Bas Rutten
Published by on January 5th, 2008 in HOF

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A native of the Netherlands, which has spawned many martial arts standouts, Bas Rutten has, over the course of his career, firmly established himself as one of the influential figures in the MMA world. He himself was influenced by the landmark Bruce Lee film “Enter The Dragon,” which encouraged him to get involved in the martial arts, and quickly attained black belts in Tae Kwon Do and Karate. Rutten was also a Thai boxer of note before embarking on a career in the mixed martial arts.

He made his debut in Japan’s Pancrase promotion in 1993, and after taking some lumps early, built a career of true legend. He went on to win the coveted title of “King of Pancrase” a record three times, and beginning in 1995, went on a remarkable winning streak that saw him register wins over some of the most outstanding competitors of the time, including Frank Shamrock, Jason Delucia, Maurice Smith, Guy Mezger, Masakatsu Funaki and more.

He joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 1998, and won a decision over Kevin Randleman at UFC 20 to capture the organization’s heavyweight championship. He then decided to do something that was at that time unprecedented – drop down in weight to win a title in a second weight division. Rutten was training in pursuit of the middleweight championship when he suffered multiple injuries, bad enough that he was strongly advised by physicians to retire.

During his retirement, Rutten dabbled in acting and also did color commentary for a number of PRIDE shows as they were shown in the English-speaking world. he also made a significant mark as an instructor and coach, opening up an academy in Los Angeles where he trained many championship-level fighters, including Mark Kerr, who gained notoriety in the HBO documentary “The Smashing Machine,” in which Rutten was also featured.

Rutten briefly returned to action in the World Fighting Alliance (WFA) in 2006, when he defeated Ruben Villareal in one round. That same year he joined up with the International Fight League (IFL), becoming coach of the Los Angeles Anacondas.

Rutten ended his active fighting career with a record of 28-4-1, and was unbeaten in his last 22 bouts. Currently he is a well-known host, commentator and TV personality who is unique in the way he brings keen insight to the MMA fan.