Fighters Only

Issue 053

August 2009

The voice of MMA to millions of fans around the globe, Bas Rutten is one of the most successful, recognized and deeply respected mixed martial artists of his generation.

The former doorman and Thai boxer was one of the first Europeans to compete in the early Pancrase shows over in Japan, where he earned a solid reputation as both a charismatic entertainer and brutal finisher. Smashing his way to a record of 25-4 in the land of the rising sun, Rutten went on to claim the UFC heavyweight championship in 1999 and cement his position as one of the most influential pioneers of the early sport.

Back when ‘El Guapo’ (meaning ‘the handsome one’) still lived in the Netherlands, he came to the attention of Chris Bowman, a local promoter who enjoyed strong links within the nascent Japanese fight industry. “He came to me and said, ‘Man, you’ve got a lot of talent, there’s a lot of stuff you can do with your body, did you ever think about free-fighting?’ I said ‘Sure, why not?’”

It was Rutten’s combination of physical prowess and a natural ability to entertain that led to him being noticed, but first Rutten had to try-out in Amsterdam, hoping to impress a group of Japanese talent scouts. “I was sparring with this so-called ‘world champion’ and because they were filming, he tried to hurt me, so I kicked him in the head and he went off to the hospital. They pointed at me and said ‘we want him’ and I think two months later I was fighting in Japan.”

Upon arrival in Japan, Rutten discovered that not only was he slated to face an opponent who outweighed him by 45lb, but that he had to engage this genuine heavyweight over the course of a single 30-minute round. Undeterred, Rutten knocked the guy out in double-quick time. “It was a heavy knockout, he was two days gone. It was insane.”

During six years of busy competition in Pancrase, Rutten took on some of the most famous MMA fighters of the time, including both Ken and Frank Shamrock, Japanese legends Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki and more. Within this crucible of fighting evolution, Bas established himself as a fearsome striker with an ace in the hole: his damaging, and now world-famous, liver shot. “I think it’s actually worse for an opponent because they feel the pain,” he explained of his left-sided body shot. “If you knock someone out, they don’t feel anything, he just wakes up later. I would fake them out, waiting for them to throw a right straight punch and then I would kick underneath for the liver shot.

“And then there was the famous fight where I snapped [Jason] DeLucia’s liver. Yeah, I ruptured it, so that was a pretty hard punch. I really felt that one going in,” he said of the knockout body blow. “The first one was blocked by the muscle, but the last one felt like it went through the muscle, it felt like it didn’t hit anything, and you know that means that he didn’t clench his abs!” Rutten said with a laugh. “That was a good one!”

Despite carrying a serious neck injury, Rutten went on to make a successful debut in the UFC against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, a bout which laid the basis for one of Rutten’s fondest memories in the sport. “It was a 15-minute round and then a three-minute over time. In the break, John McCarthy comes to us so I say to my corner, ‘Give me the sign when it’s one minute to go, and then I’ll knock him out.’ John McCarthy looks at me and he has this smile on his face, he shakes his head, like ‘yeah, yeah right’, and he walks away.

“One minute before the round was finished,” Bas continued “My friends shout ‘one minute!’ and then ten seconds later I dropped him. Afterwards McCarthy gave me his t-shirt that he had been wearing in the ring, he was like, ‘Here you go, man, I heard you telling your corner you were going to knock him out in the last minute!’ He said he never heard anything like it!”

In his next fight, Rutten claimed the UFC heavyweight title by defeating Kevin ‘The Monster’ Randleman by the narrowest of split decisions. As I brought up the contest, Bas broke into hysterical laughter. “I’m actually driving to Las Vegas now for Kevin Randleman’s wedding! Yeah, how crazy it that, you ask about when we fought and now I’m driving to his wedding.”

Numerous injuries forced the Dutchman out of competition for several years, but his commitment to the sport took on a vast new dimension in 2000 as he was handpicked by Japanese executives to commentate on the Pride FC events. “I loved it,” he said with true conviction. Rutten continues to work as a broadcaster, providing commentary for various events and co-hosting the HDNet show, Inside MMA. “What’s better than to talk about your favorite sport and you get paid for it? I’m living the dream right now. Everything I do is my hobby!”