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Kyotaro Fujimoto
Kyotaro Fujimoto
	Fujimoto in May 2018
Born	June 23, 1986 (age 38); Osaka, Japan
Native name	藤本京太郎
Nationality	Japanese
Height	183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	102 kg (225 lb; 16 st 1 lb)
Division	Heavyweight
Reach	73 in (185 cm)
Fighting out of	Tokyo, Japan
Team	Team Dragon (2006–2010) ; Kadoebi Hoseki Gym (2011–present)
Trainer	Kensaku Maeda (2006–2010) ; Hiroyuki Abe (2011–present)
Years active	2006–2011, 2021-present (Kickboxing) ; 2011–2020 (Boxing)
Professional boxing record
Total	23
Wins	21
By knockout	13
Losses	2
By knockout	2
Draws	0
Kickboxing record
Total	28
Wins	21
By knockout	11
Losses	7
By knockout	0
Other information
	Boxing record from BoxRec
	Last updated on: July 24, 2019

Kyotaro Fujimoto (藤本京太郎 [ɸɯdʑimoto kʲoːtaɾoː], Fujimoto Kyōtarō, born June 23, 1986) is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 2011 to 2019 and a kickboxer. He began competing again as a professional kickboxer in 2021.

He is the former K-1 Heavyweight Champion and successfully defended the title against kickboxing legend Peter Aerts at K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Yokohama. He was also the K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Fukuoka tournament finalist and K-1 Young Japan GP 2007 champion.^[2]

Early life

Fujimoto was born in Osaka, Japan, on June 23, 1986. He started learning karate of Uomoto-ryū (魚本流) as a child. His parents divorced in 1997 and he lived with his mother, sisters and grandmother.

Kickboxing career

Kyotaro moved to Tokyo and joined Dragon Dojo established by Kensaku Maeda. He debuted on May 17, 2006, against Junichi Hanada.

Kyotaro entered the world of K-1 when he fought and won the K-1 Tryout 2007 Survival tournament in Tokyo by defeating Tatsunori Momose in the semi-final and Takumi Sato in the final, all by decision. This tournament was designed to showcase new talent. He then fought Kyoung Suk Kim during the opening fights at K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Seoul Final 16 defeating Kim by 2nd Round Knockout.

He further proved himself as a top K-1 contender by defeating the K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Las Vegas II and the K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Hawaii tournament champion Mighty Mo at K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Yokohama. Kyotaro was then invited to fight in the K-1 World GP 2008 in Fukuoka in which he became the runner up losing to Brazilian Karateka Ewerton Teixeira.

On March 28, 2009, Kyotaro won the K-1 Heavyweight (-100 kg) Title tournament by knocking out Melvin Manhoef in semifinals and beating Gokhan Saki in finals by extra round majority decision. Kyotaro became the second fighter after Badr Hari to win the title in K-1 Light Heavyweight division.^[3]

On December 5, 2009, he faced Tyrone Spong at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final and lost by unanimous decision.

Kyotaro defended his title against 3 time K-1 Grand Prix Champion Peter Aerts at K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Yokohama. Kyotaro knocked Aerts down twice at the end of the 1st Round and then knocked him out with his right hook in the 2nd Round.

At the K-1 Final 16 Kyotaro defeated another legend in Jerome Le Banner. Kyotaro withstood the Frenchman's early power to give him a severe beating in the 3rd round to earn a draw. Le Banner was angry at the decision and walked out of the ring, giving Kyotaro the win by DQ.

His next fight was at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final against 4-time defending champion Semmy Schilt. He was unable to faze his taller opponent, losing by unanimous decision.

He then chose to fight the DREAM (MMA) Light-heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi. He was knocked down in the second round and again lost by unanimous decision.

In October 2011, Kyotaro relinquished the K-1 Heavyweight title in order to pursue a career in professional boxing.^[4]

Return to K-1

In late 2020, Kyotaro announced he would be returning to kickboxing and is expected to compete at K’Festa 4 on January 24, 2021.^[5] He was scheduled to fight Kosuke Jitsutaka.^[6] The event was later rescheduled for March 31, 2021.^[7] He won his fight against Kosuke Jitsutaka by a second-round knockout.^[8]

Kyotaro was scheduled to face the K-1 Cruiserweight champion Sina Karimian at K-1 World GP 2021: Yokohamatsuri on September 20, 2021.^[9] Kyotaro lost the fight by split decision, after an extra round was fought.^[10]

Kyotaro was scheduled to face the J-Network heavyweight champion Hidenori Sakamoto at K-1 World GP 2022 Japan on February 27, 2022.^[11] Their fight was later postponed for K-1: K'Festa 5 on April 3, 2022, and was rescheduled as the quarterfinal bout of the 2022 K-1 openweight tournament.^[12] He won the fight by a second-round technical knockout and advanced to the tournament semifinals, where he faced Hisaki Kato.^[13] Sattari won the fight by majority decision, with scores of 29–29, 30–28 and 30–28.^[14]

Kyotaro faced the unbeaten Satoshi Ishii in a super heavyweight bout at K-1 World GP 2023: K'Festa 6 on March 12, 2023.^[15] He won the fight by unanimous decision, with two scorecards of 30–29 and one scorecard of 30–27.^[16]

Boxing career

Kyotaro debuted as a pro boxer on December 31, 2011, when he took a unanimous decision win over Michael O'Donnell in Osaka, Japan. In September 2012, he defeated Chauncy Welliver by unanimous decision, who at the time was ranked #15 in the world by the WBC.

