Kimo Leopoldo dead at 41

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Smitty

Smitty

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http://www.tmz.com/2009/07/21/ufc-legend-kimo-leopoldo-dies/

TMZ has confirmed former UFC superstar Kimo Leopoldo is dead. He was 41.

Several MMA websites are reporting Leopoldo died from a heart attack ... we're still trying to confirm that fact.

Leopoldo's last fight was in October 2006. He finished his career with a 10-7-1 record.

Kimo's last few years were riddled with a slew of legal problems -- including arrests for drugs, assault and battery and domestic violence.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2009/07/21/2009-07-21_ufc_star_ki.html

Former UFC star Kim "Kimo" Leopoldo reportedly dead at 41

by Jon Wiener
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Tuesday, July 21st 2009, 10:02 AM
Former UFC star Kim "Kimo" Leopoldo is reportedly dead from complications from a heart attack at the age of 41.

Leopoldo, beloved as one of UFC's pioneering fighters since his MMA debut in UFC 3 in 1994, fought for over 12 years in UFC until retiring after Extreme Wars 5-Battlegrounds in 2006.

Leopoldo battled drug problems throughout his fighting career, including testing positive for anabolic steroids at the end of his career and a charge for possession of a controlled substance in Long Beach, Calif. in 2009.

Leopoldo, known almost exclusively as Kimo in UFC circles, was renowned for his toughness, exotic tatoos, and often bizarre religious displays, most memorably when he carried a lifesize cross into the ring in his UFC 3 bout against Hall of Fame legend Royce Gracie.

No other details of his death are immediately available.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2009/07/21/2009-07-21_ufc_star_ki.html#ixzz0LulqAM5c
 
Shogun Locc

Shogun Locc

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UPDATE: Despite an early morning report from TMZ that was followed up by the New York Daily News, MMAmania.com is happy to pass along the good news that Kimo Leopoldo is NOT dead according to his attorney. We will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.

Mixed martial arts journeyman Kimo Leopoldo reportedly died last night from complications caused by a heart attack, according to several published reports. He was 41 years young.

The UFC veteran last competed inside the Octagon at UFC 48 in 2004, losing to Ken Shamrock via first round knockout (knee). He fared no better in the last performance of his career, which was a technical knockout loss to Wes Sims at Extreme Wars 5: “Battlegrounds” in 2006.

Kimo (10-7-1) is perhaps best known for wearing down Royce Gracie in a losing effort at UFC 3, thus allowing Nebraska police officer Steve Jennum his 15 minutes of fame.

Throughout his 12-year career, Kimo struggled with substance abuse. He tested positive for steroids several times, including after his last fight with Shamrock and prior to a scheduled bout against Bas Rutten at the World Fighting Alliance that never materialized.

Kimo — who made an unsuccessful bid to become the executive director of the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) — was also recently held by police for drug possession in Tustin, Calif., after authorities spotted the ex-fighter wearing a Long Beach Police Department jumpsuit complete with patches and a cloth badge.

It’s unclear at this time if drugs played any role in his untimely death or if it was due to natural causes. R.I.P. Kimo: Jan. 4, 1968 to July 20, 2009.
 
Shogun Locc

Shogun Locc

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Feb 7, 2006
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Despite recent reports, UFC veteran Kim "Kimo" Leopoldo is not dead

Despite a rash of reports stating that veteran MMA fighter Kim "Kimo" Leopoldo, the 41-year-old fighter is alive and well.

Reports of the supposed death, which were posted on numerous MMA blogs and even mainstream media outlets such as the Orange Country Register and the New York Daily News on Tuesday, were sparked by a forum posting on The Underground, a popular MMA-themed message board on mixedmartialarts.com.

A member of the popular forum stated that Leopoldo had died on Monday due to "complications from a heart attack" while in Costa Rica. The claims, of course, proved unfounded.

The fighter's publicist, Bob Trieger, told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Leopoldo is, in fact, alive. His confirmation comes shortly after Leopoldo's attorney, Victor E. Hobbs, told Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole the same.

