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Characters / Universal Wrestling Federation RINGS Holland

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Appeared in RINGS Japan

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Free Fighters Here!

Peter Aerts

"Aerts has never refused to fight against any powerhouse."
— Sadaharu Tanikawa, president of Fighting and Entertainment Group.

  • Always Someone Better: The only 3 people who has 2 wins over Aerts who was never beaten by him were Francisco Filho, Stefan Leko, and Alistair Overeem.
  • The Apprentice: To Mikki Benazzouz, Eddy Smulders, Thom Harinck, Andre Mannaart and Jan Plas.
  • Badass Family: Had a grandfather and uncle who were boxers. His father was a real lumberjack.
  • Badass Teacher: Has his own Kickboxing team.
  • Crippling Over Specialization: Exploited in his MMA matches as he never really had any groundfighting training.
  • Defeating the Undefeatable: He beat the previously undefeated Frank "The Animal" Lobman, a guy that beat both Bas Rutten and Ken Shamrock in Kickboxing.
  • Four Is Death: Was part of the "K-1 Shitenno" with Andy Hug, Ernesto Hoost and Mike Bernardo.
  • Guest Fighter: Had one Kickboxing match against Adam Watt in RINGS.
  • Hero Killer: Has beaten guys like Ernesto Hoost, Maurice Smith, Adam Watt, Pat Smith, Rob van Esdonk, Frank Lobman, Masaaki Satake, Sam Greco, Jérôme Le Banner, Toshiyuki Atokawa, Hubert Numrich, Andy Hug, James Warring, Musashi, Cyril Abidi, Jerrel Venetiaan, Glaube Feitosa, Gary Goodridge, Semmy Schilt, Mighty Mo, Bob Sapp, Remy Bonjasky, Mike Bernardo, etc.
  • Kick Dude: Well known for his high kicks.
  • I Know Karate: A 6th dan black belt in Kyokushin and a multiple time champion in Kickboxing and Muay Thai. He first started with Taekwondo though.
  • Number of the Beast: Knowing that Mike Bernardo was a very religious Christian, Aerts came into the ring with "666" written on his lumberjack shirt and shorts during their final bout together.
  • Real Song Theme Tune: Used T99's "Anasthasia" in RINGS.
  • Red Baron: "The Dutch Lumberjack", "Mr. K-1", "The King of High Kicks", "20 Seiki Saikyō no Bōkun" ("The Strongest Tyrant of the 20th Century").
  • Teen Genius: Debuted as a pro kickboxer at the Improbable Age of 15 and won his first world title at 19.

Lloyd Berg

Paul Cahoon

"He (Joop Kasteel) had been speaking to Golden Glory at the time about finding an opponent, but they couldn’t agree on anyone, so they offered him ‘The English Guy.’ He had already beaten Lee Hasdell at this point, so didn’t think much of us Brits, but I took the fight and ended up winning. It’s still probably my favorite fight and earned me a reputation in Holland as being a crazy guy."

  • Evil Brit: He actually British, but trained in Holland instead of under Lee Hasdell. Is currently wanted by police for allegedly leading a Liverpool-based drug gang.
  • I Know Boxing: Trained in this before starting MMA. He also trained at the Golden Glory gym for MMA and trained in Catch Wrestling and was a British national amateur wrestling champion under Roy Wood at the Snake Pit in Wigan.
  • Red Baron: "Boom Boom" "The British Bulldog".

Carlos Dieke

Peter Dijkman

Eric Edlenbos

Rob van Esdonk

"I like all kinds of fights, it doesn’t matter to me. Today I do Thai Boxing with Rene Rooze, but if they ask me to do free fight, and I can train a few months before, I do free fight."

  • The Apprentice: To Johan Vos, Ivan Hippolyte, Thom Harinck, Jan Plas, Piet van Deutekom, Michel van Halderen, Henny Mandemakers, Hennie Toonen, Hector Roca, Remco Pardoel and Chris Dolman.
  • I Know Karate: Trained in Kickboxing at many gyms like Vos Gym, Mejiro Gym, Chakuriki Gym and Van Deutekom Gym and was a 2 time European champion. He also trained in boxing and Sambo.
  • Red Baron: "The Absolute Knockouter", "De Burgemeester van Den Bosch".

Ruud Ewoldt

Kenneth Felter

Ricardo Fyeet

"Fyeet was making his RINGS debut and he's the most colorful fighter this organization has brought over in years. He's a kickboxer from Holland, who looks, if you can imagine this, like a cross between Sweet Daddy Siki with the bleached hair, and the late Lonnie Mayne or Dick Brower because of the crazy eyes. He has great charisma and good hand speed and packs a very strong punch. However, he's still very inexperienced on the ground and you can't consistently win at this game lacking ground skill. Since he's only 23, he has potential and quite frankly, he has a natural charisma as he connected with the crowd like only the top level pro wrestlers, and look to, where if someone would get a hold of him, he probably would be more successful at traditional pro wrestling than anything, although he'd have to add some mass to his 206 pound frame, but he's got the height and frame to where he could do that pretty easily."
— Dave Meltzer