Kyotaro took Welliver's place in the WBC top 15 as a result of this win. Kyotaro lost his next fight against Solomon Haumono via TKO in the 5th round. The fight was held at Bodymaker Colosseum in Osaka on December 31, 2012. Kyotaro won his first major regional title against Willie Nasio for the vacant WBC - OPBF heavyweight title in 2017.

Kyotaro retired from professional boxing on November 12, 2020, announcing plans to go into mixed martial arts.^[17]

Kickboxing titles

Amateur
- 18th All Japan Shin-Karate Championships(K-2 GRAND PRIX) Heavyweight(+75 kg) tournament winner (May 3, 2007)^[18]
Professional
- 2009-2011 K-1 Heavyweight (-100 kg) Champion (1 def.)
- 2009 K-1 Heavyweight (-100 kg) Tournament Champion
- 2008 K-1 Japan GP in Fukuoka Runner-up
- 2007 K-1 Tryouts Young Japan GP champion

Boxing titles

Japanese heavyweight title (224+1⁄2Ibs)
WBC - OPBF heavyweight title (227+1⁄4Ibs)
WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight title (228+1⁄2Ibs)

Awards

18th All Japan Shin-Karate Championship Gaora Award

Ring names

Kyōtarō Ranger (狂太郎レンジャー / May 2006 - August 2007)
Kyōtarō Ranger (強太郎レンジャー / August 2007 - January 2008)
Maeda Keijirō (前田慶次郎 / January 2008 - August 2009) a.k.a. Keijiro Maeda
Kyōtarō (京太郎 / August 2009 – December 2010)
Kyotaro Fujimoto (藤本京太郎 / December 2011–Present)

Kickboxing record

Professional kickboxing record
21 Wins (11 (T) KO's, 8 decisions, 1 dq), 7 Losses
Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Location	Method	Round	Time	Record
2023-03-12	Win	Satoshi Ishii	K-1 World GP 2023: K'Festa 6	Tokyo, Japan	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00	21-7
2022-04-03	Loss	Mahmoud Sattari	K-1: K'Festa 5, Tournament Semifinals	Tokyo, Japan	Decision (Majority)	3	3:00	20–7
2022-04-03	Win	Hidenori Sakamoto	K-1: K'Festa 5, Tournament Quarterfinals	Tokyo, Japan	TKO (Referee stoppage)	2	2:11	20–6
2021-09-20	Loss	Sina Karimian	K-1 World GP 2021: Yokohamatsuri	Yokohama, Japan	Ext. R. Decision (Split)	4	3:00	19–6
2021-03-28	Win	Kosuke Jitsutaka	K’Festa 4	Tokyo, Japan	KO (Overhand Right)	2	0:29	19–5
2010-12-31	Loss	Gegard Mousasi	Dynamite!! 2010	Saitama, Japan	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00	18–5
2010-12-11	Loss	Semmy Schilt	K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final, Semi Finals	Tokyo, Japan	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00	18–4
2010-10-02	Win	Jérôme Le Banner	K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Seoul Final 16	Seoul, South Korea	Forfeit	4	N/A	18–3
2010-04-03	Win	Peter Aerts	K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Yokohama	Yokohama, Japan	KO (Right hook)	2	1:56	17–3
Fight for K-1 Heavyweight (-100kg) title.
2009-12-05	Loss	Tyrone Spong	K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final	Yokohama, Japan	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00	16–3
2009-09-26	Loss	Ruslan Karaev	K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final 16	Seoul, Republic of Korea	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00	16–2
2009-08-11	Win	Jan Soukup	K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 in Tokyo Final 16 Qualifying GP	Tokyo, Japan	KO (Right hook)	3	1:20	16–1
2009-03-28	Win	Gökhan Saki	K-1 World GP 2009 in Yokohama	Yokohama, Japan	Ext R. Decision (Majority)	4	3:00	15–1
Wins K-1 Heavyweight (-100kg) title.
2009-03-28	Win	Melvin Manhoef	K-1 World GP 2009 in Yokohama	Yokohama, Japan	KO (Right hook)	1	2:02	14–1
2008-09-27	Win	Min Ho Song	K-1 World GP 2008 Final 16	Seoul, Korea	KO (Punches)	3	1:43	13–1
2008-06-29	Loss	Ewerton Teixeira	K-1 World GP 2008 in Fukuoka Final	Fukuoka, Japan	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00	12–1
Fight was for K-1 World GP 2008 in Fukuoka title.
2008-06-29	Win	Takumi Sato	K-1 World GP 2008 in Fukuoka	Fukuoka, Japan Semi-final	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00	12–0
2008-06-29	Win	Musashi	K-1 World GP 2008 in Fukuoka Quarter-final	Fukuoka, Japan	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00	11–0
2008-04-13	Win	Mighty Mo	K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Yokohama	Yokohama, Japan	Ext R. Decision	4	3:00	10–0
2007-12-22	Win	Tsuyoshi Nakasako	AJKF "Enter the Dragon　The 1st"	Japan	KO	2	2:07	9–0
2007-09-29	Win	Kyoung Suk Kim	K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Seoul Final 16	Seoul, Korea	KO	2	2:14	8–0
2007-08-16	Win	Takumi Sato	K-1 Tryout 2007 Survival K-1 Young Japan GP Final	Tokyo, Japan	Ext.R Decision (Unanimous)	4	3:00	7–0
Wins K-1 Tryout 2007 Survival title.
2007-08-16	Win	Tatsunori Momose	K-1 Tryout 2007 Survival K-1 Young Japan GP Semi-final	Tokyo, Japan	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00	6–0
2007-06-03	Win	Ryo Takigawa	J-Network "Team Dragon Quest 1"	Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00	5–0
2007-01-12	Win	Tank Sugimura	MAJKF "Shidokan Spring New Year Event Breakdown-1"	Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan	KO (Punches)	2	1:42	4–0
2006-11-05	Win	Turbo Weerasakreck	M-1 "M-1 Fairtex Shingha Beer Muay Thai Challenge -Thai King's Enthronement 60th Anniversary Cup 2006-"	Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan	TKO (Right low kick)	4	2:13	3–0
2006-09-01	Win	Toshi Saenchai Gym	J-Network "Mach! Go! Go! '06 -Flyweight Strongest Decision Tournament 1st Match-	Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00	2–0
2006-05-17	Win	Junichi Hanada	J-Network "Go! Go! J-Net '06 -Invading the Dragon-	Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan	KO	2	1:16	1–0
Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest Notes

