Kenichi Yamamoto

(born June 11, 1976) is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. Known for his pro wrestling career in UWF International, Yamamoto also competed against some of the best MMA fighters of his era in RINGS, Pride and the UFC, taking on Kevin Randleman, Genki Sudo and Pat Miletich, among others. In 1999, Yamamoto won the UFC 23 Middleweight Tournament in Japan. He returned to the ring against former Light Heavyweight King Of Pancrase Keiichiro Yamamiya on October 27, 2012. He lost via unanimous decision. Following his combat sports career, Yamamoto now works as an MMA coach.

Professional wrestling career A fan of Akira Maeda, Yamamoto was trained in karate since his childhood and entered the Seidokaikan school before turning his attention to professional wrestling. In 1993, he was accepted in Union of Wrestling Forces International and debuted on October 14 in a match against Kazushi Sakuraba. After two years on the mid card, he joined Yoji Anjo and Yoshihiro Takayama to form the Golden Cups stable, in which he gained fame. In 1996, UWF International closed and Yamamoto moved to Kingdom, before eventually joining Fighting Network Rings in 1998. While in RINGS, he had to skip several months of action due to a surgery to remove a benign tumor, and ended up leaving the company in 1999.

Mixed martial arts career Ultimate Fighting Championship In November 1999 Yamamoto had his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at the UFC 23 event, taking part on the night's tournament. His first opponent was Wajutsu Keishukai representative Daiju Takase. The fight was slow, with Yamamoto being the superior striker and Takase constantly pulling guard to stop the action, so Kenichi resorted to headbutts to the midsection to do damage and even performed a cartwheel guard pass inspired on his training partner Sakuraba. Takase tried some high kicks and a triangle choke, but Yamamoto blocked them and landed punches and elbow strikes to the body, winning the decision.

The final fight was against Katsuhisa Fujii, which proved to be a tougher bout. The heavier Fujii took Yamamoto down several times and attacked with ground and pound, consistently endangering the former RINGS wrestler. However, after opting to pull guard at the start of the second round, Kenichi surprised Fujii with a kneebar and made him tap out, winning the fight and the tournament.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC 23 Middleweight Tournament Champion

Professional wrestling Wrestle Association "R" WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Yoji Anjo & Yoshihiro Takayama

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Kazuo Takahashi KO (knee) U-Spirits - U-Spirits Again

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Keiichiro Yamamiya Decision (unanimous) Grabaka Live 2

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Sanae Kikuta TKO (punches) Grabaka Live: 1st Cage Attack

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Diego Lionel Vitosky TKO (corner stoppage) MARS: Bodog Fight

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Kaream Ellington TKO (punches) Mix FC: USA vs. Russia 3

Atlantic City, New Jersey Light Heavyweight bout. Win

German Reyes KO (high kick) Ryukyu Fight Night 2

Okinawa, Japan Loss

Ikuhisa Minowa TKO (punches) Pride Bushido 4

Nagoya, Japan Return to Middleweight. Loss

Alexander Otsuka Decision (unanimous) Pride 25

Yokohama, Japan Return to Heavyweight. Loss

Kevin Randleman TKO (knees) Pride 23

Tokyo, Japan Light Heavyweight bout. Loss

Genki Sudo Submission (rear-naked choke) Rings: World Title Series 5

Yokohama, Japan Lightweight debut. Draw

Akira Yasumura Draw Club Fight Nagoya

Nagoya, Japan Draw

Kenji Akiyama Draw Club Fight Osaka

Osaka, Japan Loss

Pat Miletich Submission (guillotine choke) UFC 29

Tokyo, Japan Win

Tatsuya Kurahashi KO (punches) Club Fight: Round 1

Tokyo, Japan Win

Katsuhisa Fujii Submission (kneebar) UFC 23

Urayasu, Japan Win

Daiju Takase Decision (unanimous) UFC 23

Urayasu, Japan Loss

Kiyoshi Tamura TKO Rings: World Mega Battle Tournament

Tokyo, Japan Return to Heavyweight. Loss

Masayuki Naruse Submission Rings: Fourth Fighting Integration

Tokyo, Japan Light Heavyweight debut. Win

Chris Haseman Submission Rings: Third Fighting Integration

Tokyo, Japan Muay Thai record Win Den Sakumonti M-1 Muay Thai Challenge Tokyo, Japan KO (elbow)

1-0 Muay thai rules