Jérôme Philippe Le Banner (; born December 26, 1972) is a French kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and professional wrestler. Le Banner fought for most of his career in K-1 and became known for his aggressive fighting style and knockout power. He is a 2-time K-1 World Grand Prix runner up, a 2-time K-1 Preliminary Grand Prix champion, and is a multiple time world champion in Kickboxing and Muay Thai. He holds notable victories over Ernesto Hoost (twice), Francisco Filho, Mark Hunt (three times), Sam Greco, Mike Bernardo (twice), Peter Aerts, Rick Roufus, Remy Bonjasky, Tyrone Spong, Stefan Leko (twice), Masaaki Satake, Maurice Smith, Gary Goodridge (twice), Musashi (twice), Cyril Abidi and Choi Hong-man (twice). Background Jérôme Le Banner was born in the French city of Le Havre, in the région of Normandy and began training in judo at the age of five. When he was fourteen, Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury influenced him so much that he became interested in striking instead and started trying to incorporate the techniques of Jeet Kune Do he had seen in the film. At sixteen however he started practising kyokushin, while Jeet Kune Do gave him the southpaw stance which he has maintained throughout his career, even though he is right-handed. He eventually took up Muay Thai at the age of 18. Le Banner holds a black belt in the Kyokushin Kaikan karate and in judo. Career Early career At the age of 18, he debuted in his first full contact kickboxing competitions. By 19 he held the ISKA French title and soon after that, he won the European belt against Andy Mayo, and the Intercontinental belt in South Africa against Mike Bernardo. He turned down the chance to fight Richard Vince for the IKL World Kickboxing title at the age of 21. K-1 debut On March 3, 1995, Jerome Le Banner made his K-1 debut, winning a five-round decision over Nokweed Davy. Le Banner was at 107 kg while Nokweed was at 74 kg. Two months later, on May 4, 1995, he made his first K-1 World Grand Prix appearance in Tokyo, Japan, knocking out both Masaaki Satake and Mike Bernardo, before losing to Peter Aerts in the tournament finals. First world title shot After the 1995 K-1 GP, Le Banner was drafted by the French Army, and also had trouble with his trainer so he could not train for a year. His