Jérôme Le Banner

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Jérôme Le Banner
Nickname	Geronimo, Battle Cyborg
Nationality	France
Date of birth	December 26, 1972 (1972-12-26) (age 35)
Place of birth	Le Havre, France
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	264.5 lb (120.0 kg/18.9 st)
Style	Kickboxing
Stance	Southpaw
Team	Le Banner Xtream Team
Years active	17 (1990-present)
Boxing record
Total	4
Wins	4
By knockout	3
Losses	0
Kickboxing record
Total	89
Wins	73
By knockout	59
Losses	14
By knockout	9
Draws	1
No contests	1
MMA record
Total	5
Wins	3
Losses	1
By submission	1
Draws	1
Other information
Official site
Career boxing record from Boxrec
Career mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Jérôme "Geronimo" Le Banner (born December 26, 1972), known as well as "Hyper Battle Cyborg" or "The Bulldog of Normandy" is a French professional kickboxer and K-1 superstar, famous for his aggressive fighting style and knockout power.^[1].

Contents 1 Biography & Career 2 Titles 2.1 Kickboxing Record[5] 2.2 Mixed martial arts record 2.3 Professional Boxing Record 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Biography & Career

Jérôme Le Banner was born in the French city of Le Havre, in the région of Normandy. Le Banner started training judo at the age of 6. When he was 14, Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury influenced him so much that he started practicing karate instead, while trying to incorporate techniques of Jeet Kune Do he had seen in the film. Jeet Kune Do gave him southpaw stance, which he has maintained throughout his career, even though he is right-handed.^[2]

At the age of 18, he debuted in his first Full Contact Kickboxing competitions. By 20 he held the ISKA French title and soon after that, he won the European belt against Stéphane Reveillon, and the Intercontinental belt in South Africa against Mike Bernardo.

On March 3, 1995 Jerome Le Banner made his K-1 debut, winning five round decision over Nokveed Devy. Two months later, on May 4, 1995 he made his first K-1 World Grand Prix appearance in Tokyo, Japan, knocking out both Masaaki Satake and Mike Bernardo, before losing to Peter Aerts in tournament finals.

On December 7, 2002 at K-1 World Grand Prix 2002, after defeating Musashi in the quarterfinals, and Mark Hunt in the semis, Le Banner faced three time World Champion Ernesto Hoost in tournament finals. After evenly fought first two rounds, Hoost shattered Le Banner's arm with three roundkicks in the third. Despite suffering near career ending injury, Le Banner was able to recover and returned to the ring six months later in K-1 Paris 2003, winning the fight by punch combinations over Belarusian Vitaly Akhramenko.

On December 2, 2006, after his loss against Semmy Schilt at K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 finals, Le Banner announced his semi retirement from tournament fighting, restricting future appearances to K-1's Superfight events.

In early 2007, after his fight at K-1 World GP 2007 in Yokohama he was forced to have a knee surgery and was not expected to return to the ring until 2008, however due to his another fast recovery K-1 announced that Le Banner will participate on September 29, 2007 at the K-1 World GP 2007 in Seoul Final 16 against Russian kickboxer Ruslan Karaev. Just two days before the fight, Karaev had to pull out and was replaced by a former Korean Taekwondo practitioner, Yong Soo Park. It took Le Banner only 0'54" seconds to knock out Park in the first round by straight punch and qualify himself for K-1 World GP 2007 Final held in December 8, 2007 held at the Yokohama Arena, Japan.^[3]

On December 8, 2007, in his 9th K-1 World GP appearance of his career, Le Banner defeated Choi Hong Man in the quarter finals by unanimous decision before facing the reigning K-1 champion Semmy Schilt in semis. Le Banner finished the first round up on scorecards. In the beginning of the second round Schilt landed a lowkick that seemed to hurt Le Banner's right knee, which he had surgery on in early 2007. The fight was eventually stopped by Le Banner's corner throwing in the towel to avoid further damage to an injured knee.^[4]

A fight between Le Banner and Mirko Filipović is expected to take place at DREAM.5 on July 21, 2008 in Japan.

