Minoru Kimura’s honesty has come at a price. After testing positive for PEDs ahead of his Rizin 43 win over Daryl Lokoku he admitted to using steroids prior to his two previous victories.
The promotions in question wasted no time in overturning the results of those fights. Both Knock Out and Ganryujima have decided to strip Kimura of his wins and change the records to declare a no contest.
Kimura gave the quotes in question at a press conference which was convened by Rizin this week to announce that he had failed drug test. Beyond Kickboxing carried them,
“I had used it for two other fights in order to increase my metabolism during the weight cut. I apologize to Yachi and Kuntap. I don’t know when it will be, but if I am able to compete again in the future I would like to do it clean. Next time I fight it will be fair and honest.”
When keeping it real goes wrong.
In what can only be considered an unprecedented case of self-sabotage, Minoru Kimura's last three knockout wins have been turned into no-contests.https://t.co/EPTqN9Dd9V
— Beyond Kickboxing (@Beyond_Kick) September 6, 2023
Frank admission
It appears that Kimura was so desperate to defend the integrity of his K-1 career that he readily admitted to cheating ahead of several other fights in the hope that people would take him at his word. Again Beyond Kickboxing has the relevant quotes,
“To be honest, I never took any prohibited drugs during my K-1 days. When I thought I might not be able to compete for two to three years, I tried taking it from the month I quit K-1 to improve my motivation and training quality, and I felt the effects. When I decided to go up to Rizin, I knew that Rizin performs doping tests, so I stopped taking them, but it remained in my body and was detected in their tests anyway. I am truly sorry towards Daryl Lokoku, the event officials, and my fans.”
Kimura comes from Brazil but has been based in Japan for over a decade. In 2020 he won the K-1 super welterweight Grand Prix, stopping all three opponents in the opening round at K’Festa 3.
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Unsolicited confession
It is difficult to understand what the Brazilian’s thought process is here. First Kimura demanded that Rizin drug test him in order to clear his name, losing his latest win and his reputation after popping hot.
Having already seen one win over turned Kimura then decided to make an unsolicited confession which cost him two more victories. There will always be a lingering suspicion surrounding his previous results but unless there are samples that can be retrospectively tested they can’t be overturned.
The Brazilian is now without a recognized win since 2020 and serving a six month ban. The lesson here appears to be a) don’t use steroids, b) if you do use steroids don’t ask to be tested and c) if you do test positive don’t make specific admissions about prior use.
Perhaps Kimura deserves credit for admitting to the full extent of his recent steroid use when he didn’t have to as well as demanding to be tested in the first place. But the Brazilian’s career is in tatters and fans will be wondering why he didn’t just keep quiet about the whole thing.
