History of MMA: Bas Rutten
The story of Bas Rutten is one that is quite common in the sport of mixed martial arts. As a young child he suffered from severe asthma and a skin disease, eczema, which left him skinny, weak, and an easy target for bullies. He spent most of his early childhood running scared and trying to avoid the next bully. That was until he discovered Bruce Lee. Inspired by the godfather of MMA, Bas committed himself to the study of martial arts, and from the ashes of the weak, skinny, asthmatic boy rose one of the most feared and respected mixed martial artists of his day. After first earning his black belt in Tae Kwon Do and Kyokushin Karate, Bas then discovered the most effective striking discipline in the world, Muay Thai. He then went on to have a successful stint competing on the European Muay Thai circuit before being invited to compete at Pancrase, one of the first hybrid MMA events in Japan. It was here that the legend of Bas Rutten was born. After winning three King of Pancrase World Championships, he made his way over to the UFC where he won the Heavyweight Championship at UFC 20. Bas retired from MMA with an impressive 28-4-1 record. As one of the first true MMA superstars Bas has surely earned his place in the MMA history books. In honor of his spectacular career, MMA filmmaker Bobby Razak has recently made a documentary about his life. Check out this awesome extended trailer that was recently released in which Bas talks about his beginnings in MMA and the early days of the sport.
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