Background and career
Sebastiaan Rutten (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈbɑs ˈrʏtə(n)]; born 24 February 1965) is a Dutch and American actor, former mixed martial artist, kickboxer and professional wrestler. As a kickboxer, he fought 16 times, winning the first 14 matches by knockout, 13 in the first round, and losing his final two fights, one of them against Frank Lobman for the European Muay Thai title in 1991, with Rutten losing by knockout in the first round. In MMA, he was a UFC Heavyweight Champion and a three-time King of Pancrase world champion. After his submission loss to Ken Shamrock in 1995, he finished his MMA career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak (21 wins, 1 draw). As a professional fighter, one of his most commonly used strikes was the liver shot (both punch and kick), and he popularized its use in MMA. He competed in Japanese professional wrestling following his Pancrase tenure. Since his retirement, he has worked as a color commentator in several martial arts organizations, including Pride and Karate Combat (KC), and has appeared in numerous television shows, movies, and video games. From 2007 to 2016, he was the co-host of Inside MMA on AXS TV. Rutten also coaches MMA and has authored several instructional materials. In 2008, Rutten was ranked by Inside MMA as the fourth-greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time. In 2015, he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. In 2018, he was also inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame.
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.
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.
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.
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.
