Akira Maeda (born in 1959 as Go Il-myeong) is a former Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, and promoter, best known as one of the pioneers of shoot-style wrestling, which aimed to bring a more realistic and combat-oriented approach to pro wrestling in Japan.
He began his career with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in 1978 after gaining attention in karate. He wrestled in the UK under the name Kwik-kik-Lee and had a short stint in WWF in 1984, where he won an international title. That same year, he co-founded the first UWF, but left due to creative conflicts with Satoru Sayama (Tiger Mask).
After returning to NJPW, he was involved in controversial incidents, including a real-life altercation with André the Giant and a kick that seriously injured Riki Choshu, which led to his departure from the company.
In 1988, he founded Newborn UWF, which was initially very successful but eventually dissolved due to internal disagreements. In 1991, he established Fighting Network RINGS, a promotion that combined shoot-style wrestling with legitimate MMA fights. He retired in 1999 after facing Olympic champion Alexander Karelin in a widely publicized match. RINGS later became a full MMA organization and helped launch the careers of fighters like Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson, before folding in 2002.
Since 2008, Maeda has run The Outsider, an amateur MMA series where he revived the RINGS brand. In 2012, he officially relaunched it with Battle Genesis Vol. 9.
In his personal life, Maeda holds an 8th dan black belt in Kyokushin Budokai, was a fan of Ultraman as a child, and is a close friend of Mother video game creator Shigesato Itoi. He is of Korean descent and later became a naturalized Japanese citizen.
