Jerome Le Banner: Record, Net Worth, Weight, Age & More!

Who is Jerome Le Banner?

Jerome Le Banner is a French martial artist known for his contributions to kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and even professional wrestling. He rose to fame primarily for his time as a heavyweight kickboxer under the K-1 promotion, and his intense, powerful style kept crowds engaged. He is a multiple time world champion in both kickboxing and Muay Thai, and has beaten some of the absolute best in the striking world. Among those that Le Banner has bested in the ring: Peter Aerts, Rick Roufus, Francisco Filho, Mark Hunt, and Ernesto Hoost, to name a few. 

Who is Jerome Le Banner?

Jerome Le Banner is a French martial artist known for his contributions to kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and even professional wrestling. He rose to fame primarily for his time as a heavyweight kickboxer under the K-1 promotion, and his intense, powerful style kept crowds engaged. He is a multiple time world champion in both kickboxing and Muay Thai, and has beaten some of the absolute best in the striking world. Among those that Le Banner has bested in the ring: Peter Aerts, Rick Roufus, Francisco Filho, Mark Hunt, and Ernesto Hoost, to name a few. 

Complete Kickboxing Basics by Jerome Lebanner

Jerome was born in Le Havre, France, and began his martial arts training with judo at only five years old. A decade later, upon the release of the Bruce Lee film “Fist of Fury”, Le Banner abandoned striking to pursue a real-life version of the Jeet Kune Do he had watched on screen. This was quickly transferred into a more traditional art, Kyokushin, Which emphasizes power and toughness over everything. It is likely here that he developed his knockout-based, pressuring style. Interestingly, he maintained the unorthodox southpaw stance that Jeet Kune Do advocates for right-handed fighters throughout his entire career.

Le Banner took up Muay Thai at age 18 and then it was off to the races. He began to make waves in the combat community by winning in competition around the year 1990. By 1995 he had placed 2nd in a K-1 Grand Prix. He earned his first Muay Thai title under the ISKA in 1996. 

The next decade of Lebanner’s career is one of the most well-respected bodies of work in modern martial arts. He often challenged himself for big name fights, and didn’t shy away from new rule sets like boxing, where he was briefly undefeated at 6-0 before leaving the sport. All in all, Jerome knocked out over three-quarters, or 75%, of the opponents that he faced.

Jerome Le Banner officially fought his retirement fight on August 4, 2015 after 106 professional outings as a kickboxer alone. His first opponent was forced, perhaps ironically, to pull out with an injury. Current UFC fighter Karl Roberson stepped up to the challenge, and Le Banner was able to escape the ring with one final victory to his record.

The Lumberjack Manual by Peter Aerts

How Old is Jerome Le Banner?

Jerome Le Banner is 48. He was born on December 26 in 1972. He will turn 49 years old in 2021.

Jerome Le Banner Family

For all of his public pursuits, Le Banner has been mostly quiet concerning family details. He has a daughter named Victoria Le Banner.

How Much is Jerome Le Banner Worth?

Estimates of Le Banner’s net worth vary wildly but many sources claim he has amassed a fortune of nearly $215 Million. His wealth is built on a long career as a professional fighter, intelligent investment strategies, a real estate business, and a career in French television &cinema.

How Tall is Jerome Le Banner?

Jerome Le Banner’s height is listed as 6’3”, or 190.5 cm. Le Banner has a long reach of 79” and is a fairly tall person, both in daily life and in combat sports. He towered over many of his heavyweight opponents, like Mark Hunt and Satoshi Ishii. Only true giants like Semmy Schilt, who stands at 6’11”, were able to make him look small in the ring.

How Much Does Jerome Le Banner Weigh? 

Jerome Le Banner weighs around 120 kg, or 265 pounds. This is incredibly heavy, as 265 is the maximum weight for any division in the modern UFC. Although he never competed in that promotion, it's clear that Jerome Le Banner was an intimidating opponent for anyone lucky enough to draw his name.

Jerome Le Banner Fight List

Jerome Le Banner has had a unique career across several forms of kickboxing and done so in several different organizations around the world. His accomplishments are extremely varied, and he has been inducted into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame in Tokyo. Le Banner has competed too many times, and in too many places, to count accurately here. Instead, check out a list of his accomplishments in Kickboxing and Muay Thai, sorted by organization in which they occured:

Fédération Française Unifiée de Boxe Américaine et Disciplines Assimilées (FFUBADA)

• 1990 - Full Contact French Junior Champion - Paris
• 1992 - French Cup Full Contact Champion - Paris

Ring Contact Fighting Art (RCFA)

• 1994 - R.C.F.A. World Super Heavyweight Champion

International Sport Karate Association (I.S.K.A.)

• 2015 - I.S.K.A. K1 Rules World Super Heavyweight Champion
• 2011 - I.S.K.A. Freestyle Kickboxing World Super Heavyweight Champion
• 1992 - I.S.K.A. Full Contact French Super Heavyweight Champion
• 1994 - I.S.K.A. Full Contact Intercontinental Super Heavyweight Champion
• 1994 - I.S.K.A. Full Contact European Super Heavyweight Champion
• 1996 - I.S.K.A. Muaythai World Super Heavyweight Champion
• 1997 - I.S.K.A. Muaythai World Super Heavyweight Champion (1st Title Defense)
• 2000 - I.S.K.A. Muaythai World Super Heavyweight Champion (2nd Title Defense)
• 2000 - I.S.K.A. Muaythai World Super Heavyweight Champion (3rd Title Defense)
• 2011 - I.S.K.A. Freestyle Kickboxing World Super Heavyweight Champion
• 2015 - I.S.K.A. K1 Rules World Super Heavyweight Champion

