Bas Rutten

Early life

Rutten was born in Tilburg, Netherlands. At the age of six, he developed eczema and severe asthma. Due to his eczema, he always wore long sleeves, turtle necks and gloves, as well as bandages at night. Due to his asthma, he struggled with prolonged physical activity. He was often bullied as a child, although he hid it from his parents. He learned to climb trees and jump between treetops to evade his bullies, who eventually stopped chasing him when one of them fell while trying to follow him.

Rutten started training in boxing in the backyard of an elementary school with a friend. Rutten became interested in martial arts at age 12 after his family went on vacation to France, where the movie Enter the Dragon starring Bruce Lee was playing at a local movie theatre. Bas was underage for the movie's 17+ age guidelines, so he and his brother Sjoerd snuck into the theatre. After he saw the movie, he took an interest in martial arts. Afterwards, Rutten built a makeshift nunchaku to emulate Lee.

At first, his parents did not allow him to pursue his interest, but at age 14, they allowed him to practice taekwondo. At some point after he had begun training, Rutten got into a physical altercation with another child, after which the police were called and Rutten was prohibited by his parents from further practicing martial arts.

At age 21, he moved out of his parents' house, going to work as a chef while he attended culinary school for four years. He also started training taekwondo once again, leading to him later earning a 2nd-degree black belt. He also began learning Kyokushin karate and earned his second 2nd-degree black belt.

Kickboxing career

Rutten started competing in kickboxing at the age of 20 while working also as a bouncer and model. He fought 16 times, winning the first 14 matches by knockout, 13 in the first round, and losing his final two fights. One of his losses came against Frank Lobman for the European Muay Thai title on 12 February 1991, with Rutten losing by KO in the first round. According to Rutten, he signed up for the match while under the influence and without any kind of earlier preparation, but fought anyway. After the match, Rutten ended his kickboxing career. His second to last fight was against Rene Rooze, who bit Rutten's ear during the match. In response, Bas landed a knee to the groin, which interrupted the bout and caused a brawl.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Rutten began his professional mixed martial arts career when he was working as an entertainer. He was scouted by Chris Dolman and invited to train at the Fighting Network RINGS Holland dojo. In 1993, when Japanese pro wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki traveled to the Netherlands to scout fighters for their new "hybrid wrestling" organization, Pancrase, Rutten was chosen after knocking out the RINGS champion in sparring. A precursor to modern mixed martial arts, the organization was the first of its kind and featured fighting with no closed fisted strikes to the face, and featured now-known fighters such as Frank Shamrock, Vernon White, Maurice Smith, Ken Shamrock, and Guy Mezger.

Pancrase

In September 1993, Rutten debuted in Pancrase against the 45lb heavier Ryushi Yanagisawa, knocking him out with palm strikes and knee strikes 48 seconds into the bout. Due to injuries sustained during the match, Yanagisawa was hospitalized for two days. Rutten's second match was against Takaku Fuke, which Rutten won.

His third match would be his first loss in Pancrase, as he faced Pancrase founder Masakatsu Funaki. Rutten was submitted by Funaki via a toehold. Afterwards, Rutten started taping Pancrase trainings and practicing moves with his trainee Leon Van Dijk.

In his next fight, Rutten submitted Japanese wrestler Kazuo "Yoshiki" Takahashi with an inverted heel hook. The hold itself, which Rutten had learned the previous day by watching it in a promo, broke Takahashi's shin. Rutten was awarded an honorary 5th-degree black belt in Kyokushin Budokai by Jon Bluming after the match. Rutten's next bout was against Pancrase co-founder Minoru Suzuki, which Rutten won via TKO due to a liver strike.

20 days later, Rutten faced future UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock, who was then one of the best Pancrase fighters. In preparation for the match, Rutten had trained in shoot wrestling with Masakatsu Funaki. Rutten lost the match due to a rear naked choke by Shamrock. After this, Rutten decided to omit strikes from his training and focus only on grappling, submitting Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Jason DeLucia with a guillotine choke.

In December 1994, Rutten participated in the inaugural King of Pancrase tournament, where the winner would be crowned the first champion of Pancrase. Rutten was one of the four #1 seeds in the tournament, and his first fight was against MMA newcomer and future UFC champion Frank Shamrock. Rutten lost the match in a majority decision.

In his next match, Rutten submitted King of Pancrase tournament finalist Manabu Yamada on 26 January 1995 with an arm triangle choke from half guard. Rutten later was booked for a rematch and a title shot against tournament winner and then-current King of Pancrase Ken Shamrock for the King of Pancrase title on 10 March, in which Rutten was submitted via a kneebar.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Rutten originally learned about the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) before its first event in 1993, when future UFC competitor Ken Shamrock proposed fighting in the organization to him, but Rutten decided to stay in Pancrase, as he felt the "no rules" format was too dangerous and he did not want to risk his career. Despite this, Rutten later signed with the UFC in 1998, after his Pancrase career. Rutten entered the UFC with a 19 fight unbeaten streak and was touted by the organization as the "world's greatest martial artist."

Rutten was originally scheduled to fight heavyweight champion Randy Couture in a title match for the UFC Heavyweight Championship in his first fight, but due to a contract dispute, Couture left the UFC to sign with a different promotion. The title was then stripped from Couture and a tournament was held for the vacant belt. In his UFC debut, Rutten faced Fighting Network RINGS fighter Tsuyoshi Kosaka at UFC 18. Rutten earned a knockout victory with a minute remaining in the fight's overtime period. The fight was deemed controversial as referee John McCarthy stood the fighters up when Kosaka was mounted on Rutten and actively landing punches.

On 7 May 1999, at UFC 20, Rutten faced Kevin Randleman for the UFC Heavyweight Championship in which Rutten earned a split decision victory, becoming UFC Heavyweight Champion. This victory was deemed controversial by fans and fighters, such as Randleman's corner and Mark Coleman, who criticized the judges' decision. Fight judging at that point was not based on the current 10-point must system, but on whom the judges felt won the fight overall.

Rutten vacated the title later in the year, in order to drop down to what was at the time middleweight (now known as light heavyweight) a weight closer to his natural weight, in a bid to try to become the first person to hold a UFC title in two weight classes. While training for his next UFC fight in 1999, he suffered multiple injuries, blowing out his knee, tearing his biceps, and injuring his neck. He was forced to retire from MMA competition under doctor's orders.

He was offered a fight against Kazushi Sakuraba when he was contacted by Pride Fighting Championships, but Rutten declined due to the size of the fight purse being offered, later agreeing to join the organization as a color commentator. He was replaced by Wanderlei Silva in the card.

Last fight

In May 2006, Rutten announced he was cleared by doctors and would make his return to MMA competition. Rutten was slated to face Kimo Leopoldo in the now-defunct World Fighting Alliance on 22 July 2006, at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Two days before the event, Kimo tested positive for Stanozolol, an anabolic steroid. In place of Kimo, Rutten fought Ruben "Warpath" Villareal. Rutten earned a first round TKO victory via leg kicks, bringing his professional record to 28 wins, 4 losses, and 1 draw. After the fight, Rutten tested positive for hydrocodone, morphine, and diphenhydramine.

Professional wrestling career

Rutten competed in Japanese professional wrestling following his Pancrase tenure. He made his debut at the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2000 event, where he teamed up with Alexander Otsuka to defeat the team of Naoki Sano and Ricco Rodríguez, with Rutten submitting Sano with a crossface chickenwing. He also wrestled in Battlarts, defeating Carl Malenko by KO via palm strike.

In 2002, Rutten debuted in New Japan Pro-Wrestling as a part of Antonio Inoki's MMA army. Before his first match, he was featured in vignettes learning the shining wizard from watching Keiji Mutoh tapes in order to adapt to NJPW professional wrestling. He mostly wrestled in singles matches, earning wins over Manabu Nakanishi, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Masayuki Naruse. In July of 2002, he challenged for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Yuji Nagata, but he was defeated. After three months, in October, he was featured in a special European Catch Wrestling Rules Match against Osamu Nishimura with Tony St. Clair as a special referee. The match went to a time limit draw after ten rounds, despite Nishimura's illegal blows. The same month, Rutten dropped down to the junior heavyweight division and received another title match, this time against Koji Kanemoto for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, in which he lost the bout. His last professional match was on October 26, 2002 when he lost to Koji Kanemoto.

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, "Lights Out", 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".

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 commutes to Japan and being away from his family.

Rutten has a cameo in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV on the in-game TV show called "The Men's Room." 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".

He was also featured in WCW vs. the World for the PlayStation, but was named "Thunder Dome" to avoid copyright laws.

On 23 January 2008, he was announced as the new Vice President of 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 ended when IFL went out of business in late 2008.

In 2009, he appeared in the music video for Listen to Your Friends by the rock band New Found Glory, "fighting" lead vocalist Jordan Pundik. Bas and Rice hosted Inside MMA, a weekly MMA variety show on AXS TV. The pair also did remote English commentary and play-by-play for Dream events broadcast in North America on HDNet. The pair were eventually replaced by Guy Mezger and Michael Schiavello, who attended the events live in Japan. He would also appear in several public health service ads, airing on Cartoon Network as part of the network's "Get Healthy" campaign. He also made a public service announcement against trying out MMA at home.