No other details were immediately available.

MMAjunkie.com will have more on this story as information becomes available.

Leopoldo made his MMA debut 15 years ago at UFC 3 and became the first man to truly challenge the seemingly invincible Royce Gracie. Gracie, in fact, was so fatigued from the fight that he was unable to continue in the night's tournament and to be helped out of the ring by family members.

Leopoldo won six of his next seven bouts fighting primarily for the UFC and PRIDE. He last fought in October 2006, when he suffered a first-round TKO loss to Wes Sims at an Extreme Wars show. Leopoldo, who sometimes carried a large Christian cross to the cage, concluded his career with a 10-7-1 mark, which included a 2-5 record in the UFC.

During his career, Leopoldo failed drug tests due to performance-enhancing drugs and banned stimulants. Earlier this year, he launched an unsuccessful bid to become the executive officer of the California State Athletic Commission to "end corruption" in the regulatory body. However, he was arrested just a few weeks later on possession of marijuana (though charges for possession of methamphetamine and possession of stolen property were later dropped) and was sentenced earlier this week to community service and a drug rehabilitation program.
 
Shogun Locc

Shogun Locc

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Feb 7, 2006
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Kimo Leopoldo's camp considering legal action against perpetrator of fake death report

A day after proving wrong reports of his death, MMA veteran Kim "Kimo" Leopoldo and his representatives are considering legal action against the person who first posted the false news, the fighter's manager today told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio).

On Tuesday a member of a popular online MMA forum made a post in which he stated the 41-year-old Leopoldo had died due to complications from a heart attack while in Costa Rica.

Numerous MMA blogs and mainstream outlets such as TMZ and the New York Daily News issued reports with the bogus information before Leopoldo appeared later in the day at a press conference at the Orange County Sheriff's Department in California to debunk the rumors.

Brandt Stebbins, Leopoldo's manager, denied that anyone associated with the fighter was part of the initial report.

"Plain and simple, you can go to mixedmartialarts.com and see all the posts," Stebbins said. "You can see the posts from the original people and the original guy who started it. That gentleman was banned (from the site). We're trying to summons his name so we can sue him. We're not taking this lightly."

Stebbins did not clarify under what pretense the forum member would be sued, though the camp would likely need to prove he or she knowingly posted incorrect information.

Despite the fact that it took nearly a full day to track down Leopoldo – who said he was sleeping and awoke to nearly 100 voicemails – Stebbins is adamant that the situation wasn't a marketing ploy or gimmick to get "Kimo's" name back in the media.

"We have nothing to hide," Stebbins said. "We can point anyone to where this started.

"Those posts did not come from anyone in our camp."

Once Stebbins heard the rumors of his client's death, he said he and other people close to Leopoldo couldn't initially track him down. They called the sheriff's department, fire department, coroner and other authorities trying to glean any bit of information about Leopoldo's whereabouts.

That's why Stebbins said he was hesitant to publicly confirm that Leopoldo, who was actually home asleep in California, was alive and well in the few hours before the press conference was held.

"I didn't get to see Kimo face to face till 3:30 or 4 (p.m. PT)," Stebbins said. "I didn't want to say, 'Yes, Kimo is alive,' until I physically saw Kimo face to face. ... It's impossible to know who to trust. ... Personally, I wasn't going to say he was alive until I saw him in person and knew for myself."

Ultimately, the announcement was made Tuesday evening at a press conference at the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Stebbins said the department fielded approximately 200 calls from media members and fans, and they wanted official word to come from the department to assure everyone that Leopoldo was alive.

Leopoldo ultimately addressed the media for approximately five minutes and said he was as surprised as anyone to hear the reports.

"[Kimo] said the first thing he did was stand up and look in the mirror to make sure he was really alive," Stebbins said. "His poor son was calling from Hawaii and was ready to get on a plane. He was totally distraught.

"That's the real problem with stuff like this."
 
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