Actor and former mixed martial artist Kimo Leopoldo is one of the original stars of the world-famous Ultimate Fighting Championship promotion, making his professional debut at UFC 3 way back in 1994. During a 12-year professional fighting career, he appeared at major events in America, Japan, and Britain, eventually bowing out in 2006 with an 11-1-7 win record. Since retiring, Leopoldo has gone on to become an actor, appearing in such films as Danny Trejo’s Bullet, Avengers Grimm, and the Scott Caan-directed movie The Dog Problem. In 2020, he appeared as C8 in the television series Cyborgs Universe.
Leopoldo was born in Germany, but his family moved to Hawaii when he was just a few months old. A keen athlete from a very young age, he particularly excelled at wrestling and football — he was part of a high school team that won the Hawaiian National Championships. He briefly attended the University of Washington on an athletics scholarship, but things didn’t work, and he returned to Hawaii. He then relocated to California, where he hoped to break into college football. Sadly, however, despite much interest, injury put paid to his ambitions.
During his recovery, he discovered MMA and began training for it. Billed as a black belt in taekwondo, he was soon making the first of his five UFC appearances. Among the memorable opponents he would face during his long career were Scott “Bam Bam” Bigelow, Ken Shamrock, and Tank Abbott. In 1995, he also embarked on a brief kickboxing career, which included a notorious bout against renowned wrestler Bob Sapp.
