UFC PIONEER KIMO LEOPOLDO NOT DEAD, MEDIA REPORTS INCORRECT

Pioneering UFC fighter Kimo Leopoldo is very much alive after numerous mainstream media reports to the contrary.  The New York Daily News was first to report the story that Kimo had died of a heart attack, and it quickly spread to other mainstream media outlets.  MMA insiders were somewhat skeptical, a there were few details as to the circumstances surrounding his passing, or any real independent confirmation.
 
A few hours later, Yahoo Sports Kevin Iole began to dig into the story.  First, Kimo’s agent indicated that he had spoken to him at 11 PM Monday night and that he was alive and well.  He did add that he hadn’t spoken to him since, but that he had not received word from anyone close to Kimo of a problem nor had he been contacted by any authorities. Shortly after 2:00 PM Tuesday, Kimo’s attorney reported to Iole that the fighter had been located and was alive and well.  There’s still a question of how the report that he was dead made it out in the first place, but the New York Daily News isn’t providing much of an explanation—they’ve simply deleted the report without comment and will presumably pretend it never happened.

The false death rumors are the latest twist to the utterly bizarre life of Kimo Leopoldo.  A native of Munich, Germany, Kimo—he claimed later in his life that he had legally changed his name to simply ‘Kimo’—was the UFC’s first ‘over the top’ personality back when the promotion’s events were still in the single digits.  He was also one of the sport’s first ‘freestyle’ fighters in an era when most competitors were specialists in one martial arts discipline.  He burst onto the scene at UFC 3 when—in his pro MMA debut—he gave the legendary Royce Gracie a brutally tough battle.  Gracie had won the tournament style format at UFC 1 and 2, and managed to eventually defeat Kimo via armbar submission but took so much of a beating that he was forced to forfeit his UFC 3 final against Harold Howard.
 
Kimo compiled a solid record in the sports’ early years.  By the end of 1997, he had compiled a 6-2-1 record with his only losses coming to Gracie and another UFC Hall of Famer, Ken Shamrock.  He also earned a draw against a third UFC Hall of Famer, wrestling specialist Dan Severn.  His career would ‘tread water’ from that point, however, as a result of increasingly better fighters entering the sport and the collateral damage of Kimo’s own often questionable lifestyle choices.  His last fight was in 2006, a loss to veteran Wes Sims.

To early UFC fans, Kimo became known as much for his flamboyant personality as for his toughness as a competitor.  He was a devout Christian, and sported many religious tattoos—most famously a large ‘Jesus’ inscription across his stomach.  In an era characterized by low key ring walks, Kimo caused a stir when he entered the octagon at UFC 3 bearing a life sized wooden cross.
 
Kimo has battled drug and alcohol addiction throughout his life, and in recent years has reportedly became addicted to meth.  He’s also tested positive for steroids at a couple of points during his career.  In fact, he had been scheduled to fight MMA legend Bas Rutten in 2006 only to turn in a positive test for the banned steroid Stanazolol and several other drugs described as ‘illegal stimulants’.  In one of his more recent run ins with the law, he was playing with a yo-yo in a parking lot—wearing an orange jumpsuit made for law enforcement disaster response.  He was approached by police who questioned him about the outfit, and upon searching him he was found to be in possession of marijuana and subsequently arrested.