Amateur kickboxing record
Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Location	Method	Round	Time
2007-05-03	Win	Jun'ichi Kikuchi	18th K-2 GRAND　PRIX Heavyweight tournament Final	Adachi, Tokyo, Japan	Ippon (Awasete)	1	N/A
Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest Notes

Professional boxing record

23 fights	21 wins	2 losses
By knockout	13	2
By decision	8	0

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
23	Loss	21–2	Daniel Dubois	KO	2 (12), 2:10	21 Dec 2019	Copper Box Arena, London, England	For WBO International, and vacant WBC Silver heavyweight titles
22	Win	21–1	Suthat Kalalek	TKO	6 (8), 2:08	21 Oct 2019	Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
21	Win	20–1	Suthat Kalalek	RTD	6 (12), 3:00	25 Sep 2018	Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan	Retained OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight titles
20	Win	19–1	Aaron Russell	TKO	7 (12), 0:28	7 May 2018	Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan	Retained OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight titles
19	Win	18–1	Randall Rayment	KO	5 (12), 2:50	4 Nov 2017	Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan	Retained OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight titles
18	Win	17–1	Herman Ene Purcell	TKO	9 (12), 1:22	9 May 2017	Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan	Retained OPBF Heavyweight title Won vacant WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight title
17	Win	16–1	Willie Nasio	UD	12	14 Jan 2017	Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan	Won vacant OPBF heavyweight title
16	Win	15–1	Adam Lovelock	TKO	2 (8), 2:13	2 Aug 2016	Shinjuku FACE, Tokyo, Japan
15	Win	14–1	Nathan McKay	UD	8	2 Aug 2016	Ota City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan
14	Win	13–1	David Torres Garcia	KO	3 (8), 1:05	21 Oct 2015	Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
13	Win	12–1	Nobuhiro Ishida	SD	10	30 Apr 2015	Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan	Retained Japanese heavyweight title
12	Win	11–1	David Radeff	UD	8	18 Dec 2014	Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
11	Win	10–1	Kotatsu Takehara	TKO	5 (10), 0:44	10 Sep 2014	Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan	Retained Japanese heavyweight title
10	Win	9–1	Nobuhiro Ishida	UD	8	30 Apr 2014	Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
9	Win	8–1	Kotatsu Takehara	UD	8	25 Nov 2013	Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan	Retained Japanese heavyweight title
8	Win	7–1	Okello Peter	TKO	6 (10), 2:59	23 Jul 2013	Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan	Won vacant Japanese heavyweight title
7	Win	6–1	Fabrice Aurieng	TKO	7 (8), 1:11	17 Apr 2013	Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
6	Loss	5–1	Solomon Haumono	TKO	5 (12), 0:57	31 Dec 2012	Bodymaker Colosseum, Osaka, Japan	For vacant OPBF heavyweight title
5	Win	5–0	Chauncy Welliver	UD	10	19 Sep 2012	Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
4	Win	4–0	Clarence Tillman	KO	3 (8), 0:47	20 Jun 2012	Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, Osaka, Japan
3	Win	3–0	Afa Tatupu	TKO	2 (6), 0:47	17 May 2012	Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
2	Win	2–0	Jae-Chan Kim	TKO	2 (6), 1:03	6 Mar 2012	Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Tokyo
1	Win	1–0	Michael O'Donnell	UD	6	31 Dec 2011	Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, Osaka, Japan