Bas Rutten is the most underrated heavyweight of all time

Wtf, guy got one of the worst decisions in his favor vs. Randleman and is 0-2 vs Ken. I guess he beat Maurice Smith too, and that's probably worth a little bit. Maurice Smith being the only other HW champion that you can consider below him in terms of quality, but that's only because of the head to head, since Maurice has more/better wins overall.

He shouldn't even be considered a HW, but as such, he's one of the most overrated HWs (not fighter).
 
boladiQup said:
mandatory

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I remember watching this years ago and finding it very insightful for real life situations. Watching it now, I couldn’t stop laughing at how ridiculous it is. It’s a strange combination of effective street fight techniques with hilariously, ridiculous showcasing. I feel bad for the other guy haha.
 
Not really. He got a lucky split decision for UFC title, winning against a dominating Kevin Randleman and then he vacated the title ( supposedly due to an injury ). Actually, he just wanted to retire with the UFC title. He fought in Pancrase, where you were not allowed to punch. He never really beat anyone special. Ken Shamrock beat him twice and he was 2-1 against Frank Shamrock in Pancrace.
He looked good and powerful but in reality was one of the most over rated known MMA fighters, mostly known as a commentator for Pride and his book for MMA self defense and training gadgets.
 
He underrated because he fought in Pancrase that by todays standards isnt even Mma.
 
No Mas said:
Wtf, guy got one of the worst decisions in his favor vs. Randleman and is 0-2 vs Ken. I guess he beat Maurice Smith too, and that's probably worth a little bit. Maurice Smith being the only other HW champion that you can consider below him in terms of quality, but that's only because of the head to head, since Maurice has more/better wins overall.

He shouldn't even be considered a HW, but as such, he's one of the most overrated HWs (not fighter).
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The wins over Maurice Smith were no big deal because they were in Pancrase, where Smith was not allowed to punch, boxing being Smith's best technique.
 
Yeah Bas was a beast. He was a specimen but way before his time. Not sure if he would have been as successful without a sub defense. But if there was ever a professional ass kicker mercenary...
He was also the best commentator since rogan. Not sure what happened with that. He should still be doing it, definitely a TV personality
 
nostradumbass said:
Almost every retired fighter is virtually unknown to current casuals, and Bas fought almost entirely in Pancrase more than 2 decades ago. That's like some dude who catches a few baseball games here and there knowing who played 3rd base for the cubs in the 90s.

Most fans who watch more than just Conor cards know who Bas is. He's been on Rogan a few times, his bar fighting tutorial has almost 2 million views and all the old pride fights with him commentating have a good number of views on youtube.
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I watched the barfight tutorial yesterday for the first time. The best Self Offence vid I av ever seen.
 
Spending most of his career in Pancrace didn't exactly help. I might get flamed for this, but wearing shin guards and not allowing punches to the head is barely professional MMA. Granted he did have a couple of legit MMA fights, but that was a long time ago and he didn't exactly leave a legacy outside of Japan.

He also lost to both the Shamock's multiple times (from memory) and won UFC HW gold by one of the GOAT robberies. Still, he's a legend, he did commentary for Pride and even starred in a few movies. I wouldn't expect casuals to have heard of him, though. His popularity was in Japan and that was a long time ago now.
 
RoJo303 said:
What does that make Randelman? GOAT?
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Bas would obliterate Jones without trying. Him and Stipe would be interesting.
 
I got most of his UFC fights on VHS that's how long ago it seems he was fighting in the UFC

He was great there was one fight he spent like 90 % of the fight on his back then somehow got up and won the fight . Can't remember fight might have been against a Japanese oponent .

His Pancrase fights were awesome open hand to the face .
 
Bas is one of the most famous guys from his era
 
I think Mark Coleman is the most underrated HW of all time. Well known but often seen as a joke and known more for his losses in his later years. Prime Coleman was a beast.
 
MayhemMonkey said:
I still remember training to his cd over a decade ago... I'll forever hear him telling me to sprawl. I wasnt even doing MMA at the time, but one of our coaches used to use it for our warmup.

Bas is a legend, and shame on anyone that doesnt know about him
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Any of you finished the 27 min all round workout set? The one where you do 55 knee tuck jumps in the end?
 
Last I heard about Bas was in the contenders regarding a bare knuckle boxing pay scandal involving among others Chris Leben. Not sure what the final word is

https://www.mmanews.com/chris-leben-bas-rutten-wbkff-fiasco/amp/

Anyway, lol at Rutten not being well known considering when and where he fought. Of course most casuals don't know him and really, why would they be expected to? He's been retired for a long, long time and fought most of his fights under pretty obscure rules. A pioneer for sure but underappreciated? I think not
 
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