  • A Day In The Lime Light: Won his first match in the 1999 King of Kings tournament against Robert Tyrone, but then lost in 8 seconds to Andrei Kopylov.
  • The Apprentice: To John and Christian Tulis, Cor Hemmers, Dave Jonkers, Bert Kops Jr, Milton Felter, and Mike Passenier.
  • Ax-Crazy: He has the look down at least.
  • Bash Brothers: His brother Andre is also a kickboxer and MMA fighter.
  • Beard of Evil: A dyed blonde goatee actually.
  • The Berserker: A very aggressive fighter, referees had to throw him off his opponents to make him stop.
  • Cool Teacher: Has his own school; Team Fyeet.
  • Death Glare: He usually circles and gets in his opponent's face with one during match introductions.
  • Delinquent Hair: Shaves part of his head, leaving some hair at the back of his head, then dyes it in the shape of a skull.
  • Early-Installment Weirdness: In his first 2 fights in RINGS Holland, he actually waits in his corner during match introductions and even fist bumps with his opponents before the fights begin. He always was The Berserker though, with his dyed blond goatee.
  • Establishing Character Moment: It was his fight against Jerrel Venetiaan at RINGS Holland: The Kings of the Magic Ring show is where he displayed his Ax-Crazy mannerisms and the skull at the back of his head.
  • Fake Ultimate Villain: Looked like he was Ax-Crazy, was incredibly imposing as he would stare down his opponents and walk around them like he was a predator stalking his prey during match introductions, was a good enough striker that few people were willing to trade strikes with him and was billed in Japan as Holland's secret weapon. Then he lost to a debuting Alistair Overeem and got submitted by Andrei Kopylov in 8 seconds which destroyed that image.
  • Foil: Was comparable to Dick Vrij, both were hard hitting Dutch kickboxers, were intimidating presences in the ring, but were later exposed as not being at good as hyped up to be and lacked grappling talent. While Vrij was a Big, Strong, Chiseled, Stoic, white Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy, who looked like a Terminator, Fyeet was an Ax-Crazy, Berserking, Lean and Mean, Scary Black Man, who acted like a predator with his prey. Even their nicknames contrast each other, Vrij was the "Cyborg" and Fyeet was "The Animal".
    • Was also one to Gilbert Yvel as they both have backgrounds in Karate and Muay Thai, had very aggressive and wild fighting styles, were Dutch Scary Black Men, and both even trained under Bert Kops Jr for grappling (not that they really gained anything out of that). The differences between them are Fyeet’s lack of success in MMA compared to Yvel’s, Fyeet’s Delinquent Hair versus Yvel’s Bald of Evil, and in their behaviors; Fyeet was called "The Animal" as he like to intimate his opponents by acting like predator stalking his prey before the fight starts, while Yvel was called "The Hurricane" as he didn’t try to intimate his opponents because he didn’t care if they were or not, he just wanted to kick their heads in.
  • Go for the Eye: Tried to eye gouge Tyrone Roberts in the first round of the 1999 King of Kings tournament.
  • I Know Karate: Started at the age of six then switched to Kickboxing and Muay Thai at age 17 at places like Matuari Gym, Golden Glory and Mike's Gym. He also trained for grappling at Sportcentrum KOPS, though he didn't get much out of it.
  • Lean and Mean
  • One-Hit Kill: Suffered one by Andrei Kopylov.
  • Red Baron: "The Animal", "Holland no Himitsu Heiki" ("Holland's Secret Weapon").
  • Scary Black Man: He puts in more effort to invoke this trope than most.
  • Shocking Defeat Legacy: His loss to Andrei Kopylov in 8 seconds is the most well known thing about his MMA career.
  • Unskilled, but Strong: Was mostly a pure kickboxer with his grappling skills limited to keeping the fight standing and when on the ground, holding on until the referee returns the fight to standing.

Marcel Haarmans

Erik van der Hoven

Rob Kaman

"In my eyes Rob Kaman is the best kick boxer that the Netherlands ever had."
— Dick Vrij

  • The Apprentice: To Jan Plas.
  • Badass Teacher: Has trained guys like Bob Schrijber, Brandon Vera, Jason Miller, etc. He also does seminars and has video instructional series.
  • Guest Fighter: Had a RINGS match against Nobuaki Kakuda in 1992 and a Kickboxing match against Masaaki Satake.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Ramon Dekkers. Kaman was at ringside during many of Dekkers' matches, including his farewell fight. They often trained together and became good friends. Dekkers and Kaman were dubbed by fight fans in Thailand as "The Double Dutch Duo".
  • I Know Kickboxing: A 9 time world champion in this and Muay Thai. He first started with Pentjak Silat though.
  • Odd Friendship: With Jean-Claude Van Damme and has appeared in some of his movies.
  • Red Baron: "The Dutchman", "Hammerkick", "Mr Low Kick", "Kikku no Teiō" ("Kick Emperor").
  • Worthy Opponent: He considered all the Thai fighters he faced to be his toughest opponents, Ernest Hoost was the smartest, and Peter Smit was the craziest. He also thinks this of Rick Roufous, when fighting under ISKA rules.

Joop van Kasteel

"Kasteel, who looks like a huge bodybuilder, outweighed Tamura by 77 pounds, 266 to 189. Even more than the Hans Nyman and Bitzsade Tariel matches, the size difference looked huge because Kasteel is a bodybuilder while the other two are simply big fat guys fighting a very small but muscular foe."
— Dave Meltzer

"Early on, the UFC was obsessed with finding a marketable fighter. They wanted someone who looked like a fighter people would see on late night television martial arts movies. That desire wasn't limited to American fight promotions. The Japanese were always on the lookout for great-looking guys as well, men to wear what the fighters in Japan called "banana hammocks," the tiny Speedos that helped draw in the female fans. Pancrase had the Lion's Den guys and Bas Rutten, but Rings, frankly, had too many big, hairy, and ugly foreign fighters. Chris Doleman, Volk Han, and Andrei Kopilov were great pioneers of the sport, but not much to look at. Enter Joop Kasteel. A body builder from the Rhino Gym in Holland, Kasteel had the look that Doleman needed for the Japanese shows. He had almost no fighting experience, but he was big and he was strong. He was also a fast learner, developing the skills he needed to compete with experienced fighters in Japan. He was good enough to earn two title shots in Rings, losing to both Kiyoshi Tamura and Gilbert Yvel. In his final fight, Kasteel earned gold for the first time, beating the ubiquitous Dan Severn for a now forgotten European heavyweight title."
— Kasteel’s profile from the book; The MMA Encyclopedia

Brian Lo-A-Njoe

Jan Lomulder

Sander MacKilljan

Ton van Maurik

Hans Nijman

"He was just very strong and understood the [ground] game, which is good for someone who always fights straight up. But he was mostly done with collecting dots in karate. I can still remember one of his last matches in that sport. Just before he climbed the mat, he looked in my direction and gave me a wink. When the match started, he knocked his opponent down with his right fist, which is not entirely intended for that form of karate. He was disqualified, but he didn't care anymore."
— Bert Kops Jr

"Ladies and gentleman! All the way from Holland! "Mr. Legs" Hans Nijman!"
— Ronald Wustenberg, pre-recorded for Nijman when in Japan before his entrance music

