Hiromi Wajima

Hiromi Wajima
Born和島 大海
(1995-02-23) 23 February 1995 (age 29)
Shijōnawate, Osaka, Japan
Other namesThe Purple Comet
Proud Lone Samurai
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Weight70 kg (154 lb; 11 st 0 lb)
StyleNippon Kempo, Karate, Kickboxing
Fighting out ofHirano, Osaka, Japan
TeamGesshinkai Team Samurai
Rank1st Dan Black Belt in Karate[2]
2nd Dan Black Belt in Kendo[2]
3rd Dan Black Belt in Nippon Kempo[2]
Years active2015-present
Kickboxing record
Total27
Wins21
By knockout18
Losses6
By knockout3
Other information
UniversityFaculty of Science and Engineering at Doshisha University[2]

Hiromi Wajima (born 23 February 1995) is a Japanese kickboxer, currently competing in the super welterweight division of K-1, where he is the former K-1 Super Welterweight champion. He is the finalist of the 2020 K-1 Super Welterweight Grand Prix.

He was ranked as the tenth-best lightweight (-71 kg) kickboxer in the world by Beyond Kick in December 2023.[3][4]

Kickboxing career

K-1

Early career

Hiromi began a six fight winning streak with a first-round TKO win over Kazunari Kimura.[5][6] During this run he likewise scored knockouts over Yoichi Yamazaki,[7] Shimada Masayuki and Tanaka Yuki.[8] Wajima won the rematch with Jinbo Katsuya during KHAOS 5, with a second-round KO.[9]

Hiromi Wajima had his second professional career loss with a unanimous decision loss to Jordann Pikeur.[10][11] He suffered his first knockout loss at the hands of Minoru Kimura, losing after only two minutes.[12]

He snapped his losing streak at Krush 108, where Wajima won a unanimous decision against Daisuke Fujimura.[13]

Wajima participated in the 2020 Super Welterweight Grand Prix. In the quarter final bout he faced Avatar Tor Morsri whom he defeated early in the third round with a leg kick knockout. In the semifinals he won a unanimous decision against Yasuhiro Kido. In the grand prix finals he fought a rematch with Minoru Kimura. He would fail to capture the super welterweight title, losing to Kimura for the second time in his career.[14][15][16]

Wajima fought Raseasing Weerasakreck during K-1 World GP 2020 in Osaka. He won the fight by a second-round KO.[17] He was scheduled to fight Yuhei Fujioka during K-1 World GP 2020 in Tokyo,[18] and won by a second round head kick.[19]

Wajima was scheduled to fight Abiral Ghimire at K-1 World GP 2021 in Fukuoka on July 17, 2021.[20] He won the fight by a third-round technical knockout.[21]

K-1 super welterweight champion

Wajima challenged Minoru Kimura for the K-1 Super Welterweight title at K-1 World GP 2021 in Osaka on December 4, 2021. They previously fought on March 22, 2020, with Kimura winning by a first-round technical knockout.[22] Wajima was more successful in the rematch, winning the fight by a third-round knockout. He began to take over the fight from the beginning of the second round onward, with most of his success coming from body strikes, and finally stopped Kimura with a body kick which left him unable to beat the eight count.[23]

Wajima was booked to face the former RISE welterweight champion BeyNoah at The Match 2022 on June 19, 2022.[24] He won the fight by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the bout 30–24 in his favor, as he managed to knock BeyNoah down in every round of the fight.[25]

Wajima faced the former FFC Lightweight (70.3 kg) champion Meletis Kakoubavas in a non-title bout at K-1 World GP 2022 Yokohamatsuri on September 11, 2022.[26] He won the fight by a first-round knockout. The fight was stopped early in the opening round, as Wajima landed an inadvertent low blow on Kakoubavas.[27]

