Former UFC champ Kevin Randleman dies at age 44

MANILA, Philippines – Former UFC champion Kevin Randleman has passed away at the age of 44 due to heart failure.

The news was first reported by Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter on Twitter, stating that Randleman admitted to a hospital with pneumonia on Thursday, February 11 before suffering a heart failure.

Sad to confirm the passing of MMA pioneer Kevin Randleman at 44 years old. Went to hospital with pneumonia and had heart failure.

— Jeremy Botter (@jeremybotter) February 12, 2016

Randleman is remembered as a daunting figure in MMA as he exhibited a muscular physique and a blonde-dyed hair.

Represented Ohio State University as an NCAA Division I wrestler, Randleman began his MMA career in 1996 under the Universal Vale Tudo Fighting banner in Brazil, where he won 5 of his 6 matches.

Randleman made a triumphant Octagon debut in March 1999 by routing Maurice Smith via unanimous decision as part of the “Road to the Heavyweight Title” tournament, but he controversially yielded to Bas Rutten in the finals two months later.

In November 1999, he captured the UFC heavyweight championship by outpointing Pete Williams and then successfully defended it once against Pedro Rizzo in June 2000.

Randleman lost the gold-plated strap to Randy Couture by third-round stoppage in November 2000.

After mixed results in his following UFC bouts, he found his way to Japan and competed in the now-defunct PRIDE organization, where he picked up statement-making victories over the likes of Kenichi Yamamoto, Murilo Rua and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic.

Randleman also squared off with other notable PRIDE figures such as Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Kazushi Sakuraba, Fedor Emelianenko and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in a losing effort.

In his June 2004 fight versus Emelianenko, Randleman notably pulled off a highlight-reel suplex that dropped the Russian heavyweight champion on the back of his head and neck.

However, Emelianenko recovered from the massive slam to the mat and submitted Randleman with a first-round Kimura lock.

Randleman, who retired from MMA with a record of 17-16 after bowing down to Baga Agaev via first-round submission in May 2011, leaves behind his wife Elizabeth and 3 children. – Rappler.com