  • Affectionate Nickname: Hans is just a short form of his full first name, which is Johannes.
  • The Apprentice: To Chris Dolman and Michel van Halderen.
  • Authority Equals Ass Kicking: Became the head of the Dutch fighters after Chris Dolman retired.
  • Bash Brothers: With Dick Vrij. He also worked with European Kickboxing champion Ron Kuyt who was also a doorman at the coffee shop he worked at.
  • Bouncer: Was a doorman for the renowned coffee shop, "The Bulldog" in Amsterdam.
  • Bullying a Dragon: Took a few liberties in a match with Volk Han. Volk responded by keeping a submission locked on Nijman after he tapped out with Dick Vrij needing get in the ring and kick the Russian away to save his teammate.
    • While it is not known if its a work or shoot, in one match with Yoshihisa Yamamoto, Yoshihisa seemed to have tried to shoot on Nijman, as instead of starting out by feeling him out with a striking exchange like he usually begins matches, he immediately tries to take him down and submit him. It takes about 6 attempts before Nijman and his corner figure out what’s going on and a pissed off Nijman proceeds to knock Yoshihisa out shortly afterwards for his trouble.
  • Character Death: Was shot dead in a drive by in 2014.
  • Combat Pragmatist: While not as much as some of his fellow teammates, he has been known to take certain liberties with the rules if he wants to be mean. An example of his nastiness was a Kyokushin rules match against Kentaro Tanaka, where he was disqualified for punching Tanaka in the face. While Hans claimed he was aiming for the shoulder blades, one of his cornermen, Bert Kops Jr said that before he went on the mat to face Tanaka, Hans winked in his direction.
  • Cool Teacher: Had a hand in training Joop Kasteel for MMA, had his own gym called De Meer, and was the head trainer of Beverwijk Top Team.
  • Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Usually wore dark blue kickboxing shorts, though he sometimes wore dark red ones as well.
  • Embarrassing Nickname: According to Joop Kasteel, Hans was apparently looked at fondly by some of the locals in Natal, Brazil and his friends called him as "De Burgemeester van Natal" ("The Mayor of Natal") as a joke.
  • Extremity Extremist: Was a kicking specialist, though he did have other tools, he just prefers to kick.
  • Fountain of Expies: A few of his fellow RINGS Holland buddies have tried to perform his Nijman Geri, like Dick Vrij for example.
  • I Know Karate: An unspecified traditional style before he switched to Kyokushin and his achievements combined made him a 15 time Dutch national champion, two time European Champion with 3 runner-up titles, placed third in the 1984 World Karate Championships, and was also a national Kickboxing champion. He also trained in boxing and freestyle wrestling (he placed third in the 1989 Dutch national championships) and later in his career put in serious effort to learning Judo, Sambo and even travelled to Brazil to learn a bit of Luta Livre with Roberto Leitao.
  • Mighty Glacier: Not the most agile of fighters, but could deliver strong and precise strikes.
  • Perpetual Frowner: His usual expression when he is on camera.
  • Power Trio: Was part of the Netherlands team along with Dick Vrij and Joop van Kasteel for the World Mega Battle Tournament of 1998.
  • Real Song Theme Tune: He used several songs in his RINGS career like "Peter Gunn Theme (Live at Olympic Stadium, Montreal, 1977)" by Emerson Lake & Palmer, "Indian Blood" by Daydream, "Cold as Ice" by Foreigner, and "Aces High" by Iron Maiden.
  • Red Baron: "Mister Legs", "The Bulldog from Amsterdam", "Oranda Gundan no Urabanchō" ("The Hidden Boss of the Dutch Corps").
  • Spectacular Spinning: Threw spinning kicks on occasion and even knocked out Tsuyoshi Kohsaka with one.
  • Spell My Name With An S: Nijman? Nyman? RINGS also spelt his first name as Hanse for some reason.
  • Unskilled, but Strong: He was mostly a kickboxer, but his striking was fearsome, and he later put effort in learning about grappling to defend against it at the least.
  • Ur-Example: He was the first person in showing the downward roundhouse kick which would later be popularized as "the Brazilian Kick" by Glaube Feitosa. Nijman called it "Nijman Geri" and used it as a double feint, though once actually injured Mitsuya Nagai with it.

Henk Numan

Pieter Oele

Frederik van Oosterom

Alistair Overeem

"There is no fear. There are only two things. Trained and untrained."

  • A Day in the Limelight/Early-Bird Cameo: Unusually enough, he debuted in the promotion taking part in the King of Kings 1999 tournament, but was eliminated by Yuriy Kochkine.
  • The Apprentice: To Chris Dolman, Lucien Carbin, Peter Hoopman, Greg Jackson, Mike Winkeljohn, Dave Jonkers, Cor Hemmers, Martin de Jong, Randy Couture, Ron Frazier, Neil Melanson, Roberto Flamingo , Robert Follis, and Dennis Davis.
  • Bash Brothers: With his real brother Valentijn.
  • Big Little Brother: Somewhat though Alistair's brother Valentijn has put on some muscle himself over the years.
  • Blood Knight: Loves fighting, the fighter lifestyle and used to get into street fights when he was younger.
  • Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: He knocked out Kazuyuki Fujita. Granted Fujita was past his prime when it happened.
  • Future Badass: He would amass a 12 wins streak after his tenure in RINGS and would become one of the most known UFC powerhouses.
  • Glass Cannon: While not as bad as his brother, Alistair is an incredibly large and incredibly buff looking man with some of the most brutal striking in the sport and a very good grappling game all of which is offset by poor stamina, defense, and a very glassy chin. Ironically, after slimming down in his late 30s, Overeem seemingly fixed all those issues.
  • Heroic Build: When he moved up to the heavyweight class.
  • Hero Killer: Has defeated names like Igor Vovchanchyn, Kazuyuki Fujita, Brock Lesnar, Peter Aerts in Kickboxing twice, etc.
  • Hidden Depths: He has been learning how to fly a private plane for a Private Pilot License.
  • I Know Kickboxing: And Sambo. He also went to Thailand to train in Muay Thai, is a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a green belt in Judo and learned Gaidojutsu at the Jackson Wink MMA Academy.
  • Jack of All Stats: Considered one of the best rounded heavyweights in the sport, though he is mainly known for his excellence and power on the striking field.
  • Lightning Bruiser: One of the fastest heavyweights in the game today.
  • Minored In Ass Kicking: Was a 2005 ADCC European Trials Winner in the 99kg class.
  • Real Song Theme Tune: "The Anthem 2004" by Sensation.
  • Red Baron: "The Demolition Man", "The Hyper Dutch Cyclone", "Hakaimono" ("Destroyer").
  • Scars Are Forever: Has a scar on his left cheek from being hit with a beer bottle in a bar fight when he was 15 years old.
  • Scary Black Man
  • Signature Move: Left knee to midsection, left body kick, and the guillotine choke.
  • Tag Along Kid: He was in RINGS basically for being Valentijn's little brother.
  • Tempting Fate: Alistair showed no respect to "Bigfoot" Silva in the weeks leading up to or during their fight. During the fight, he repeatedly dropped his hands, chin up, without regard for Silva's striking. He ended up on the receiving end of a shocking TKO in the third round after arguably winning the previous two.
  • The Unfettered: While not as dirty as his fellow countrymen, he does have some cheating to his name, especially in K-1 fights and fans have criticized his constant use of throws in those fights.
  • Ur-Example: The only fighter to simultaneously hold three championship belts from Strikeforce, K-1 and Dream. He also is the first of only two fighters to win a world championship in MMA and Kickboxing.

