Former MMA fighter Hiromitsu Miura died nearly two weeks ago after battling leukemia.
His family issued a statement this past week to announce his passing which has been translated from Japanese:
Hiromitsu Miura passed away suddenly on October 26, 2024 at the age of 43 after fighting acute leukemia since mid-September.
We should have informed you of his death earlier, but we sincerely apologize for the delay in notifying you.
The funeral was attended only by his immediate family.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the kindness you extended to the deceased during his lifetime.
Sincerely, Miura Family.
Miura competed in both Mixed Martial Arts and Boxing, primarily in Japan, but fought for the WEC including challenging for a championship.
Miura was born in Ukiha in the Fukuoka prefecture on September 22, 1981, and would make his MMA debut competing for Pancrase in 2004 at Korakuen Hall. After his debut loss to Joe D’Arce, he rebounded with four victories while fighting in Pancrase and DEEP.
In July 2005, he competed on the second K-1 Hero’s show losing to Izuru Takeuchi and a follow-up loss to Kestutis Smimovas in the organization.
He had a 7-3 record when he was signed by the WEC (shortly after Zuffa purchased the company) and debuted for the promotion in May 2007 losing by unanimous decision to Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller at WEC 27.
Miura followed with a TKO win against Fernando Gonzalez in August before cutting down to welterweight and knocking out Blas Avena in the first round at WEC 33 in March 2008.
The win against Avena led to his highest-profile fight when he challenged Carlos Condit for the WEC Welterweight Championship.
The fight took place on August 3, 2008, when Miura was stopped by Condit in the fourth round at WEC 35.
He competed one more time for the WEC in January 2009 and was stopped by Edgar Garcia before returning to Pancrase and fought six more times through July 2021.
After leaving the WEC, he made his pro boxing debut in 2010 fighting twice in April with decision victories against Isaac Atencio and Nathan Bedwell in the U.S., which kicked off a 9-0 start to his foray into the sport. He last boxed in October 2012 losing by TKO to Yuzo Kiyota at Korakuen Hall and never boxed again, ending his career with a 9-1 record.
