Akira Kikuchi
| Akira Kikuchi | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 23, 1978 (age 38) Miyagi-ken, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Weight | 167 lb (76 kg; 11.9 st) |
| Division | Welterweight |
| Fighting out of | Tokyo, Japan |
| Team | Krazy Bee |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 20 |
| Wins | 16 |
| By knockout | 5 |
| By submission | 7 |
| By decision | 4 |
| Losses | 4 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By decision | 3 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Akira Kikuchi (菊地昭 Kikuchi Akira?, born July 23, 1978) is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist and a former Shooto Welterweight (76 kg) Champion. He trained alongside Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto with the Killer Bee team.
Kikuchi began his mixed martial arts career in the Shooto leagues. As an amateur, Kikuchi won the 2001 All-Japan Shooto Championship. Turning professional, Kikuchi defeated his first five opponents in the organization and one additional opponent in Hawaii's SuperBrawl. He suffered his first loss in August 2003 to American Jake Shields in a bout that would determine a contender for the vacant Shooto Welterweight Championship; Shields went on to become the first Welterweight Champion in Shooto since 2001. Kikuchi met Shields in a rematch in December 2004 and was victorious in a unanimous judges' decision, becoming the Welterweight Champion.
Following the route of training partner Norifumi Yamamoto, Kikuchi debuted in the K-1 HERO'S promotion in July 2005, defeating Katsuya Inoue by first-round technical knockout. Kikuchi would secure one more knockout victory in HERO'S over former Pancrase Welterweight Champion Kiuma Kunioku before returning to Shooto the next year.
Kikuchi was defeated in his first title defense against Shinya Aoki at Shooto: Victory of the Truth in February 2006, and controversy following the bout would result in the Killer Bee gym's suspension from Shooto. Norifumi Yamamoto, a key member of Killer Bee, allegedly struck and verbally assaulted a Shooto official. The official, who was examining a laceration on Kikuchi's face from the title bout immediately prior to the incident, appeared before the International Shooto Commission. In the hearings, Yamamoto apologized for the incident, and Killer Bee was relieved of the suspension six months later. Due to the suspension length, Kikuchi fought only once more in 2006.
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