Valentijn Overeem

"Overeem would have been considered a safe opponent for Tamura in a shoot, but nobody understood just how much he's improved and how dangerous he is. It was one of those fights where you see a guy go into the ring thinking he can't lose, and all of a sudden he's getting his ass kicked royally."
— Dave Meltzer, on the Overeem vs Tamura title fight.

“Anybody who steps in a ring or cage has balls, fans should understand we are all human beings and we can have personal problems, family issues, injuries and other problems which could cause the biggest talents in the world to fail. We are all human and from flesh and blood, I love [the] fans who stayed fans of me [even through the] bad times, those are the real fans. I love everybody who supports the fight game.”
— Valentijn Overeem

  • Alternate Company Equivalent: Arguably to Pancrase's Jason DeLucia. They were both gaijins of low level but very dangerous themselves, who got some big wins in their records, and who later were criticized for their training politics.
  • The Apprentice: To Chris Dolman, Jan Plas, Dave Jonkers, Cor Hemmers, and Martin De Jong.
  • Bald of Evil
  • Bash Brothers: With his real brother Alistair.
  • Brilliant, but Lazy: According to his brother Alistair, Valentijn did not have much focus on training, focusing more in paychecks and such.
  • Glass Cannon: Extreme example. A solid kickboxer and sambist, he definitely knew how to strike and submit, but his main disadvantages were his laughably weak defense in both fields and his inability to keep his heart up if he found a strong resistance.
  • Lean and Mean
  • Leotard of Power: Initially fought in black pants, but he switched to a wrestling double singlet.
  • Let's Get Dangerous!: His irregular record and his defeats in legit shoots to native midcarders like Sakata and Kanehara might cloud his aura, but this guy curbstomped Kiyoshi Tamura in his MMA debut and also submitted cleanly Randy Couture and Renato Sobral in their primes.
  • I Know Kickboxing: And Sambo. He also has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
  • Real Song Theme Tune: "Firestarter" by The Prodigy in RINGS. He also used "The World Is Mine" by David Guetta outside of RINGS.
  • Red Baron: "The Python", "Jigoku no Anaconda" ("The Anaconda from Hell"), "Holland no Choshishi" ("Holland's Super Hunting Beast").
  • Scary Black Man
  • Teen Genius: Was 18 when he debuted in RINGS.

Willie Peeters

"The winner of the eight man tournament in Holland, Dutchman Willy Peeters loved the island and loved fighting and he did not think twice when he got the offer to fight in Aruba. Unfortunately the referee stopped the fight because of a cut but Willy did not want to give up and was very disappointed with the decision (great fighting spirit from Peeters)."
— Bas Boon, creator of Cage Fighting Championships, World Vale Tudo Championships and Golden Glory gym, about Peeters in WVC 8: World Vale Tudo Championship 8.

  • The Apprentice: To Chris Dolman in Kyokushin Karate and Sambo, and along with Willem Ruska and Willy Wilhelm; Judo, Jan Lomulder and Fred Royers in Kickboxing and Freddy Winters in amateur wrestling.
  • Arch-Enemy: In real life, Wataru Sakata.
  • Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Was prone to behave cocky and taunt his opponent.
  • Bratty Half-Pint: Won several juvenile wrestling and karate championships in Holland and had a nasty temper to boot.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Though not as much as Bob Schrijber and Gilbert Yvel, Willie was a rather dirty fighter. Most of his misdeeds took place in his feud with Sakata, especially in their fight in RINGS Holland, where he broke every rule imaginable and only got away from DQ thanks to home referees. He also had a habit of grabbing the ropes when high kicking his opponents in corners.
  • Combat Referee: Doubled as a referee at RINGS Holland events and after retiring from fighting became one full-time.
  • David Versus Goliath: Against the mighty Tom Erikson, who squashed Willie in about 30 seconds.
  • Gate Guardian: Was sort of a predecessor to Lee Hasdell in early RINGS, most new fighters debuted or at least had to fight against him at some point. They even referred to this rite of passage as "Pītāsu Koe" ("Beyond Peeters").
  • Good Old Fisticuffs: Preferred standing and striking his opponents either to knock them down or set up for throws and/or suplexes.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Herman Renting.
  • I Know Greco-Roman Wrestling: Multiple time champion. He also knows Kyokushin Karate, Judo, Sambo, and Kickboxing.
  • Jack of All Stats: Was good in striking, throwing and grappling, though not exaggeratedly in any.
  • Leotard of Power: An amateur wrestling one in his early RINGS appearances. He wore a black singlet and long pants for his RINGS appearances in the mid-90s, though he did switch back to wrestling singlets in his last years in RINGS and usually put on his old singlets for MMA fights outside of RINGS.
  • Man Bites Man: He is one of the very few people to get threatened with disqualification at the virtually lawless World Vale Tudo Championship tournaments after he bit open Antonio Carlos Ribeiro's face. Ironically, Willie lost through a TKO by cut.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: Wore pink shorts in his match with Yoshinori Nishi.
  • Real Song Theme Tune: "I Don’t Know Anybody Else (Steve Hurley’s Remix)" by Black Box.
  • Red Baron: "The Terminator", "Abarenbō" ("Wild Kid/Hooligan/Rowdy/Roughneck").
  • Revenge Before Reason: In their second fight, Wataru Sakata broke late a toehold after Peeters had grabbed the ropes, causing him a leg injury which almost had the match stopped. Peeters's answer when the fight was restarted was rocking Sakata with a close-fisted punch and nonchalantly endure the red card he gained.
  • Scars Are Forever: Has one near his stomach, due to his choice of attire most of the time, one wouldn’t notice it at all unless he fights in shorts.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: Has the rare feat of defeating a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter back when it was considered impossible, knocking out Eduardo Rocha in 1996.
  • Suplex Finisher: Pull off some of the smoothest suplexes in early RINGS.
  • Use Your Head: Gave a positively illegal headbutt to Sakata in their second fight. He also used them to great effect in Cage Fight Tournament 2.
  • The Worf Effect: Was worfed later in his career by Heath Herring. Granted he took the fight with only three days to prepare since the original guy in his place (Brazilian fighter Marcelo Tigre) had pulled out.
  • Wrestler in All of Us: He pulled off an honest to god piledriver in a match with Bert Kops Jr.

Dennis Raven

  • The Apprentice: To Willem Ruska, Cor van der Geest, and Remco Pardoel.
  • Cool Teacher: A grappling trainer for the RINGS Holland guys and Beverwijk Top Team.
  • The Giant: He is even taller than Tariel Bitsadze.
  • Glass Cannon: Was not able to take strikes well.
  • I Know Judo: A Dutch national champion, European championship bronze medalist and represented The Netherlands in 1992 Olympics. He later trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
  • Jobber: Never won any of his matches in RINGS.