Wajima made his first K-1 Super Welterweight title defense against the four-weight Rajadamnern Stadium champion Jomthong Chuwattana at K-1 World GP 2023: K'Festa 6 on March 12, 2023.[28] The fight was ruled a majority decision draw after the first two rounds, with two judges having scored the bout an even 29–29, while the third judge awarded Wajima a 29–28 scorecard. Wajima won the fight by technical knockout 25 seconds into the extra fourth round.[29]

Wajima made his second K-1 Super Welterweight title defense against the Krush Super Welterweight champion Jordann Pikeur at K-1 World GP 2023 on July 17, 2023.[30] He won the fight by a second-round knockout.[31]

Wajima made his third K-1 Super Welterweight title defense against the Wu Lin Feng -70 kg champion Ouyang Feng at K-1 ReBIRTH 2 on October 10, 2023.[32] He lost the fight by a second-round knockout.[33]

Post title reign

Wajima faced Darryl Verdonk at K-1 World MAX 2024 - World Tournament Opening Round on March 20, 2024. He lost the fight by a first-round technical knockout.[34]

Wajima faced Kim Joon Hwa at K-1 World GP 2024 in Osaka on October 5, 2024.[35] He won the fight by a first-round knockout.[36]

Championships and accomplishments

Professional

Amateur

  • K-1
    • 2015 K-1 Amateur All Japan A-class Tournament -70 kg Winner [37]

Awards

  • K-1 Awards
    • 2021 K-1 Awards "Skill Award"[38]
    • 2022 K-1 Awards "Skill Award"[39]
  • eFight
    • March 2023 "Fighter of the Month"[40]

