Remigijus Morkevičius


Remigijus Morkevičius was a Lithuanian mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He has fought for the Lithuanian branch of RINGS, ZST, and K-1 World MAX.

Career and biography

Morkevičius began kickboxing and Muay Thai at age of 14. He started off his career in Lithuania as a kickboxer becoming a national champion in both kickboxing and Muay Thai. He transitioned across to MMA in 2002 defeating Darius Baliulis at a local event. This win led to his being signed by Japanese promotion ZST and he would make a quick impact in Japan, knocking out his first four opponents in brutal fashion and qualifying for the 2004 ZST Grand Prix where he would suffer his first MMA defeat to Marcus Aurélio in the Semi Finals.
Morkevičius would continue to have success with the ZST promotion, bar a couple of submission defeats, culminating in his victory at the 2005 ZST Grand Prix 2 where he defeated Masahiro Oishi by knockout to win the featherweight title. Morkevičius later signed with Hero's where he would becoming increasingly re-involved in the kickboxing world with K-1 MAX.
Morkevičius' first foray into K-1 MAX began at the 2005 K-1 MAX Champions Challenge where he defeated local fighter Yasuhiro Kazuya. Morkevičius would have great initial success, winning his first four fights and earned a shot at qualification for the 2006 K-1 MAX World Final at the 2006 K-1 MAX World Open. He faced legendary Japanese fighter Masato at this event but was unable to qualify, losing instead by technical knockout in the second round. After this defeat his kickboxing career would go on the backburner for a while as he refocused back on MMA.
Morkevičius had mixed success with Hero's, winning 2 and losing 2 before returning to ZST in 2006. Additionally, problems outside of the ring have limited his fighting opportunities as of late. A return to K-1 MAX in 2008 has resulted in varying results, a crushing knockout defeat to Andre Dida.

Death

On December 21st, 2016,Morkevičius was shot seven times with automatic rifle, near his home in Kaunas, County Šilainiai, Lithuania. His body was found on the steps of the front doors of the apartment complex he was living. The murder occurred on Wednesday, by an unidentified man waiting for him in the car.

Titles

Kickboxing record