Kickboxer Jerome Le Banner will take another kick at the MMA can when he returns at May’s ROAD FC 53 in South Korea.
At age 46, kickboxing legend and occasional mixed martial artist Jerome Le Banner isn’t done with combat sports just yet. On Sunday, South Korean MMA promotion ROAD FC announced via press release that Le Banner would return to the MMA world at their upcoming ROAD FC 53 card in Jeju Island, South Korea on May 18. The fight will be Le Banner’s first in MMA since 2017.
That’s not to say Le Banner (3-3 MMA) hasn’t been active. Just this month, he kicked his way to victory over Jairo Kusunoki in a kickboxing contest at HEAT 44 in Nagoya, Japan. With over 80 wins to his name in that sport, Le Banner has become a legend, having faced the likes of Mark Hunt, Tyrone Spong, Gary Goodridge, Don Frye, Ernesto Hoost, and Maurice Smith, earning wins over all of them. And a host of others.
He last fought in MMA at RIZIN’s World Grand Prix 2017: Opening Round, losing in the tournament to Roque Martinez. His most notable MMA win remains his first, against eventual UFC star Yoshihiro Akiyama in 2005.
At ROAD FC 53, Le Banner will take on an opponent to be announced. He’ll join the promotion’s lightweight champ Kwon A-Sol (21-10) on the card. A-Sol will be defending his belt against Million Dollar Tournament finalist Mansour Barnaoui.
