished high school wrestler and judoka, work ...

. He competed five more times in MMA, losing four and winning one, and retired with a record of two wins and six losses.

Later life

After retiring from competition, Kevin suffered several bouts of illness (including

open-heart surgery Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to co ...

and a nearly fatal fall while already in intensive care). As of August 2013, Kevin was in stable health & reportedly residing in a retirement resort in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

. In April 2015, Rosier died of an apparent

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

Championships and awards

Kickboxing

*1994 WKKC (

World Karate and Kickboxing Council In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

) World Superheavyweight Champion *1990 WKA ( World Karate Association) World Superheavyweight Champion (above the waist) *1990 ISKA (

International Sport Karate Association The ISKA (originally International Sport Karate Association, later also called the International Sport Kickboxing Association) is one of the major international bodies regulating sport karate and kickboxing matches, and is based in the Unite ...

) North American Superheavyweight Champion *3X WKA (

World Kickboxing Association The World Kickboxing Association (WKA) also known as World Kickboxing and Karate Association, is one of the oldest and the largest amateur and professional sanctioning body for kickboxing and Karate. History In 1976, the WKA was founded by Howa ...

) World Superheavyweight Champion *1989 All-Japan World Champion *1987 United States Kung-Fu Karate National No-Rules Tournament Champion *1989 WKA ( World Karate Association) World Championship Title Fight (full contact karate)The Ventura County Star Free Press, Oxnard Press Courier

Kickboxing record

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Mike Labree Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

, , Mass Destruction: The Ultimate Night of Fighting , , Lowell, Massachusetts, USA , , TKO (left hook) , , 10 , , 0:26 , , 66-8 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 1994-00-00 , , Win , , align=left,

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, , TKO (referee stoppage/right uppercut) , , 6 , , 1:05 , , 15-2 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 1989-04-27 , , Win , , align=left, Dan Voss Jr , , Coors: SUPERFIGHTS Full Contact Karate - , ,

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Mixed martial arts record

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, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 2–5 , Joe Bramante , Submission (rear-naked choke) , IFC: Fighters Revenge , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:01 ,

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Dan Severn Daniel DeWayne Severn (born June 8, 1958), nicknamed "The Beast", is an American professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. A UFC Hall of Fame member, Severn is considered one of the leading pioneers of mixed mart ...

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Conesville, Iowa Conesville is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 352 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Muscatine Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Conesville was once a depot on the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northe ...

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, TKO (knees) , Extreme Challenge 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:53 ,

Muncie, Indiana Muncie ( ) is an incorporated city and the seat of Delaware County, Indiana. Previously known as Buckongahelas Town, named after the legendary Delaware Chief.http://www.delawarecountyhistory.org/history/docs/lenape-villages.pdf It is located in ...

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Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * * *
Kevin Rosier — retired MMA fighter and bodyguard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosier, Kevin 1962 births 2015 deaths People from Lancaster, New York American male kickboxers Kickboxers from New York (state) Heavyweight kickboxers Heavyweight boxers Boxers from New York (state) American male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists from Florida Mixed martial artists from New York (state) American male boxers Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters