Bas Rutten
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| Bas Rutten | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Nickname | El Guapo |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Nationality |  Dutch American |
| Born | February 24, 1965 |
| Fighting out of | Los Angeles, California |
| Town of birth | Tilburg, Netherlands |
| Primary fighting style | Muay Thai, Kyokushin, Taekwondo, Pancrase |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Wins | 28 |
| By knockout | 12 |
| By submission | 13 |
| Losses | 4 |
| Draws | 1 |
Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten (born February 24, 1965) is a retired Dutch-American mixed martial artist (MMA) and kickboxer. He was the UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three time King of Pancrase, and finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak (21 wins, 1 draw). One of his favorite tactics was the liver shot, and he popularized its use in MMA.[1]
Rutten is known for his charisma and has capitalized on his celebrity since retiring from fighting in 1999. He has worked as a color commentator in several MMA organizations, including Pride, and has appeared in numerous television shows, movies, and video games. He also coaches MMA and has authored several instructional materials.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Rutten was born in Tilburg, Netherlands and became interested in martial arts at the age of 11 after watching Enter the Dragon.[2] His conservative parents didn't allow him to pursue it at first, but he eventually started to train in Tae Kwon Do. He was very committed and eventually earned a 2nd degree Black Belt. He then began learning Kyokushin Karate, and earned a 5th degree Black Belt.
In high school, he was not big and strong and had a skin condition on his hands for which he was bullied occasionally. But years later he attended his high school reunion as a decorated fighter and issued a friendly challenge to fight his former tormentors, which they declined.[3]
[edit] Kickboxing
At the age of 20 he started competing in Thai boxing. He fought 15 times and won the first 14, all by knockout. But he was TKO'd in his final fight.[2]
[edit] Pancrase
Bas then began his professional MMA career with the Pancrase organization in Japan. In 1993, Japanese pro wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki traveled to Holland to scout fighters for their new "hybrid wrestling" (Bushido wrestling) organization, featuring submission fighting, but with no closed fisted strikes to the face. A precursor to what would become modern mixed martial arts, the organization was the first of its kind, and featured such early MMA names as Frank Shamrock, Vernon White, Maurice Smith, Ken Shamrock, and Guy Mezger.
His lack (at that time) of ground-fighting experience led to early defeats at the hands of Masakatsu Funaki and the then "King of Pancrase" Ken Shamrock, and more controversially losing to Frank Shamrock by way of a split judge's decision, Rutten would come back in 1995 and be dealt another loss from Ken Shamrock, but would go on to beat the previously undefeated Minoru Suzuki and win his first "King of Pancrase" title. Avenging his losses to both Frank Shamrock and Masakatsu Funaki in 1996, he went on to defeat both Jason Delucia and Guy Mezger and in so doing became a three time "King of Pancrase." In 1996, he relinquished his title, in order to be present for the birth of his second daughter.[2] Bas returned to Pancrase, taking 8 more victories, bringing his winning streak up to 19 straight fights.
[edit] UFC
In 1998, Rutten signed with the UFC, the biggest MMA promotion in the United States. His first fight in the UFC was against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka at UFC 18, which Rutten won by KO. Next he faced Kevin Randleman for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 20. This fight went into overtime, with Rutten taking a close decision victory to become the UFC Heavyweight Champion. Bas vacated the title later in the year, in order to drop down to middleweight (his natural weight class), and try to become the first person to hold a UFC title in two weight classes.[2]
While training for his next UFC fight in 1999, Rutten suffered multiple serious injuries, including blowing out his knee (a long running injury), and tearing his biceps. He was forced to retire from MMA competition for the time being, by doctors orders.[2]
During his MMA career he became known for two particular things: his fondness of liver shots and his habit of doing a "Rutten Jump" (jumping split) after winning a fight.[2]
[edit] Post-Fight Career
After his retirement from fighting in 1999, Rutten focused on becoming an actor, getting small parts on TV shows such as Martial Law, 18 Wheels of Justice, The King of Queens, and the Canadian series Freedom, as well as appearing in low budget movies such as Shadow Fury, The Eliminator, and the comedy short The Kingdom of Ultimate Power which was featured in the 2005 L.A. Film Festival. It also won the first prize at the short film festival in NY for "best comedy".
Bas Rutten wrestled a few times for NJPW from 2000 to 2002, including an IWGP title shot against Yuji Nagata, which he lost.
Rutten was also the color commentator for the English productions of Pride Fighting Championships events, calling nearly every event from Pride 1 through the 2005 Grand Prix. Known for his sense of humor and first hand knowledge of the sport, Rutten quickly became a fan favorite commentator. In April 2006 he announced that he would not continue to announce for Pride, due to the constant flying to Japan, and being away from his family every month.[4]
Rutten has a cameo in the video game "Grand Theft Auto IV" on the in-game TV show called "The Men's Room."[5] He also did motion capture for the main character's fighting moves. He said that when he arrived at the motion-capture place in New York he asked the people in charge how violent they wanted to have it and they told him to "give it all he got". After two hours they stopped him and said, "It's OK, you don't have to go any further".[6]
He was also featured in WCW vs. the World for the Playstation, but was named "Thunder Dome" to avoid copyright laws.
On January 23rd 2008 he was announced as the new Vice President, Fighter Operations reporting directly to IFL CEO Jay Larkin. His role was to build relations between the IFL and its fighters as well as work on potential match-ups between fighters. He also hosted the weekly shows "Battleground" and "International Fight League" with Kenny Rice. This all ended when IFL went out of business in late 2008.
Currently, he and Rice host Inside MMA, a weekly MMA variety show on HDNet. The pair also does the English commentary and play-by-play for Dream (mixed martial arts) events broadcast in North America on HDNet. While the fights originate in Japan, the duo commentates live remotely from the HDNet studios in Los Angeles, California.
[edit] Coaching
He is a certified as an instructor of both MTBN Thai Boxing and Pancrase.
Rutten coached Mark Kerr during the filming of the HBO documentary The Smashing Machine.
In 2006 Rutten was tapped to coach a team for the new International Fight League, an MMA organization that focuses on team combat. His team, the Anacondas, defeated the Silverbacks 3-2.
Rutten is an investor in the Legends MMA gym in Hollywood and teaches there occasionally.[7]
He also trained former street fighter Kimbo Slice for his professional MMA bouts.
[edit] One Last Fight
In May 2006, Bas announced his return to MMA competition. Cleared by doctors to fight again, Rutten was slated to face Kimo Leopoldo in the now defunct World Fighting Alliance on July 22, 2006 at The Forum in Los Angeles. But just two days before the event, Kimo tested positive for Stanozolol, an anabolic steroid. In place of Kimo, Rutten fought Ruben "Warpath" Villareal. Bas took a first-round victory by way of technical knockout after low kicks left his opponent unable to stand. With that he brought up his winning streak to 21 wins and 1 draw.
[edit] Personal life
Bas currently lives in Westlake Village, California with his second wife Karin and two daughters, Sabine (pronounced Sa-bee-nuh) and Bianca. He has another daughter, Rachel (pronounced Rah-SHEL), who lives with his ex-wife in Holland.[3]
His first wife gave him the nickname "El Guapo", which means "The Handsome One" in Spanish. It was inspired by the movie ¡Three Amigos!.
[edit] Tattoos
Bas has several tattoos, each of which is intended to help him spiritually and emotionally:[8]
| “ | Everything has a meaning to me. I’ve got a symbol for the Year of the Snake, all these tattoos on the side of my knees and elbows are all to calm me down. I really believe in those kinds of spirits. I have my daughters’ names on my wrists. In my right palm I have a qi or chi symbol which means life energy—and after I put that one on, I never lost a fight. Since [for some reason] I thought I was going to die soon, I put xiao on the other one, which means “long life.” On my forearm I have a really cool samurai logo that I put on in a special place in Japan. It stands for “family.” On my left arm is the sign of a Buddhist god who protects all the people born in the Year of the Snake. A long time ago I put furoshin on my hand and that means “immovable monk.” So whatever stressful situation I get in, it helps me keep focused and relaxed. | ” |
[edit] MMA Record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 33 matches | 28 wins | 4 losses |
| By knockout | 12 | 0 |
| By submission | 13 | 3 |
| By decision | 3 | 1 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round, Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 28-4-1 | Ruben Villareal |
TKO (Leg Kicks) | WFA - King of the Streets | 7/22/2006 | 1 3:24 | |
| Win | 27-4-1 | Kevin Randleman |
Decision (Split) | UFC 20 - Battle for the Gold | 5/7/1999 | 1 21:00 | Wins UFC Heavyweight Championship and retires due to injury. |
| Win | 26-4-1 |  Tsuyoshi Kohsaka |
TKO (Strikes) | UFC 18: The Road to the Heavyweight Title | 1/8/1999 | 1 14:15 | |
| Win | 25-4-1 | Kengo Watanabe |
TKO (Lost Points) | Pancrase-1998 Anniversary Show | 9/14/1998 | 1 2:58 | |
| Win | 24-4-1 | Keiichiro Yamamiya |
Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | Pancrase-Alive 11 | 12/20/1997 | 1 4:58 | |
| Win | 23-4-1 | Osami Shibuya |
Submission (Body Crunch) | Pancrase-1997 Anniversary Show | 9/6/1997 | 1 3:15 | |