World Kickboxing Network

• 1998 W.K.N. Muaythai World Super Heavyweight Champion
• 2005 W.K.N. Muaythai World Super Heavyweight Champion (1st Title Defense)
• 2012 W.K.N. Kickboxing Oriental World Super Heavyweight Champ. (2nd Title Defense)
• 2013 W.K.N. Kickboxing Oriental World Super Heavyweight Champ. (3rd Title Defense)
• 2015 W.K.N. Kickboxing Oriental World Super Heavyweight Champion

World Pro League Kickboxing

• 2011 - World Pro League Kickboxing Super Heavyweight Champion

World Professional Muaythai Federation

• 2010 - W.P.M.F. Muaythai World Super Heavyweight Champion

K-1

• 1995 - K-1 World Grand Prix Final - 2nd Place
• 1999 - K-1 World Grand Prix Final - 3rd Place
• 2000 - K-1 World Grand Prix in Nagoya - Champion
• 2001 - K-1 World Grand Prix in Osaka - Champion
• 2002 - K-1 World Grand Prix Final - 2nd
• 2007 - K-1 World Grand Prix Final - 3rd

Jerome Le Banner's Best Fight of All Time

As a knockout artist, Le Banner has no shortage of amazing moments to draw from. One such moment came in April of 2000, and gained such traction in Japan that it became known as the “Millennium KO”, while Le Banner’s left hand was dubbed the “Golden Left”. He earned this reputation by knocking out Kyokushin champion Franciso Filho, who was fresh off a knockout victory against Ernesto Hoost, in the very first round. This fight earned him an international reputation and set the stage for his eventual success in the K-1 Grand Prix events.

Who Did Jerome Le Banner Lose To?

Jerome Le Banner has fought all the biggest names in kickboxing for the last 20 years. Many fights went his way, but some were bound to swing the way of his opponents. One of his most stunning losses came against Mark Hunt, the Samoan kickboxer known for his iron chin and heavy hands.

Le Banner appeared to be dictating the action in the first round, landing a few high kicks and keeping Hunt at length with his jab. But in round two, Hunt came out taunting Jerome and eventually landed a strong right hand that rocked him. Hunt smelled blood and rushed in for the finish, landing several unanswered shots and knocking Le Banner to the canvas for a KO. 

Jerome Le Banner Record

Never satisfied to rest at the top, Jerome Le Banner has competed in a huge amount of combat sports. It’s a testament to his toughness and spirit. One thing that stands out from comparing Le Banner’s record across sports is his undeniable knockout power. He won via knockout or TKO in 79 of his 96 wins, which is an incredibly high mark. He even scored some fun knockouts working for a hybrid pro wrestling and mma organization, the Inoki Genome Federation. Check out his record by sport below:

Kickboxing: 

• 86-22-2-1 (W-L-D-NC)
• 70 wins by KO or TKO

Boxing: 

• 6-0-1 (W-L-DQ)
• 5 wins by KO or TKO

Mixed Martial Arts: 

• 4-3-1 (W-L-D)
• All four victories via KO

Pro Wrestling: 

• 14-5 (W-L)

Jerome Le Banner Injuries

Jerome has been injured many times throughout his career, undergoing multiple surgeries, and occasionally being forced to withdraw from scheduled fights.

His first major injury came in the finals of the 2002 K-1 Grand Prix, where he faced the living legend Ernesto Hoost for the championship. The first two rounds were back-and-forth, but Hoost managed to break Le Banner’s arm in round three. A testament to his toughness, Le Banner fought through the injury to a loss via knockdowns. The decision to continue fighting with this fracture nearly ended Le Banner’s career and would require major surgery to heal.

History seemed to be repeating itself in the finals of the 2004 K-1 World Grand Prix, where Jerome squared off against Francois Botha. Again in round three, Le Banner was injured. Learning from his near brush with the first injury, he chose to forfeit the match instead of continuing the fight injured.

The coast appeared to be clear for a few years, until the now injury-prone Le Banner stepped into the ring with the massive Semmy Schilt. At nearly 7 feet tall, Schilt presented a unique challenge for Jerome, and was able to land some damage to the legs in round two. Le Banner lost that match by TKO as a result of this leg injury. To round out his incredible battle with injuries at K-1 Events, Le Banner again suffered a TKO loss in the 2008 K-1 Grand Prix quarterfinals to Remy Bonjaski. 

Only three short months after Jerome moved to the United States to begin training in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, he found himself pulling out of another scheduled fight.. This time, he would be unable to meet Marcin Rozalski in the ring for their February 2012 headlining fight under Polish MMA promotion, KSW. This match was pushed back 7 months, to September 2012 but Le Banner was again forced to drop out, this time due to a knee injury.

The knee problems followed Le Banner into December of 2012, where he was forced to withdraw from a third consecutive fight in the same year. Glory 4, which was a 16-man tournament in Tokyo, had to replace Le Banner on their card.

Le Banner was scheduled for a huge matchup with kickboxing icon Sergei Kharitonov in September of 2013. The two were supposed to meet in LA for glory ten, but Jerome was forced to pull out of the fight due to a neck injury sustained in training. The sheer volume of major injuries that Jerome returned from is impressive, and speaks to his natural-born toughness.

Is Jerome Le Banner Retired?

At 48 years of age, Jerome is now retired from active competition. He has turned his focus to both coaching and to acting. In addition to frequent appearances in french-speaking movies &television shows, he has begun to distribute some instructional content. Jerome recently released “Complete Kickboxing Basics” through BJJ Fanatics. He covers warm-ups, defense, punches, kicks, and combinations all while highlighting championship-level details. Whether you’re new to the sport or you’re looking to hone your skills, Jerome’s knowledge of kickboxing will help you elevate your game.

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