Kickboxing record

Professional Kickboxing Record
21 Wins (18 (T)KO's), 6 Losses, 0 Draw, 0 No Contest
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time
2024-12-14 Bulgaria Stoyan Koprivlenski K-1 World Grand Prix 2024 Final Tokyo, Japan
2024-10-05 Win South Korea Kim Joon Hwa K-1 World GP 2024 in Osaka Osaka, Japan KO (Knee to the body) 1 1:19
2024-03-20 Loss Netherlands Darryl Verdonk K-1 World MAX 2024 - World Tournament Opening Round Tokyo, Japan TKO (Punches) 1 3:00
Fails to qualify for K-1 World MAX 2024 World Championship Final.
2023-12-09 Loss China Ouyang Feng K-1 ReBIRTH 2 Osaka, Japan KO (Right cross) 2 2:13
Loses the K-1 Super Welterweight title.
2023-07-17 Win Netherlands Jordann Pikeur K-1 World GP 2023 Tokyo, Japan TKO (Referee stop./punches) 2 2:17
Defends the K-1 Super Welterweight title.
2023-03-12 Win Thailand Jomthong Chuwattana K-1 World GP 2023: K'Festa 6 Tokyo, Japan TKO (Corner stop./Low kicks) 4 0:25
Defends the K-1 Super Welterweight title.
2022-09-11 Win Greece Meletis Kakoubavas K-1 World GP 2022 Yokohamatsuri Yokohama, Japan KO (Left straight) 1 1:34
2022-06-19 Win Japan BeyNoah THE MATCH 2022 Tokyo, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00
2021-12-04 Win Brazil Minoru Kimura K-1 World GP 2021 in Osaka Osaka, Japan KO (Body kick) 3 2:50
Wins the K-1 Super Welterweight title.
2021-07-17 Win Nepal Abiral Himalayan Cheetah K-1 World GP 2021 in Fukuoka Fukuoka, Japan KO (Low kicks) 3 2:23
2020-12-13 Win Japan Yuhei Fujioka K-1 World GP 2020 Winter's Crucial Bout Tokyo, Japan KO (High kick) 1 2:03
2020-09-22 Win Thailand Raseasing Weerasakreck K-1 World GP 2020 in Osaka Osaka, Japan KO (Uppercut) 2 0:59
2020-03-22 Loss Brazil Minoru Kimura K-1: K'Festa 3, -70 kg Championship Tournament Final Saitama, Japan TKO (Corner stoppage) 1 1:02
For the 2020 K-1 World GP -70kg Tournament title and the vacant K-1 Super Welterweight title.
2020-03-22 Win Japan Yasuhiro Kido K-1: K'Festa 3, -70 kg Championship Tournament Semi Finals Saitama, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00
2020-03-22 Win Thailand Avatar Tor.Morsri K-1: K'Festa 3, -70 kg Championship Tournament Quarter Finals Saitama, Japan KO (Low kick) 3 0:40
2019-11-16 Win Japan Daisuke Fujimura Krush 108 Osaka, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00
2019-03-10 Loss Brazil Minoru Kimura K-1 World GP 2019: K’FESTA 2 Saitama, Japan KO (Left hook) 1 2:20
2018-09-30 Loss Netherlands Jordann Pikeur Krush.93 Tokyo, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00
For the Krush Super Welterweight title.
2018-05-26 Win Japan Katsuya Jinbo KHAOS 5 Tokyo, Japan KO (Left hook) 2 2:32
2018-03-03 Win China Wang Chao Wu Lin Feng 2018: World Championship Tianjin Tianjin, China KO (Left cross) 2
2017-12-27 Win Japan Yoichi Yamazaki K-1 WORLD GP 2017 JAPAN ～SURVIVAL WARS 2017～ Tokyo, Japan KO (Jumping knee) 3 2:06
2017-10-14 Win Japan Masayuki Shimada KHAOS 4 Tokyo, Japan KO (Low kick) 2 2:32
2017-08-20 Win Japan Tanaka Strike Yuki Krush 79 Nagoya, Japan KO (Low kick) 1 2:26
2017-04-22 Win Japan Kazunari Kimura K-1 World GP 2017 Super Bantamweight Championship Tournament Tokyo, Japan TKO (Doctor stoppage) 1 1:13
2017-01-15 Loss Japan Hiroki Nakajima Krush 72 Tokyo, Japan Decision (Majority) 3 3:00
2016-10-09 Win Japan Ryu Oda HIGHSPEED 2016 ～higher self～ Osaka, Japan KO (Left cross) 1 2:34
2016-07-18 Win Japan Katsuya Jinbo Krush 67 Tokyo, Japan TKO (Punches) 2 2:37
2016-05-22 Win Japan Fumiya Uezono HIGHSPEED EX Osaka, Japan KO (Left cross) 1 0:24
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes
Amateur Kickboxing Record
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time
2015-08-15 Win Japan Masashi Nakajima K-1 Amateur A-class Challenge -70 kg Tournament, Final Tokyo, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 2 2:00
Wins K-1 Amateur All Japan A-class -70kg title.
2015-08-15 Win Japan Ryunosuke Takahashi K-1 All Japan Amateur A-class Challenge -70 kg Tournament, Semi Final Tokyo, Japan KO 1
2015-06-21 Win Japan Ikki Konishi K-1 All Japan Amateur A-class Challenge -70 kg Tournament, Final Tokyo, Japan KO 1
2015-06-21 Win Japan Kentaro Ishibashi K-1 Amateur A-class Challenge -70 kg Tournament, Semi Final Tokyo, Japan KO 1
2015-06-21 Win Japan Masashi Nakajima K-1 Amateur A-class Challenge -70 kg Tournament, Quarter Final Tokyo, Japan KO 1
2012-06-17 Win Japan Yoshinobu Matsushita KAKUMEI Osaka, Japan KO 2
2012-04-22 Win Japan Masahiro Iwata KAKUMEI Osaka, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 3 2:00
2011-09-25 Win Japan Satoshi Yamashita KAKUMEI Osaka, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 2 1:30
2011-07-24 Win Japan Kunio Oohashi KAKUMEI Osaka, Japan KO 1
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

See also

References

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