© Marc Wickert
www.knucklepit.com
2 Oct.'06
At the time of this interview Bas 'El Guapo' Rutten is traveling home after instructing at his gym in Hollywood: "I was listening to the XM Radio 150: It's a stand-up comedy channel. I'm driving now. I was teaching at the Legends Training Center, and now I'm on my way home," says Rutten.
Born on February 24, 1965, in Tilburg, Netherlands, Bas made a huge name for himself in Thai boxing and later in mixed martial arts. In 1995 he captured the King of Pancrase crown by defeating Minoru Suzuki, then went on to successfully defend the title with 19 consecutive victories, before switching to the UFC/cage fighting.
He won the UFC Heavyweight Title against Kevin Randleman at UFC 20: Battle for the Gold on May 7, 1999, after knocking out Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in their elimination bout at UFC 18: Road to the Heavyweight Title.
With such an outstanding international fight record, it seems hard to believe Bas originally took up a martial art to help defend himself against bullies.
"I was a very sick kid and was picked on a lot. My face and body were covered in a skin disease, and I had to wear gloves. I also suffered from bad asthma attacks where I'd be laid up in bed for a week. So I was always a kid who they f**ked around with. I think that made me a little different to other people, and I guess that's why I turned to martial arts."
There was one other influence on Rutten's decision to become a martial artist: "I also saw Bruce Lee in '76, when I was 12, in Enter The Dragon, and I said, 'I want to be Bruce Lee.' "
However, rather than enrolling in Kung Fu or Jeet Koon Do, Bas began his studies in a Korean discipline: "My first style was Tae Kwon Do. I only did it for three weeks when I was 14, because my parents would never let me do martial arts, but after begging for two years after I saw Bruce Lee, they finally said okay. I did TKD for three weeks, before I broke someone's nose in a street fight, and my parents stopped me right away."
Read the full article on Knucklepit.com.
