Willie Williams (karateka)

Willie Williams (April 14, 1951 – June 8, 2019) was an American karateka and mixed martial artist.^[1]

Career[]

In 1975, Willie Williams participated in Mas Oyama's 1st World Full-Contact Karate Open Championships tournament as part of the U.S. team coached by Tadashi Nakamura and Shigeru Oyama. He lost to Howard Collins of the United Kingdom in the third round by decision. Four years later, in 1979, he took part in the 2nd World Open Championships. That year, around 160 fighters from all over the world entered this open weight class tournament. Williams was able to battle his way through to the semifinals, where he was defeated by Keiji Sanpei. He made his third appearance at the 3rd World Open Championships in 1984, making it to the final 32.^[2]

In 1980, Williams fought Japan's top pro-wrestling star Antonio Inoki for the World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship in Tokyo. The bout ended in a draw after both competitors repeatedly fell out of the ring. Although the match was worked, it is seen as a precursor to modern mixed martial arts. William's fight against Inoki was voted as the top professional fighting match in Japan in the 20th century in 2003 by professional Japanese fight analysts.^{[citation needed]}

Williams debuted in November 1992 in the combat sport promotion Fighting Network RINGS. After having fought 13 matches for the Japan-based organization, Williams retired in October 1994.

Williams died on June 8, 2019, at the age of 68.^[3]

Titles[]

• 3rd World Open Karate Tournament 1984 (IKO) - Final 32
• 2nd World Open Karate Tournament 1979 (IKO) - 3rd Place

Mixed martial arts record[]

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Win	9-4	Pieter Oele	TKO	RINGS - Mega Battle Tournament 1994: Second Round	October 22, 1994	1	6:41	Fukuoka, Japan
Win	8-4	Masayuki Naruse	TKO	RINGS - Rings 1994 in Ariake	June 18, 1994	1	10:54	Tokyo, Japan
Loss	7-4	Akira Maeda	Submission	RINGS - Rings 1994 in Sendai	May 17, 1994	1	2:38	Sendai, Japan
Loss	7-3	Dick Vrij	Decision	RINGS - Mega Battle Tournament 1993: First Round	October 23, 1993	5	3:00	Fukuoka, Japan
Win	7-2	Dick Vrij	Decision	RINGS - Battle Dimension: Toky Bay Area Circuit III	August 21, 1993	5	3:00	Yokohama, Japan
Win	6-2	Bitsadze Tariel	Submission	RINGS - Battle Dimension: Osaka Metropolitan Circuit II	July 13, 1993	3	1:35	Osaka, Japan
Loss	5-2	Volk Han	Submission	RINGS - Battle Dimension: Tokyo Bay Area Circuit II	July 16, 1993	1	11:46	Tokyo, Japan
Win	5-1	Yukihiro Takenami	KO	RINGS - Mega Battle Tournament 1992: Second Round	November 13, 1992	2	1:33	Hiroshima, Japan
Loss	4-1	Akira Maeda	Submission	RINGS - Mega Battle VI: Hayate	July 16, 1992	3	2:03	Osaka, Japan
Win	4-0	Ton van Maurik	KO	RINGS - Mega Battle V: Shi Shi Ku	June 25, 1992	1	5:08	Hiroshima, Japan
Win	3-0	Bitsadze Ameran	KO	RINGS - Mega Battle IV: Kohrin	May 16, 1992	3	2:07	Hiroshima, Japan
Win	2-0	Mitsuya Nagai	KO	RINGS - Mega Battle III: Ikazuchi	April 3, 1992	2	1:13	Hiroshima, Japan
Win	1-0	Peter Smit	TKO	RINGS - Mega Battle Tournament 1992: Second Round	November 13, 1992	1	2:50	Yokohama, Japan

Karate record[]

hideKarate record
Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Location	Method	Round	Time	Record
1992-03-26		Nobuaki Kakuda	RINGS - Kakutogi Olympic
1991-06-04	Loss	Masaaki Satake	USA Oyama Karate vs. Karate Masamichi		Decision (Unanimous)	3
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

References[]