Coaching

Rutten is certified as an instructor of both MTBN Thai Boxing and mixed martial arts, as well as krav maga.

Rutten coached Mark Kerr during the filming of the HBO documentary The Smashing Machine.

In 2006, Rutten was a team coach for the International Fight League, an MMA organization that focused on team combat. His team, the Anacondas, defeated the Silverbacks 3–2. He is also a former investor in the Legends MMA gym in Hollywood and used to teach there occasionally, and is now a part owner of the MMA gym Bas Rutten's Elite Mixed Martial Arts in Thousand Oaks, California. He teaches a MMA class on Tuesdays.

He has also trained former street fighter Kimbo Slice for his professional MMA bouts, as well as professional wrestler Samoa Joe.

Fighting style

Rutten's main reason for success in Pancrase was his well-rounded fighting style, excelling both in striking and grappling. His stand-up offensive, learned from the Dutch school of Muay Thai, Karate and Taekwondo was aggressive yet deceptively technical. According to Frank Shamrock, it often intimidated other fighters. According to Shamrock, "His kickboxing was devastating. It was something everybody feared. The other thing he had was a basic understanding of real fighting ... Bas had that street fighter mentality."

One of his commonly used tactics in the ring was using push kicks against the ring ropes before using palm strikes and strikes to the body. Rutten never developed an effective takedown defense, but he was apt at landing strikes while being taken down, having knocked out opponents before they could complete the technique.

Being self-taught, Rutten initially focused on defense rudiments learned from Chris Dolman. His grappling style was patterned after Pancrase's native shoot wrestling (better known as "Catch wrestling" in the west), and he focused on chokeholds, leglocks, and submission defense, helping against grapplers like Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki.

Personal life

Rutten currently lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife Karin and two daughters. Rutten also has a daughter from his first wife. He became a citizen of the United States in the 1990s. At the end of 2015, he became a grandfather for the first time: a grandson, who currently lives in Belgium.

Rutten is friends with fellow Dutchman and former UFC competitor Gerard Gordeau.

Rutten is known by the moniker "El Guapo", which means "The Handsome One" in Spanish.

He became known for the victory celebration known as "Rutten Jump", in which he would do a jumping split after winning a fight. Rutten talked about the origins of the Rutten Jump on his website: "When I won my first fight in Pancrase, I was so hyped that I jumped up in the splits to each side of the ring. Why? I don't know. But, it became my trademark and I had to do it after every fight that I won."

In 2010, Rutten partnered with clothing brand, Tokyo Five, to produce and star in a cooking show titled Grandma's Kitchen with Bas Rutten. The show's pilot was scheduled to air 26 February 2010; however, due to a physical altercation between Rutten and co-hosts, production has been delayed indefinitely.

In 2018, he was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame.

Religious beliefs

Rutten is a practicing Catholic, talking about his faith in God on YouTube. Raised in a Catholic family, Rutten stopped practicing the faith at around 12 years old when his parents stopped attending church, but he returned to the faith in 2013. He has credited his friend Kevin James, and others, with helping him in his journey back to Catholicism.

Tattoos

Rutten has several tattoos, each of which is intended to help him spiritually and emotionally.

Street fights

Rutten is known for his brawls and bar fights around the world. In particular, in 1996 he once threw Paul Varelans through a glass window in Ukraine via a kimura lock when Varelans tried to bite his back, and immediately after he disarmed and assaulted an armed bouncer. He also participated in a brawl that took place at a bar in Sweden in which he fought several bouncers at the same time, resulting in Rutten being placed in a Swedish jail.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship

UFC Hall of Fame (Pioneer wing, Class of 2015)

UFC Heavyweight Championship (One time)

First Dutch champion in UFC history

UFC Encyclopedia Awards

Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka

Undefeated in the UFC (2–0)

Pancrase

King of Pancrase Openweight Championship (One time)

Two successful title defenses

Unified the King of Pancrase Openweight Championship

Sherdog

Mixed Martial Arts Hall of Fame (2014 inductee)

Fight Matrix

1996 Fighter of the Year

International Sports Hall of Fame

Class of 2018

Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame

Class of 2022

Filmography

Works

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

Training with Bas Rutten "Never Back Down Special Features" 2008

TERA Online"MMO-FO.com Spokesman" 2012