Kenji Kawaguchi

Kenji Kawaguchi
川口健次
BornKenji Kawaguchi
Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan
NationalityJapanese
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight172 lb (78 kg; 12.3 st)
DivisionHeavyweight
Middleweight
Welterweight
TeamShooting Gym Yokohama
Years active1989–2006, 2015
Mixed martial arts record
Total25
Wins14
By knockout3
By submission10
By decision1
Losses7
By knockout3
By submission4
Draws4
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Kenji Kawaguchi (川口健次, Kawaguchi Kenji)) is a Japanese[1] mixed martial artist.[2] He competed in the Welterweight[3] division.

Career

Vale Tudo Japan

After a 10–0–4 career in Shooto, Kawaguchi represented the promotion in the event Vale Tudo Japan in July 1994, where he was pitted against French karateka Jan Lomulder. Kawaguchi charged for a takedown, but Lomulder kept himself standing by grabbing the ring ropes and scored multiple strikes on the back of Kawaguchi's head, both being legal tactics under that ruleset. Kawaguchi eventually took him down, only for Lomulder to answer with rabbit punches that forced the wrestler out of the ring. A controversial moment happened when Kawaguchi tried to return to the ring, as the referee didn't stop the action, meaning Lomulder could freely score soccer kicks and stomps while he did so.

The Shooto wrestler repeated the takedown, but Lomulder grabbed the ropes again and landed multiple elbow strikes to the back of the head, and then followed with and more soccer kicks and stomps. After a restart, Kawaguchi tried to come back with a kneebar, but Lomulder blocked the technique and landed a heavy kick on the face, leading the referee to stop the match.

Kawaguchi returned to Vale Tudo Japan in 1995, where he submitted American fighter Tommy Walkingstick via armbar.

Three years after their first encounter in Vale Tudo Japan, Lomulder and Kawaguchi rematched in the Vale Tudo Japan edition of 1997. This time, the match lasted three rounds, and it saw the Japanese shoot wrestler eventually taking Lomulder down and executing a rear naked choke for the victory.

Kawaguchi's last VTJ appearance was in 1998, when he fought Russian mixed martial artist Vladimir Matyushenko and lost by KO.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
25 matches 14 wins 7 losses
By knockout 3 3
By submission 10 4
By decision 1 0
Draws 4
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 14–7–4 Yuki Kondo KO (punch) Pancrase: 271 November 1, 2015 1 3:52 Tokyo, Japan Open Weight bout.
Win 14–6–4 Deividas Petrauskas TKO (punches) Shooto: The Devilock May 12, 2006 1 2:05 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 13–6–4 Carlos Newton Submission (armbar) Shooto - 10th Anniversary Event May 29, 1999 1 5:00 Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Loss 13–5–4 Vladimir Matyushenko KO (punches) Vale Tudo Japan 1998 October 25, 1998 1 3:10 Urayasu, Chiba, Japan
Win 13–4–4 Ante Jurisic Submission (heel hook) Shooto - Las Grandes Viajes 4 July 29, 1998 2 0:35 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 12–4–4 Masanori Suda Submission (armbar) Shooto - Las Grandes Viajes 2 March 1, 1998 3 1:08 Tokyo, Japan
Win 12–3–4 Jan Lomulder Submission (rear-naked choke) Vale Tudo Japan 1997 November 29, 1997 3 3:49 Urayasu, Chiba, Japan
Loss 11–3–4 Erik Paulson Submission (toe hold) Shooto - Vale Tudo Junction 3 May 7, 1996 3 1:23 Tokyo, Japan
Win 11–2–4 Tommy Walkingstick Submission (armbar) Vale Tudo Japan 1995 April 20, 1995 1 6:29 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 10–2–4 Erik Paulson Technical Submission (armbar) Shooto - Vale Tudo Access 2 November 7, 1994 2 1:03 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 10–1–4 Jan Lomulder TKO (soccer kick) Vale Tudo Japan 1994 July 29, 1994 1 2:59 Urayasu, Chiba, Japan
Win 10–0–4 Yasunori Okuda Submission (guillotine choke) Shooto - Shooto May 6, 1994 1 2:55 Tokyo, Japan
Win 9–0–4 Tomokazu Fukaya Submission (kneebar) Shooto - Shooto March 18, 1994 1 0:32 Tokyo, Japan
Draw 8–0–4 Satoshi Honma Draw Shooto - Shooto November 27, 1992 5 3:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 8–0–3 Manabu Yamada Submission (kneebar) Shooto - Shooto July 23, 1992 1 0:36 Tokyo, Japan
Win 7–0–3 Satoshi Honma Decision (unanimous) Shooto - Shooto October 17, 1991 5 3:00 Osaka, Japan
Draw 6–0–3 Kazuhiro Kusayanagi Draw Shooto - Shooto August 25, 1991 5 3:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 6–0–2 Manabu Yamada Submission (kneebar) Shooto - Shooto May 31, 1991 1 0:58 Tokyo, Japan
Win 5–0–2 Naoki Sakurada Submission (guillotine choke) Shooto - Shooto January 13, 1991 1 0:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 4–0–2 Yuji Ito KO (punches) Shooto - Shooto November 28, 1990 3 0:37 Tokyo, Japan
Draw 3–0–2 Yasuto Sekishima Draw Shooto - Shooto March 17, 1990 5 3:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 3–0–1 Naoki Sakurada TKO (punches) Shooto - Shooto January 13, 1990 4 1:29 Tokyo, Japan
Win 2–0–1 Mitsuo Fujikura Submission (armbar) Shooto - Shooto October 19, 1989 2 0:41 Tokyo, Japan
Draw 1–0–1 Yuji Ito Draw Shooto - Shooto July 29, 1989 4 3:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 1–0 Tadashi Yokoyama Submission (kneebar) Shooto - Shooto May 18, 1989 1 0:00 Tokyo, Japan

See also

References

  1. ^ "Kenji Kawaguchi". Sherdog. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014.
  2. ^ "Kenji Kawaguchi". fightmatrix.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014.
  3. ^ "Kenji Kawaguchi". mixedmartialarts.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014.