Herman Renting

"Herman Renting was one of the numerous students of the legendary Chris Dolman, and as with a number of said students he spent most of his career—nearly a decade—in the shoot-style wrestling promotion Fighting Network RINGS in primarily worked matches. His time in MMA, by contrast to a lot of his peers, was a brief curiosity. He only had four matches in his career that are generally agreed not to be works, and even though they took place over six years their timeline is extremely brief: The first two happened within three weeks in 1995 and the latter two within three months half a decade later in 2000/2001. He went 1-3, with his only victory coming in one of those 1995 proto-MMA style-vs-style matches, using his Dolman-honed sambo skills to take a decision over wing chun loyalist and former Rickson Gracie victim David Levicki (who would also retire at 1-3, funnily enough). His most notable loss, and the reason he's included in this collection, was his appearance at Pride 11 against the elemental spirit of Japanese MMA, Mr. Pride himself, Akira Shoji—and as was Shoji's job at the time, despite being visibly outsized he bounced Renting by armbar in just under four minutes. Renting has his place in history, but that place is much more in the annals of RINGS than in MMA itself, and unfortunately, RINGS is sort of doomed to obscurity, a thing known primarily to hardcore tape traders and older-school puro enthusiasts."
— A profile of Renting from a Fire Pro Wrestling user CarlCX from https://steamcommunity.com

  • The Apprentice: To Chris Dolman.
  • Bald of Evil: Shaved his head in the later half of his time in RINGS though before he always kept it to a buzzcut since his debut.
  • Bratty Half-Pint: Similar in height, age, and attitude to Willie Peeters.
  • Bullying a Dragon: Got choked out by Yoshihisa Yamamoto of all people after he busted Yoshihisa open with an elbow strike on the ground.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Not as much as some of his teammates, but he has gotten into trouble for punching closed-fisted to the face and trying to ground-and-pound his opponents in RINGS.
  • Heroic BSoD: Left RINGS after losing to Wataru Sakata in a shoot, considering himself unworthy of the promotion.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Willie Peeters.
  • I Coulda Been a Contender!: He was supposedly a very promising rookie in the RINGS dojo, so much that Akira Maeda personally praised him to no end and Masakatsu Funaki wanted to recruit him for Pancrase, but he never lived up to the potential and barely had a MMA career before retiring.
  • I Know Kickboxing: A 1989 and 1990 Dutch national champion and also trained in Sambo. He also placed second in a Netherlands national Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament in 2000.
  • Jack of All Stats: Good at striking and wrestling, but nothing exceptional in the ring.
  • Jerkass: Famous for his troublesome temper, he was once sentenced to several years in prison. According to some sources, he tried to fire bomb a police station. He also once threw Masayuki Naruse out of the ring For the Evulz.
  • Leotard of Power: Wore an amateur wrestling one for a few matches.
  • Only One Finds It Fun: Compared to the stoic Vrij and Nijman and the other angry and serious looking dudes from Holland, Renting almost always looked like he was having the time of his life in RINGS. The only other person on the team who felt similar was Willie Peeters.
  • Red Baron: "Kenka-ya" ("The Brawler"), "The Cub Scout".

Rene Rooze

  • Alliterative Name
  • The Apprentice: To Thom Harinck and later Peter Aerts who was also his cornerman.
  • Bullying a Dragon: In a Muay Thai bout against Bas Rutten in Holland, the match got so heated that Rooze bit Rutten through his ear a la Mike Tyson. Inconvenienced with the foul, Bas gave him a knee strike in the groin. (At that point, unsurprisingly, the fight was stopped and a brawl broke up).
  • Combat Pragmatist: He is also famous for his way of fighting the limits of the rules and for any fouls and misconduct.
  • Cool Teacher: He is now a Muay Thai instructor and conditioning coach.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: His second MMA fight with Tadao Yasuda had him defeating Yasuda by TKO in under a minute.
    • Suffered one himself at the hands of Alexander Emelianenko.
  • The Giant: 6ft 7 and competed in the superheavyweight division in Kickboxing, though as heavyweight in MMA.
  • Guest Fighter: Had one match in UWFI against Kazushi Sakuraba.
  • I Know Kickboxing: Trained at Chakuriki Gym and was a 2 time Dutch champion.
  • Real Song Theme Tune: Used "Dominator" by Human Resource in RINGS.
  • Red Baron: "K-1 no Hansoku-ō" ("K-1’s Foul King")
  • Spell My Name With An S: His name is sometimes spelt as Rene Roza or Renee Rooze.

Thomas Roelos

Bob Schrijber

"Bob Schrijber has all sorts of unflattering nicknames, but the most revealing is Dirty Bob. Hardly known to American audiences, Schrijber's fighting career spans nearly fifteen years and has taken him all over the world. A man who considers the rules in MMA bouts too restrictive, Schrijer is as notorious for his behavior outside the ring as he is for his behavior inside it. An admitted partier who spent his youth carousing and brawling, Schrijber and his fighting wife Irma have reputations for being two of the biggest hard asses in MMA. Looking more like a pitbull than a human, Schrijber thinks nothing of resorting to dirty tactics in the ring, be it holding ropes, headbutting, or kicking a man while he's down."
— Schrijber's profile in the book; Mixed Martial Arts' Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Crazy Combat, Great Grappling, and Sick Submissions, Chapter 6 - Downright Dirty: Fighters Who Cheat.

"Free Fight? That’s pussy stuff. Cage fights are where it’s at. No rules only, of course."
— Bob Schrijber

