Keijiro Maeda
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
heavyweight
kickboxer, currently competing in K-1
. His real name is Kyotaro Fujimoto, and he had been using 3 other ring name
s before. He is known for his right hook which has knocked out many of his opponents. He is currently the K-1 Heavyweight Champion and has successfully defended the title against 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.
, Japan
on June 23, 1986. He started learning karate
of Uomoto-ryū(魚本流) because his parents told him to start when he was buried by his two older sisters. His parents divorced in 1997 and he lives with his mother, sisters and grand mother.
When he was a high school student, he decided to be a fighter because he wanted to be famous but he knew that he wasn't good-looking and smart.
and joined Dragon Dojo established by Kensaku Maeda. He debut 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
.
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 Heavyweight division.
Kyotaro recently defended his title against 3 time K-1 Grand Prix Champion Peter Aerts
at K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Yokohama. Kyotaro shocked fans by knocking Aerts down twice at the end of the 1st Round and then continuing to knock him out with his notable right hook into the 2nd Round.
At the K-1 Final 16 Kyotaro defeated another legend in Jerome Lebanner. Kyotaro withstood the frenchmans' early power to give him a severe beating in the 3rd round to earn a draw. The tired and supposedly beaten Lebanner was angry at the decision and walked out of the ring, giving Kyotaro the win by DQ. Though he still gained respect for standing toe to toe with one of the longest serving K-1 fighters in the world.
His next fight was at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final
against 4-time defending defending champion Semmy Schilt
. He fought with a good heart and game plan but 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.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
kickboxer, currently competing in K-1
K-1
K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
. His real name is Kyotaro Fujimoto, and he had been using 3 other ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
s before. He is known for his right hook which has knocked out many of his opponents. He is currently the K-1 Heavyweight Champion and has successfully defended the title against Peter Aerts
Peter Aerts
Peter "The Dutch Lumberjack" Aerts is a Dutch super heavyweight kickboxer. He is a three-time K-1 World Grand Prix and Muay Thai World Champion. Aerts is best known for his powerful strikes and high kicks.- Biography :...
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.
Early life
He was born in OsakaOsaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on June 23, 1986. He started learning karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
of Uomoto-ryū(魚本流) because his parents told him to start when he was buried by his two older sisters. His parents divorced in 1997 and he lives with his mother, sisters and grand mother.
When he was a high school student, he decided to be a fighter because he wanted to be famous but he knew that he wasn't good-looking and smart.
Kickboxing debut
He moved to TokyoTokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and joined Dragon Dojo established by Kensaku Maeda. He debut 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
Mighty Mo
Mighty Mo may refer to:* The Missouri River* Alex Morriss * USS Missouri * 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
Ewerton Teixeira
Ewerton Teixeira is a Brazilian Super Heavyweight kyokushin karateka and kickboxer, currently competing in K-1. He obtained his first K-1 title in 2008 at K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Fukuoka by beating Keijiro Maeda in the final...
.
K-1 Heavyweight Title
On March 28, 2009, Kyotaro won the K-1 Heavyweight (-100 kg) Title tournament by knocking out Melvin ManhoefMelvin Manhoef
Melvin Manhoef is a Dutch-Surinamese Muay Thai kickboxer and mixed martial artist, trained by Mike Passenier and fighting out of Mike's Gym in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In kickboxing, he is the current It's Showtime 85MAX World Champion, and in MMA he was the Cage Rage Light Heavyweight World champion...
in semifinals and beating Gokhan Saki
Gökhan Saki
Gökhan Saki is a Turkish-Dutch heavyweight kickboxer, fighting out of Golden Glory Gym in Breda, Netherlands...
in finals by Extra Round Majority Decision. Kyotaro became the second fighter after Badr Hari
Badr Hari
Badr "The Golden Boy" Hari is a Moroccan-Dutch super heavyweight kickboxer, fighting out of Mike's Gym in Amsterdam. He is a former K-1 Heavyweight champion and K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 finalist. As of May 2011, Hari is ranked the #2 heavyweight in the world by LiverKick.com...
to win the title in K-1 Heavyweight division.
Kyotaro recently defended his title against 3 time K-1 Grand Prix Champion Peter Aerts
Peter Aerts
Peter "The Dutch Lumberjack" Aerts is a Dutch super heavyweight kickboxer. He is a three-time K-1 World Grand Prix and Muay Thai World Champion. Aerts is best known for his powerful strikes and high kicks.- Biography :...
at K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Yokohama. Kyotaro shocked fans by knocking Aerts down twice at the end of the 1st Round and then continuing to knock him out with his notable right hook into the 2nd Round.
At the K-1 Final 16 Kyotaro defeated another legend in Jerome Lebanner. Kyotaro withstood the frenchmans' early power to give him a severe beating in the 3rd round to earn a draw. The tired and supposedly beaten Lebanner was angry at the decision and walked out of the ring, giving Kyotaro the win by DQ. Though he still gained respect for standing toe to toe with one of the longest serving K-1 fighters in the world.
His next fight was at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final
K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final
K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final was a martial arts event that was held by the K-1 on Saturday, December 11, 2010. It was the 18th K-1 World GP Final, the culmination of a year full of regional elimination tournaments...
against 4-time defending defending champion Semmy Schilt
Semmy Schilt
Semmy Schilt , also known as Sem Schilt, is a Dutch Ashihara karateka, kickboxer, mixed martial artist and four time K-1 World GP champion. He is the first and only fighter in K-1 history to win the championship three times in a row, and also shares the record with Ernesto Hoost for most GPs won,...
. He fought with a good heart and game plan but was unable to faze his taller opponent, losing by unanimous decision.
He then chose to fight the DREAM (MMA) Light-heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi
Gegard Mousasi
Gegard Mousasi, born Geghard Movsesian is an Armenian-Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He is fighting out of Team Jurojin in Leiden, Netherlands and is a member of Russian Red Devil Sport Club and Netherlands' Golden Glory...
. He was knocked down in the second round and again lost by unanimous decision.
Kickboxing record
| Professional kickboxing record | |
|---|---|
Legend: |
|
| Amateur kickboxing record | |
|---|---|
Legend: |
|
Titles
- Amateur
- 18th All Japan Shin-Karate Championships(K-2 GRAND PRIX) Heavyweight(+75 kg) tournament winner (May 3, 2007)
- 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
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–Present)
See also
- List of K-1 events
- List of K-1 champions
- List of male kickboxers
- List of kickboxing organizations