About Koichi (kickboxer)
Koichi Watanabe, better known as Koichi Pettas or simply KOICHI, was a Japanese heavyweight kickboxer competing in K-1, It's Showtime and GLORY. Koichi Watanabe (Japanese: コウイチ) (26 October 1980 - 7 April 2018), better known as Koichi Pettas or simply KOICHI, was a Japanese heavyweight kickboxer competing in K-1, It's Showtime and GLORY. Koichi gained recognition fighting in organizations like RISE and MARS, then went on to win the M-1 Heavyweight Muaythai title in 2009 and the WPMF Japan Heavyweight Muaythai title in 2010. Having spent most of his career at heavyweight, Koichi dropped to light-heavyweight following back-to-back losses to Jerome Le Banner in GLORY events. Koichi was killed in a traffic accident on April 7, 2018.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.