[edit] Titles

• 2002 K-1 World Grand Prix Finalist
• 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix in Osaka Champion
• 2000 K-1 World Grand Prix in Nagoya Champion
• 1999 K-1 World Grand Prix 3rd Place
• 1996 I.S.K.A. World Super Heavyweight Thaiboxing Champion
• 1995 K-1 World Grand Prix Finalist
• W.K.N. World Muay Thai Super Heavyweight Champion
• French & European Kickboxing Champion

[edit] Kickboxing Record^[5]

73 Wins (59 (T)KO's, 14 decisions), 14 Losses
Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Method	Round	Time
06/29/2008		Semmy Schilt	K-1 World GP 2008 in Fukuoka, Japan
12/08/2007	Loss	Semmy Schilt	K-1 World GP 2007 Final, Japan	TKO (Corner stoppage)	2	1:02
12/08/2007	Win	Choi Hong Man	K-1 World GP 2007 Final, Japan	Decision	3	3:00
09/29/2007	Win	Yong Soo Park	K-1 World GP 2007 in Seoul Final 16, Korea	KO (Right punch)	1	0:54
03/04/2007	Loss	Junichi Sawayashiki	K-1 World GP 2007 in Yokohama, Japan	Decision	3	3:00
12/02/2006	Loss	Semmy Schilt	K-1 World Grand Prix 2006, Japan	Decision	3	3:00
09/30/2006	Win	Choi Hong Man	K-1 World GP 2006 in Osaka, Japan	Decision (Ext. R)	4	3:00
07/30/2006	Win	Remy Bonjasky	K-1 World GP 2006 in Amsterdam, Netherlands	Decision (Split)	3	3:00
11/19/2005	Loss	Peter Aerts	K-1 World Grand Prix 2005, Japan	Decision (Ext. R)	4	3:00
09/23/2005	Win	Gary Goodridge	K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Osaka, Japan	TKO (Three knockdowns)	1	2:13
07/02/2005	Win	Dimitry Podgaisky	Le Grand Tournoi 2005, Paris, France	KO (Right hook)	1	1:49
05/27/2005	Win	Cyril Abidi	K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Paris, France	TKO (Referee stoppage)	5	2:53
04/30/2005	Win	Oliver van Damme	Post Tenebra Cup 2005, WKA World Championship, Geneva	KO (Left hook)	1
12/04/2004	Win	Hiromi Amada	K-1 World Grand Prix 2004, Japan	KO (Low kicks)	2	1:03
09/25/2004	Loss	Francois Botha	K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Tokyo, Japan	TKO (Corner stoppage)	3	3:00
07/17/2004	Win	Terrence Reasby	K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Seoul, Korea	KO (Knee strike)	1	0:53
09/21/2003	Win	Shaka Zulu	K-1 Survival 2003, Japan	KO (Right low kick)	2	1:10
06/14/2003	Win	Vitaly Akhramenko	K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 in Paris, France	KO (Right punch)	2	0:28
12/07/2002	Loss	Ernesto Hoost	K-1 World Grand Prix 2002, Japan	KO (Right mid-kicks)	3	1:26
12/07/2002	Win	Mark Hunt	K-1 World Grand Prix 2002, Japan	Decision	3	3:00
12/07/2002	Win	Musashi	K-1 World Grand Prix 2002, Japan	KO (Punches)	2	0:51
10/05/2002	Win	Gary Goodridge	K-1 World GP 2002 in Saitama, Japan	KO (Straight right punch)	1	0:42
08/28/2002	Win	Don Frye	PRIDE Shockwave, Japan	KO (Right hook)	1	1:30
07/06/2002	Win	Sinisa Andrijasevic	ISKA Full-contact World Heavyweight title, France	TKO (Corner stoppage)	4	2:00
05/25/2002	Win	Mark Hunt	K-1 World GP 2002 in Paris, France	TKO (Corner stoppage)	2	3:00
03/03/2002	Win	Hiromi Amada	K-1 World GP 2002 in Nagoya, Japan	KO (Right punch)	1	1:42
12/08/2001	Loss	Mark Hunt	K-1 World Grand Prix 2001, Japan	KO (Right hook)	2	2:32
08/19/2001	Win	Marc de Wit	K-1 Andy Memorial Japan 2001 GP Final, Japan	KO (Straight right punch)	2	1:45
06/24/2001	Win	Stefan Leko	K-1 Survival 2001, Japan	Decision	5	3:00
04/29/2001	Win	Adam Watt	K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Osaka, Japan	KO (Punch rush)	1	0:46
04/29/2001	Win	Ebenezer Braga	K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Osaka, Japan	KO (Left punch)	1	1:03
04/29/2001	Win	Pavel Majer	K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Osaka, Japan	KO (Left punch)	1	2:15
03/17/2001	NC	Mike Bernardo	K-1 Gladiators 2001, Japan	No Contest	1	3:00
07/30/2000	Win	Ernesto Hoost	K-1 World GP 2000 in Nagoya, Japan	TKO (Corner stoppage)	1	3:00
07/30/2000	Win	Nicolas Pettas	K-1 World GP 2000 in Nagoya, Japan	TKO (2 knockdowns)	1	3:00
07/30/2000	Win	Mark Hunt	K-1 World GP 2000 in Nagoya, Japan	Decision	3	3:00
07/13/2000	Win	Shawn Johnson	ISKA Championship Kickboxing, Las Vegas, NV	KO (Left straight punch)	1
05/28/2000	Win	Jan Nortje	K-1 Survival 2000, Japan	KO (Left hook)	1	1:07
04/23/2000	Win	Francisco Filho	K-1 The Millennium, Japan	KO (Left punch)	1	2:02
03/17/2000	Win	Paris Vassilikos	ISKA Championship Kickboxing, Las Vegas, NV	KO (Right hook)	2	1:09
12/05/1999	Loss	Ernesto Hoost	K-1 World Grand Prix 1999, Japan	KO (Right hook)	2	0:26
12/05/1999	Win	Peter Aerts	K-1 World Grand Prix 1999, Japan	KO (Left hook)	1	1:11
10/05/1999	Win	Matt Skelton	K-1 World GP 1999 Final Elimination, Japan	KO (Right hook)	1	1:59
09/19/1998	Win	Espedito da Silva	WKN World Championship Kickboxing, Atlanta, USA	KO (Right hook)	1
07/18/1998	Win	Sam Greco	K-1 Dreams 1998, Japan	KO (Punch)	2	2:07
05/24/1998	Win	Combat Ziyo	K-1 Braves 1998, Japan	TKO	3	2:52
11/09/1997	Loss	Ernesto Hoost	K-1 World Grand Prix 1997, Japan	KO (Right hook)	1	1:15
09/07/1997	Win	Rick Roufus	K-1 World GP 1997 Opening, Japan	TKO (Referee stoppage)	3	2:05
07/20/1997	Loss	Peter Aerts	K-1 Dreams 1997, Japan	KO (Left high kick)	2	1:19
04/29/1997	Loss	Ray Sefo	K-1 Braves 1997, Japan	KO (Right hook)	1	1:31
02/01/1997	Win	Maurice Smith	ISKA World Superheavyweight title, France	Decision	5	3:00
12/08/1996	Draw	Sam Greco	K-1 Hercules 1996, Japan	Decision draw	5	3:00
10/18/1996	Win	Ernesto Hoost	K-1 Star Wars 1996, Japan	TKO (Corner stoppage)	2	2:57
09/01/1996	Win	Takeru	K-1 Revenge 1996, Japan	KO (Right straight punch)	4	2:49
06/01/1996	Win	Curtis Schuster	Le Choc des Champions, ISKA Super heavyweight title	Decision	5	3:00
03/10/1996	Loss	Mirko Filipovic	K-1 World GP 1996 Opening, Japan	Decision	5	3:00
12/09/1995	Loss	Andy Hug	K-1 Hercules 1995, Japan	Decision	5	3:00
09/03/1995	Win	John Kleijn	K-1 Revenge 2, Japan	KO (Right hook)	2	1:10
05/04/1995	Loss	Peter Aerts	K-1 World Grand Prix 1995, Japan	KO (Right body punch)	1	1:37
05/04/1995	Win	Mike Bernardo	K-1 World Grand Prix 1995, Japan	KO (Right low kick)	2	2:05
05/04/1995	Win	Masaaki Satake	K-1 World Grand Prix 1995, Japan	KO (Punch)	3	2:32
03/03/1995	Win	Nokveed Devy	K-1 World Grand Prix 1995 Opening, Japan	Decision	5	3:00

