Ikuhisa Minowa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ikuhisa Minowa | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Statistics | |
| Nickname | Minowaman, The Punk |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
| Weight | 181 lb (82 kg) |
| Nationality |  Japanse |
| Born | January 12, 1976 |
| Town of birth | Hashima, Gifu, Japan |
| Fighting style | Catch Wrestling |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Wins | 39 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By submission | 24 |
| Losses | 28 |
| Draws | 8 |
Ikuhisa Minowa (Japanese:美濃輪育久, born January 12, 1976 in Hashima, Gifu, Japan) is a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter.
[edit] MMA Career
Minowa is known in the PRIDE Fighting Championships for his entertaining entrances and sporting of the Japanese flag as a cape as well as his aggressive, high-risk style of fighting which has seen him employ flying dropkicks amongst other pro-wrestling derived maneuvers.
Beginning his career in the Pancrase 176-pound division and never weighing in at more than 185 pounds, he has taken on fighters at 205 lb and heavier throughout his career.
Minowa is also known for his eccentric and intense training methods, which include dodging baseballs and training in environments such as rivers. He has trained Muay Thai in Thailand, catch wrestling in Japan, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil with the Brazilian Top Team.
Minowa has won against the likes of Golden Glory member Gilbert Yvel, K-1 kickboxer Stefan Leko, and UFC fighters Kimo Leopoldo and Phil Baroni. Minowa has won 23 of his matches via submission.
He participated in the PRIDE's first 185 lb tournament where he won over Phil Baroni, but went on to lose in the second round to former Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu mentor Murilo Bustamante. On December 31, 2005, Minowa fought PRIDE legend Kazushi Sakuraba, in which he almost landed a kneebar and then a heel hook, but was caught with a Kimura lock and defeated at 9 minutes into the first round. Minowa next fought at PRIDE Bushido 10, where he faced the 7-foot-2 Giant Silva. Minowa dominated the fight, using a forward roll to get past Silva's enormous reach and then landing a single leg takedown that put Silva on his back. Minowa promptly landed multiple knees to the head of Silva, causing the referee to stop the fight at 2:23 of the first round. Following that, he fell to Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović due to strikes in the first round. However, he then rebounded with wins over Park Hyun Kab, Eric "Butterbean" Esch, and Mike Plotcheck.
Minowa was knocked out in his last fight for PRIDE by Kiyoshi Tamura at PRIDE Shockwave 2006, but celebrated 10 years as a fighter at the CMA Festival 2 event by defeating Min-Seok Heo in the main event after his opponent's corner threw in the towel after the first round. His next opponent was South Korean wrestler Choi Seung Hyun at Heat4: MEGA BATTLE HEAT from Nagoya. Minowa won the bout via shoulder lock.
His last fight was a decision loss at DREAM.2 against Taiei Kin.