  • The Alcoholic: Abused alcohol at a young age, he quit for a while when he started martial arts, but he now enjoys a beer whenever he gets the chance.
  • The Apprentice: To Cor van der Geest and Jan Plas.
  • Badass Family: His wife, Irma Verhoeff is also a MMA fighter and trainer.
  • Badass Teacher: Has his own MMA school, Sports Academy Schreiber, as well as a MMA and Muay Thai team. His most famous student is Stefan Struve. He is also said to have had a hand in training Joop Kasteel and was the Kickboxing trainer of Dutch pro wrestler Tom Budgen aka Tommy End aka WWE's Aleister Black.
  • Bald of Evil
  • Blood Knight: The less rules the fight has, the better in his mind.
  • Bouncer: Has worked as a doorman.
  • Combat Pragmatist: He got his Red Baron for his dirty fighting tactics, one of his most notably fights was with Daijiro Matsui in which he committed numerous fouls including kicking the back of the head of a grounded Matsui after the bell, resulting in a disqualification.
  • Combat Referee: Has been one for several MMA fights.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: When he was young his parents divorced which separated him from his older brother Fred whom he was close to, was living in poverty and at times homeless, and he also smoked, abused drugs and alcohol at a young age and once went to prison for stabbing someone.
  • The Dreaded: Aside from his dirty tactics, he was legitimately an excellent and dangerous kickboxer and few dared to match him on their feet.
  • Drugs Are Bad: Abused them at a young age, when he started training in martial arts and noticed he was in poor physical shape compared to his peers and went cold turkey.
  • Embarrassing Nickname: Is apparently called "The Pig" in some parts of Europe.
  • Expy: Seems like one to Gerard Gordeau. Till he put on some pounds at least.
  • Hidden Depths: Has an interest in Punk Rock music and was even a band with his brother called Jesus and the Gospelfuckers, with Bob as a guitarist.
  • I Know Karate: Began training in this along with Judo. He later learned Muay Thai a year later and even went to train with Rob Kaman at the Mejiro Gym.
  • Lean and Mean: At first. He slowly gained more weight over the years.
  • Mean Character, Nice Actor: According to some people, Bob is actually quite friendly and polite outside of the ring. It’s only when inside the ring that he changes into Dirty Bob.
  • The Napoleon: In one instance, before his fight with Semmy Schilt, he set up a mini ladder in the center of the ring so he could look down on Semmy during the introductions.
  • Odd Friendship: With Bas Rutten.
  • Red Baron: "Dirty Bob", "The Terrible".
  • Smoking Is Not Cool: Smoked at a young age, gave it up after he started training in martial arts.
  • Spell My Name With An S: He is internationally known as Schreiber because the Dutch vowel 'ij' in his surname is very uncommon in other languages. He put Schreiber as the name of his gym because of that.RINGS sometime spelt his name as Schreyber.
  • Stout Strength: What he is now.
  • Unskilled, but Strong: A pure kickboxer with very little grappling skills.
  • Use Your Head: Was disqualified from a fight against Valentin Davidov for giving him a Glasgow Kiss mid match. He also gave one to Svilen Rusinov in their match, though he was only given a yellow card and actually looked like he didn’t mean to that time.

Pieter Smit

  • The Apprentice: To Chris Dolman.
  • I Know Judo: A 1989 and 1991 Dutch national champion with three runner up titles in 1988, 1990 and 1992. He was also a Scandinavian Open runner up in 1990.
  • Jobber
  • Real Song Theme Tune: Used "Hyperpulse" by Metal Flash.

Sandor Telgen

Sander Thonhauser

Sara Umer

Dave van der Veen

Gilbert Yvel

"Witness Gilbert Yvel. Yvel, who in his last fight defeated Kiyoshi Tamura, giving Tamura his worst beating of his career enroute to winning the RINGS world heavyweight championship (a title which started out as a pro wrestling version of the world title and now is actually defended in shoot matches) looked to be one of the most exciting fighters to watch due to his great kickboxing skill. In RINGS, if a fighter is taken down, if the action slows on the ground, the referee orders a stand-up. Yvel was taken down repeatedly in everyone of his major wins in RINGS, but his repeated stand-ups allowed him to eventually connect on strikes and put the hurting on his foes."
— Dave Melter

"It is my life. I’ve been fighting on the streets and in school since I was 10, 11—everywhere. At one point I jumped in the gym and made it my job—it is my life. Wherever I go, people ask me about fighting, fighting, fighting, fighting—there’s never a conversation with me without the questions, “Who are you fighting? When are you fighting?” Mixed martial arts is my life."
— Gilbert Yvel

Rene van der Zanden

Others

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rings_holland2.PNG
Free Fight Forever!

Youssef Akhnikh

Nico Anches

Mustafa Azoufri

Gilbert Ballantine

  • The Apprentice: To John Benner, Cees van der Velden, Thom Harinck and Chris Dolman.
  • Cool Teacher: A Kickboxing instructor at Ben Rietdijk Sport, Health & Beauty. He was also a trainer for Beverwijk Top Team.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: He fought in the 1998 Shooto and shootboxing joint event, Shoot the Shooto "Double Cross" XX in a shootboxing fight against Kenichi Ogata.
  • I Know Karate: A Wado Ryu practitioner in his younger days, he is also a blue belt in Judo, learned a bit of pentjak silat and Muay Thai at Chakuriki Dojo and also trained in Sambo for his MMA fights.
  • Red Baron: "The Bull Terrier".
  • The Rival: To Ramon Dekkers.
  • Scary Black Man

Wouter Bakker

John Benner

Gerard Benschop

Nordin Bensellam

Piet Bernzen

Franklin Beuk

Nick Bloemberg

Jon Bluming

"What I teach, is neither Kodokan judo nor Kyokushin Kai karate but instead a mix of one-third karate and Thai boxing, one-third throwing techniques — I teach seven different throws — and one-third groundwork. That altogether is the full circle of unarmed fighting. That is not arrogant, that is the truth."

  • The Ace: There is no official record of him ever losing a Karate or Judo match.
  • Alternate Company Equivalent: Is considered the Dutch equivalent of Gene Lebell just more serious. Either that or Lebell is the American equivalent to Bluming just a little more silly.
  • The Apprentice: To Masutatsu Oyama, Kenji Kurosaki, Gerhard Schutte and Eddy Roosterman.
  • Arch-Enemy: Anton Geesink. They never could settle the score between them as they belonged to rival organisations (NAJA and NJJB respectively).
  • Badass Teacher: Was once the coach of the Dutch national Judo team. He has also trained guys like Chris Dolman, Willem Ruska, Hideyuki Ashihara, Takashi Azuma, Jan Plas, Thom Harinck, Otti Roethof, Ernest Hoost, Remy Bonjasky, Branko Cikatic, Peter Aerts, Rob Kaman, Semmy Schilt, Gilbert Yvel, Juan Carlos I of Spain, etc.
  • Blood Knight: He loved competition, according to the sources, a bit too much. He has been criticized (and liked by other people) for talking with excessive serenity about breaking limbs and beating people down. Ironically, he was unable to compete in international judo tournaments due to his judo organisation being the smaller and weaker Netherlands Amateur Judo Association compared to the Netherlands Jiu-Jitsu Bond.
  • Boring, but Practical: His teaching style.
  • Cool Old Guy: Most definitely.
  • The Dreaded: Was known as "The Beast from Amsterdam" for a reason, and his fame was such that people often dropped off from tournaments to avoid facing him.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: Was in Chris Dolman’s corner during his match against Akira Maeda in UWF Newborn.
  • He Also Did: Was an actor for several Dutch films between 1961 to 1990.
  • I Know Karate: A 10th dan in Kyokushin Karate with a bit of training in Shotokan. He is also a 10th dan in Hapkido and a 9th dan in Judo. He also has some training in boxing and maybe taekkyon, and trained in bojutsu, iaijutsu and Kendo with Tokyo police instructors Takaji Shimizu and Ichitaro Kuroda.
  • Mighty Whitey: Was considered by some to be Masutatsu Oyama's best student.
  • Non-Action Guy: Appeared only in RINGS as a Special Guest.
  • Old Master: Master to Chris Dolman and many other Dutch judokas and karatekas, thus making him essentially the father of Dutch MMA and Kickboxing. He is also credited with introducing Kyokushin karate to Europe.
  • Old Soldier: Was a former Dutch marine and fought in the Korean War in 1950.
  • Power Trio: During his time in Tokyo, he lived with Donn F. Draeger and Robert W. Smith.
  • Red Baron: "The Beast from Amsterdam".
  • Ring Oldies: Even in his 60s and beyond, he was still considered one of the most dangerous men alive.
  • Start My Own: Founded his own school and style, Kyokushin Budokai (subtitled All-Round Fighting to avoid confusion with another organisation that uses the same name), a full contact bare knuckle karate style that also allows grappling, groundfighting, and submissions, but palm strikes only to the head.