[edit] Mixed martial arts record

3 Wins (3 KOs), 1 Loss (1 submission), 1 Draw.
Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Method	Round	Time
03/15/2006	Win	Jimmy Ambriz	K-1 Hero's 4	KO (Punch)	1	2:04
12/31/2005	Win	Alan Karaev	K-1 PREMIUM 2005 Dynamite!!, Japan	KO	2	1:14
03/26/2005	Win	Yoshihiro Akiyama	K-1 Hero's 1	KO (Knees)	1	2:24
12/31/2004	Draw	Bob Sapp	K-1 PREMIUM 2004 Dynamite!!, Japan	Decision Draw	4	3:00
12/31/2001	Loss	Tadao Yasuda	Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2001 K-1 vs. Inoki	Submission (Forearm choke)	2	2:50

[edit] Professional Boxing Record

4 Wins (3 (T)KOs), 0 Losses.
Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Method	Round
11/14/1998	Win	Ferenc Deák	L'Espace François Mitterand, France	DQ	2
06/20/1998	Win	James Henderson	The Moon, Tallahassee, FL, USA	KO	4
04/10/1998	Win	Jerry Reynolds	USA	TKO	1
02/24/1998	Win	Tudor Panait	Oporto, Portugal	TKO	4

[edit] See also

• List of male kickboxers
• List of K-1 Events
• List of kickboxing organizations

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Website
• Le Banner's Official K-1 profile
• Interview with Jerome Le Banner
• JLB Biography at IMDB