MMA veteran and former professional boxer Hiromitsu Miura tragically passed away on October 26 after a battle with acute leukemia, his family announced Tuesday. He was 43.
A former Pancrase welterweight champion, Miura spent the majority of his combat sports career competing in Japan, so he never become a household name for western fans more attuned to the roster workings of the UFC. But the Japanese welterweight still left one indelible mark on North American audiences over the course of his five-fight run with the now-defunct World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), a run that culminated with his 2008 challenge for the promotion’s welterweight title against WEC champion — and future MMA legend — Carlos Condit.
Meeting in the main event of WEC 35, Miura and Condit engaged in one of the sport’s forgotten all-action gems — a knock-down, drag-out war of attrition that saw Miura push the champ to his absolute limits before finally succumbing to a flurry of punches in the closing seconds of round four.
“I was fortunate I came away with the win tonight,” an exhausted Condit wheezed post-fight.
Miura and Condit only had one more combined appearance in the WEC after their instant classic before each went their separate ways — Condit to the UFC, Miura to professional boxing and then Pancrase, both ultimately winning titles in their respective promotions. But Condit vs. Miura still stands tall as one of the standout bouts of the WEC archive. Re-watch Miura’s fearless title challenge against Condit in its entirety below.
