Jean Rivière

Jean Rivière (born July 2, 1971) is a Canadian former Kyokushin karateka, kickboxer and mixed martial artist. A heavyweight competitor fighting out of Montreal, Rivière reached the semi-finals at the 5th Kyokushin World Open in 1991 and later embarked on a career in the K-1 kickboxing promotion and the burgeoning MMA scene of the mid-1990s.

Jean Rivière
Born (1971-07-02) July 2, 1971
NationalityCanadian
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight130.0 kg (286.6 lb; 20.47 st)
DivisionHeavyweight
StyleKyokushin
StanceSouthpaw
Fighting out ofMontreal, Quebec, Canada
RankBlack belt in Kyokushin
Black belt in Judo
Years active1995–1999, 2007 (MMA)
1996–1998 (Kickboxing)
Kickboxing record
Total5
Wins1
By knockout1
Losses4
By knockout2
Draws0
Mixed martial arts record
Total4
Wins3
By knockout1
By submission1
Unknown1
Losses1
Unknown1
Draws0

Career

The Montreal-based Jean Rivière came to prominence as a Kyokushin fighter, with the most notable achievement of his karate career coming in November 1991 at the 5th Kyokushin World Open in Tokyo where he finished fourth in a tournament of 250 competitors.[1] He defeated Tatsuya Iwasaki (with an ushiro mawashi geri) in the round of thirty-two, Lars Bjorstrup in the round of sixteen and Johnny Kleyn in the quarter-finals before losing to Akira Masuda in the semi-finals.[2]

Rivière would later transition to mixed martial arts, making his debut in Brazil on December 1, 1995 where he knocked out capoeira stylist Mestre Hulk in nineteen seconds.[3] He then faced a nineteen-year-old Carlos Newton at Battlecade Extreme Fighting's second event in Montreal on April 26, 1996. Rivière had a large size advantage, reportedly outweighing Newton by 34 kg / 75 lb, but Newton dominated much of the fight with headbutts and superior grappling transitions before submitting due to exhaustion just over seven minutes into the fight.[4][5]

Later that year, Rivière joined the ranks of the Japanese kickboxing promotion K-1. In his first outing, he recorded a second round low kick stoppage win over Fred Floyd at K-1 Revenge '96 on September 1, 1996 before losing a five-round unanimous decision to Musashi at K-1 Star Wars '96 the following month. Rivière was invited to compete in the 1997 K-1 World Grand Prix, losing to fellow karateka Masaaki Satake in the tournament's opening round on September 7, 1997. The bout was scored a draw following the regulation three rounds and went into an extension round to decide the winner, after which Satake was ruled the victor by all three judges.

Rivière faced reigning K-1 World Grand Prix champion Ernesto Hoost at K-1 Braves '98 on May 24, 1998, losing by head kick knockout in the first round. In his final appearance in the kickboxing ring, Rivière competed at the K-1 USA Grand Prix '98 in Las Vegas, K-1's first event in the United States,[6] on August 7, 1998. He suffered a second-round knockout loss to Curtis Schuster at the quarter-final stage, bringing his K-1 career to a close on a 1–4 record.[7]

With his stint in K-1 at an end, Rivière returned to MMA on January 9, 1999 with a loss to John Dixson in Montreal. After an eight-year absence from the sport, he defeated Shaun Fukuhara in Hawaii on August 4, 2007.

Kickboxing record

Kickboxing record

Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
4 matches 3 wins 1 loss
By knockout 1 0
By submission 1 0
Unknown 1 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 3-1 Shaun Fukuhara N/A Island Warriors Fighting Championships August 4, 2007 N/A N/A Wailuku, Hawaii, United States
Loss 2-1 John Dixson N/A IFC: Extreme Combat January 9, 1999 1 5:13 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Win 2-0 Carlos Newton Submission (exhaustion) Extreme Fighting 2 April 26, 1996 1 7:22 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Win 1-0 Mestre Hulk KO (punch) Brazil Open '95 December 1, 1995 1 0:19 Brazil

References

  1. "World Open Tournaments and Championships". www.kyokushincanada.com.
  2. "5th World Open Tournament". www.kyokushinresults.com.
  3. "MMA HOF". mmahalloffame.com.
  4. Inc, Active Interest Media (1 August 1996). "Black Belt". Active Interest Media, Inc. via Google Books.
  5. Brookhouse, Brent (6 April 2009). "Adjusting for Era - Carlos Newton". Bloody Elbow.
  6. Inc, Active Interest Media (1 September 1998). "Black Belt". Active Interest Media, Inc. via Google Books.
  7. "Premiere: K-1 USA in Las Vegas : Kung Fu :: Karate :: Kickboxen". www.kungfukarate.org.
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