He’s had a storied career. That certainly goes without saying.
If you’ve been following the sport long enough, you’d certainly have head of Japanese MMA icon Ikuhisa Minowa (57-35-8), or as he’s known by his nickname, Minowaman.
From a 1-8-1 record, Japanese icon “Minowaman” makes it past 100 bouts
The 37-year-old made his 100th professional Mixed Martial Arts appearance at ROAD FC 013 this past weekend, facing Kim Hoon (9-10-1, 1 NC) in the event’s main card portion. And he marked his milestone appearance in style by knocking Hoon out senseless in the first frame, proving to the worldwide audience that he’s still going strong having been in the game for more than a decade.
The Japanese icon’s career, though, began torridly. He garnered just a single victory in his first ten professional MMA contests, and at that point of time, suffice to say, his future certainly looked bleak.
But the tides changed in his favor over the years, as the Japanese vet began making a name for himself, competing in a myriad of organizations throughout the globe. He has featured in the UFC, PRIDE, DREAM, DEEP, Pancrase, the Super Fight League, and most recently ROAD FC among others.
The highlight of his illustrious career came in 2009, when he rocked the whole Mixed Martial Arts scene by claiming the DREAM Super Hulk Grand Prix tournament, defeating the likes of Bob Sapp, Hong Man Choi and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou.
To date, his resume holds notable bouts with the likes of Evan Tanner, Travis Fulton, Gilbert Yvel, Phil Baroni, Jimmy Ambriz, Quinton Jackson, Kazushi Sakuraba, Chris Lytle, Ricardo Almeida, Wanderlei Silva, Mirko “Cro Cop”, Kendall Grove, Alexander Shlemenko and the aforementioned Sapp, Choi and Sokoudjou among others.
While “Minowaman” remains a legend and an icon in the Japanese MMA scene, he will undoubtedly be remembered by fans around the world for his unique choice of fight trunks, and of course the memories that he has instilled in the MMA landscape thus far.
Rest assured, there’s probably no quitting Minowa right now, and it’s perhaps safe to say that the 37-year-old is going to be around for a long time to come.
Check out this exclusive video of “Minowaman” celebrating his 100th appearance at this past weekend’s ROAD FC 013 event:
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