Bas Boon

Mario Borzic

Rinie van Brakel

Glenn Brasdorp

Harry de Bruin

Johan Buur

Depretz Clovis

"They have Don King, but we in Europe have Don Clovis."
— Paco Rabanne, famous Spanish couturier of French fashion.

"A manager is the visiting card of the fighters."
— Depretz "Don" Clovis

  • Affectionate Nickname: He is better known as "Don" Clovis, for he is in Kickboxing what Don King is in boxing.
  • The Apprentice: To Rick van der Vathorst.
  • French Jerk: Was born in France but later changed his nationality to Dutch in 1999.
  • Hidden Depths: In the sixties he was a singer in a famous French group called "Les Charlots". He was just fourteen when he had his first Rock and Roll hit on the famous Sidney Bechet label called "Disques Vogue".
  • I Know Kickboxing: Trained at Van De Vathorst Gym.
  • The Mentor: Was a manager to many Dutch fighters like Perry Ubeda, Bas Rutten, Rob Kaman, Ramon Dekkers, Andre Masseurs, Andre Mannaart, Luc Verhey, Brian Pieters, Rayden Simson, Semmy Schilt, Cheik Kongo, Marc Emmanuel, etc. He also worked with the French fighters like Daniel Quoniam, Orlando Wiet, .
  • Non-Action Guy: Was a manager and not a fighter, though he does have training.
  • Porn Stache
  • Producers: He studied at the Film academy in Amsterdam and has a degree as a producer. He produced a few low-budget action films which usually stars one of his fighters.

Fred van Doesburg

Pavel Dolgov

Rogier van Eck

Erwin van de Eijnden

Martin van Emmen

Idu Faroek

Rodney Faverus/Glunder

"Rodney Glunder is another of those low-key, long-time veterans of mixed martial arts—the kind of fighter who's been around forever and fought almost everywhere, but never got high enough in the sport to get truly noticed. A teenaged adoptee of karate and taekwondo, Glunder turned to professional fighting after his 21st birthday and took on both MMA and kickboxing, with moderately successful results—regional acclaim, but never the big leagues. A striker with only rudimentary grappling abilities, he hit the same hill all of those fighters did: Beating fighters who couldn't grapple him, getting ragdolled and submitted by fighters who could. Three years into his career he was 5-6-2 and contemplated retirement. There's this theory that every fighter has a specific window where they're at their best—not just being in their athletic prime, but developing in the right directions to complement that prime and meeting the right competition during that development—a combination of rising to meet the challenges of your career while having just enough good luck that the world lets it happen. Glunder hit that window harder than almost anyone: After the middling, losing beginning to his career he went almost undefeated for four years—winning 16 of his next 19 fights, in all, including victories over Valentijn Overeem, Tommy Sauer, Cheick Kongo, Cyrille Diabate and Melvin Manhoef. It was a hell of a streak. Unfortunately, as with so many, it didn't extend to the big leagues. He made his one and only Pride appearance during the run—against Chalid "Die Faust" Arrab, representing the Golden Glory team Glunder had been picking off—and lost a lopsided but not particularly interesting decision. Pride had expected fireworks from the two kickboxers, and were so sufficiently disappointed that Arrab only came back once—to be fed to Kazuhiro Nakamura—and Glunder was never invited back again. His career didn't fare much better afterward. Glunder would eventually retire with journeyman records in both his sports—25-20-3-1 in MMA, 16-12 in kickboxing. He tried professional wrestling for awhile, but much like combat sports, it bruoght him only middling success. Which is a shame. He was a solid fighter and had plenty of regional titles. Some people just never break through the ceiling, unfortunately."
— A profile of Glunder from a Fire Pro Wrestling user CarlCX from https://steamcommunity.com

Roberto Flamingo

  • The Apprentice: To Cor Hemmers, Dave Jonkers, and Lucien Carbin.
  • Cool Teacher: Roberto is one of the Blackzilians striking coaches and has trained fighters such as Rashad Evans, Tyrone Spong, Eddy Alvarez, Thiago Silva, James Mc Sweeneys, Gilbert Yvel and Alistair Overeem among others.
  • I Know Kickboxing: Trained at the Fighting Factory Carbin and Golden Glory gym.
  • Red Baron: "Flame".
  • Scary Black Man

Hans Frugte

Andre Fyeet

Piet van Gammeren

Ron van Gellekom

Edwin Gertenbach

Melvin Geutskens

Marcus Habi

Michel van Halderen

Antoni Hardonk

Thom Harinck

  • Badass Teacher: Founded the Chakuriki Gym and has trained many fighters like Peter Aerts, Branko Cikatić, Lloyd van Dams, Hesdy Gerges, Badr Hari, Jérôme Le Banner, Melvin Manhoef, Anderson "Braddock" Silva, Sergei Lascenko, etc.
  • Bouncer: Once worked as one at the age of 17.
  • I Know Karate: A 6th dan black belt in Kyokushin, he also has a brown belt in Judo and Japanese jujutsu, and is a 7th dan black belt in kenpo. He also trained in amateur wrestling, boxing, early Japanese Kickboxing, savate, and of course Muay Thai.
  • Non-Action Guy: Never fought in RINGS.
  • Old Master: Of Kickboxing in The Netherlands.
  • Red Baron: "The Godfather of Muay Thai in The West".
  • Start My Own: Originally he taught a marital art he called "Chakuriki" which was based on Kyokushin Karate, boxing, Judo, jujutsu and wrestling. He also founded the NKBB (Dutch Kickboxing Association) in 1976, the MTBN (Dutch Muay Thai Association) in 1983, the WMTA (World Muay Thai Association) and the EMTA (European Muay Thai Association) in 1984.
  • Ur-Example: Is the first foreigner to receive the rank of the grand master in Muay Thai and one of the fathers of Kickboxing in The Netherlands alongside Jan Plas.

