was a Japanese

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

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, W*ING, Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling 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 Bab ...

, 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 G ...

at the second event of Vale Tudo Japan 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 severi ...

on October 28, 2014.

Championships and accomplishments

* Dramatic Dream Team :*

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 ...

( 3 times) :* KO-D Tag Team Championship (

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. Outsid ...

) – with Mikami :* 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 ...

(

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 killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...

)

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 List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, 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 f ...

, 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