Bas Rutten

Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten (; born 24 February 1965) is a Dutch-American actor, former mixed martial artist, kickboxer and professional wrestler. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three-time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak (21 wins, 1 draw). From 2007 to 2016, Rutten was the co-host of Inside MMA on AXS TV. Rutten became a naturalized American citizen in the late 1990s. As a professional fighter, one of his favorite tactics was the liver shot (both punch and kick), and he popularized its use in MMA. Rutten is known for his charisma and has capitalized on his celebrity status since retiring from fighting in 1999. He has worked as a color commentator in several MMA organizations, including Pride, and has appeared in numerous television shows, movies, and video games. He 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. Early life Rutten was born in Tilburg, Netherlands. At the age of six, he developed eczema and severe asthma. His eczema meant he always wore long sleeves, turtle necks and gloves, as well as bandages every night, and his asthma meant he was unable to partake in exercise, and was consequently relatively skinny. He was bullied on a daily basis as a child, although he hid it from his parents in order to spare them more worrying. He learned to climb trees and jump between treetops to evade his bullies, who eventually stopped chasing him when one of them fell and almost died trying to follow him. Bas 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 could not get in because the movie was rated 17+, so he and his brother Sjoerd snuck into the theatre. After he saw the movie, he took an interest in martial arts. Rutten even built a makeshift nunchaku to emulate Lee.