| Win | 22-4-1 | Takaku Fuke |
Ko (Knee to liver) | Pancrase-Alive 7 | 6/30/1997 | 1 4:28 | |
| Win | 21-4-1 | Kiuma Kunioku |
Decision (Lost Points) | Pancrase-Alive 4 | 4/27/1997 | 1 15:00 | |
| Draw | 20-4-1 | Osami Shibuya |
Draw | Pancrase-Alive 3 | 3/22/1997 | 1 15:00 | |
| Win | 20-4 | Manabu Yamada |
Submission (Choke hold) | Pancrase-Truth 7 | 10/8/1996 | 1 0:54 | |
| Win | 19-4 | Masakatsu Funaki |
TKO (Lost Points) | Pancrase-1996 Anniversary Show | 9/7/1996 | 1 17:05 | |
| Win | 18-4 | Jason Delucia |
TKO (Liver Shot) | Pancrase-Truth 6 | 6/25/1996 | 1 8:48 | |
| Win | 17-4 | Frank Shamrock |
TKO (Cut) | Pancrase-Truth 5 | 5/16/1996 | 1 11:11 | |
| Win | 16-4 | Katsuomi Inagaki |
TKO | Pancrase-Truth 4 | 4/8/1996 | 1 14:07 | |
| Win | 15-4 | Guy Mezger |
Submission | Pancrase-Truth 2 | 3/2/1996 | 1 19:36 | |
| Win | 14-4 | Ryushi Yanagisawa |
Submission (Choke) | Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 7 | 12/14/1995 | 1 27:35 | |
| Win | 13-4 | Maurice Smith |
Submission (Choke) | Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 6 | 11/4/1995 | 1 4:34 | |
| Win | 12-4 | Minoru Suzuki |
Submission (Guillotine Choke) | Pancrase-1995 Anniversary Show | 9/1/1995 | 1 15:35 | |
| Win | 11-4 | Frank Shamrock |
Decision (Split) | Pancrase-1995 Neo-Blood Tournament, Round 2 | 7/23/1995 | 1 15:00 | |
| Win | 10-4 | Jason Delucia |
Submission (Toe Hold) | Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 5 | 6/13/1995 | 1 1:32 | |
| Win | 9-4 | Maurice Smith |
Submission (Kneebar) | Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 4 | 5/13/1995 | 1 2:10 | |
| Win | 8-4 | Takaku Fuke |
Submission (Heel Hook) | Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 3 | 4/8/1995 | 1 1:52 | |
| Loss | 7-4 | Ken Shamrock |
Submission (Kneebar) | Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 2 | 3/10/1995 | 1 1:01 | |
| Win | 7-3 | Manabu Yamada |
Submission (Arm triangle choke) | Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 1 | 1/26/1995 | 1 1:05 | |
| Loss | 6-3 | Frank Shamrock |
Decision (Majority) | Pancrase-King of Pancrase Tournament, Round 1 | 12/16/1994 | 1 10:00 | |
| Win | 6-2 | Jason Delucia |
Submission (Guillotine Choke) | Pancrase-Road To The Championship 5 | 10/15/1994 | 1 1:43 | |
| Loss | 5-2 | Ken Shamrock |
Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | Pancrase-Road To The Championship 3 | 7/26/1994 | 1 16:42 | |
| Win | 5-1 | Minoru Suzuki |
TKO | Pancrase-Road To The Championship 2 | 7/6/1994 | 1 3:43 | |
| Win | 4-1 | Yoshiki Takahashi |
TKO | Pancrase-Road To The Championship 1 | 5/31/1994 | 1 1:37 | |
| Win | 3-1 | Vernon White |
Submission (Guillotine Choke) | Pancrase-Pancrash! 3 | 4/21/1994 | 1 1:16 | |
| Loss | 2-1 | Masakatsu Funaki |
Submission (Toehold) | Pancrase-Pancrash! 1 | 1/19/1994 | 1 2:58 | |
| Win | 2-0 | Takaku Fuke |
TKO | Pancrase-Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 2 | 10/14/1993 | 1 2:03 | |
| Win | 1-0 | Ryushi Yanagisawa |
TKO | Pancrase-Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 1 | 9/21/1993 | 1 0:43 |
[edit] Filmography
- Shadow of the Dragon (1992)
- Shadow Fury (2001)
- The Smashing Machine (documentary) (2002)
- The Eliminator (2004)
- The Vault (2005)
- The Kingdom of Ultimate Power (2005)
- Backlash (2006)
- Potent (documentary) (2008)
- Sinners & Saints (2009)
- Paul Blart Mall Cop (2009)
[edit] Instructional Materials
- Bas Rutten's Big Book of Combat, Volumes One and Two (2002)
- Bas Rutten's Big DVDs of Combat
- Bas Rutten's Lethal Street Fighting (2003)
- Bas Rutten's MMA Workout (2001)
- Bas Rutten's Superior Free Fight Techniques
- Bas Rutten's "Extreme Pancrase" No-Holds Barred Fighting System
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Professional MMA record for Bas Rutten from Sherdog
- Bas Rutten at the Internet Movie Database
- Inside MMA at the HDNet website
| Preceded by Randy Couture |
4th UFC Heavyweight Champion May 7, 1999 - June 1999 |
Vacant
Rutten retired
Title next held by
Kevin Randleman |
| Preceded by Minoru Suzuki |
3rd Pancrase Openweight Champion May 16, 1996 - October 1996 |
Vacant
Family reasons
Title next held by
Masakatsu Funaki |
