Former WEC title challenger Hiromitsu Miura has died. He was 43.
In a statement shared on social media, Miura’s family announced Tuesday that he “passed away suddenly” on Oct. 26 after battling acute leukemia since mid-September.
Miura doubled as both a professional mixed martial artist and boxer, competing mostly in his native Japan.
American fans may remember Miura (13-8) from his five appearances in WEC during the late 2000s. That included a fourth-round TKO loss to then-welterweight champion Carlos Condit on Aug. 3, 2008 at WEC 35. Widely considered one of the best fights in WEC history, Miura gave Condit a run for his money in an all-action affair before he was eventually stopped with punches.
After the loss to Condit, Miura made one more WEC appearance before putting his MMA career on hold to pursue boxing, where he posted a 9-1 record. Miura returned to MMA in November 2015 and one year later captured the Pancrase welterweight championship by winning a unanimous decision against Akihiro Murayama.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Former WEC title challenger Hiromitsu Miura dead at 43