Michel van der Heijden

Jeffrey Heijm

Ton van Heumen

  • The Apprentice: To Jon Bluming.
  • Badass Teacher: Was a Kyokushin trainer for Mejiro Gym and later for Sportschool Nieuwendam and trained guys like Edgar Cairo, Paul Engelsman and Jaap de Vries.
  • Combat Referee: Was a RINGS Holland referee.
  • I Know Karate: A 7th dan black belt in Kyokushin Budokai.

Rick Holshuizen

Sjaak van Ijsden

Rik de Jager

Michael Jonker

Jassier Kaderi

Jerry Kalia

Andrew Keja

Edmunds Kirsis

  • The Apprentice: To Gerard Gordeau.
  • Do Not Call Me "Paul": Was introduced in RINGS as Igor Kirsis for some reason.
  • Fake Russian: Was billed from Moscow, Russia in his RINGS appearance. He is actually Latvian and spent most of his fighting career in the Netherlands.
  • I Know Karate: Trained at the Kamakura Dojo, he was originally a Latvian national Judo champion and also trained in amateur wrestling.

Wout Kist

  • Badass Family: His wife Gerrie van Wirdum is a kickboxer and MMA trainer.
  • Badass Teacher: A RINGS Holland trainer and fitness instructor and has his own gym, Vechtsportcentrum Wout Kist. He also trains police officers.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Dutch free fight pioneer and Shaolin Kung Fu, Taekwondo, Tai-Jitsu and Japanese Jiu-Jitsu practitioner Charles Dumerniët.
  • I Know Karate: Wadokai Karate as well as Taekwondo, Japanese Jiu Jitsu and Jeet Kune Do. He also trained in Sambo and Muay Thai with Chris Dolman and Thom Harinck respectively.
  • Non-Action Guy: Did not fight in RINGS.
  • Start My Own: Co-founded the Free Fight Federation (originally the International Organization Combat Sports) with Charles Dumerniët. He also developed his martial arts ranking system under the name Free Fight, with himself as a 9th Dan.

Maurice Kistenmaker

Daan Kooiman

Dennis Krauweel

Henk Kuipers

  • The Apprentice: To Jon Bluming, Joop Reilman, and Gerard Gordeau.
  • Badass Biker: Captain of a motorcycle club called "No Surrender".
  • Cool Old Guy: Was in his mid 30s when he fought in RINGS.
  • Cool Teacher: Runs his own Karate dojo and is also the trainer and manager of Team Hardcore.
  • I Know Karate: A Kyokushin 8th dan black belt.
  • Jobber: Lost to Joop Kasteel in less than a minute.
  • Red Baron: "No Surrender", "Captain".

Willy Lagerweij

Milco Lambrecht

  • The Chessmaster: One of the most important promoters of combat sports in The Netherlands, helped Chris Dolman organise RINGS Holland shows and events and was a manager to Peter Aerts.
  • Non-Action Guy: Was not a fighter.

Rob van Leeuwen

Roberto Lukus

Arie Maigret

Melvin Manhoef

"It’s a gift I have got from God and I’m very thankful for it, I’m blessed being able to do that. I’m quite explosive but that’s nothing I have trained to become, I think it’s in my genes because my nephew is also really explosive. In my opinion the key to the knock outs is that I always come to fight, I go all in and I want to hurt people. It’s a mental thing. It is also the reason to why I lose sometimes, being reckless and always going for the kill is a risky business. When you’re only attacking you of course have openings and gaps, but if you just keep your hands up protecting your head you’re not going to knock anyone out and it won’t be a fun fight to watch for the fans. I’ve always wanted to entertain people so that’s what I do. Of course I don’t want to lose, never ever, but I have my aggression and temper inside which is the foundation of my fighting style and that’s what makes me Melvin Manhoef."

  • Alliterative Name
  • The Apprentice: To Dennis Rock, Thom Harinck, Mike Passenier, and Martin Jansen.
  • Badass Family: His uncle and his younger brother Moreno were a Muay Thai practitioners and first introduced Melvin to the sport.
  • Beat Them at Their Own Game: Manhoef was knocked out by a single hard punch from Robbie Lawler who was almost unanimously believed to be his inferior at stand-up striking. During DREAM's 2010 Light Heavyweight Grand Prix semifinals, Manhoef would even be knocked down by his opponent Tatsuya Mizuno, slugged multiple times (while his head was trapped by a turnbuckle pad of all things!)... and then submitted.
  • The Berserker: Has stated that when he fights, he goes all in and it shows.
  • Cool Teacher: Has his own MMA school, Manhoef Fight & Fitness.
  • Glass Cannon: Manhoef, a Dutch kickboxer, has truly horrifying punching power. He was the first man to ever knock out Mark Hunt, who was famous for shrugging off career-ending strikes to his presumably granite-filled head. Manhoef delivered the KO◊ while moving backwards. Unfortunately, even though he's fought at the highest levels of Kickboxing and MMA and can put together beautiful offensive combinations, Manhoef's strike defense is quite lacking, and he has been knocked out by mid-level fighters far more often than an elite striker should. More saliently, his grappling skills are pure garbage. For MMA professionals, fighting Manhoef can either end in Melvin decapitating you with a punch, or with him meekly tapping out 15 seconds after the fight hits the mat.
  • Hero Killer: He beat Kazushi Sakuraba and Mark Hunt by KO (for Hunt the first one to do so).
  • Hidden Depths: Played soccer well enough scouted by teams and originally wanted to be pro soccer player until he broke his ankle at 18 years old.
  • I Know Muay Thai: Trained at several Kickboxing gyms like Rock's Gym, Chakuriki Gym, and Mike's Gym. He also has a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Caio Terra (not that he really shows it).
  • Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Is only 5ft 8.
  • Red Baron: "No Mercy".
  • Scary Black Man: Originally born in Paramaribo, Suriname. In MMA, 28 of his 30 wins have come via knockout, the highest percentage of any MMA fighter with at least 15 wins.
  • Start My Own: Founded a Kickboxing and MMA-promotion named World Fighting League.
  • Unskilled, but Strong: A pure kickboxer, as his grappling skills are practically non-existent.

Herman Maree

Chico Martinez

Brian Maulany

Tom van der Meijden

Jerry Mooldijk

Alfred Neef

Robin Offerman

Robert Openneer

John Ouwerkerk

Pedro de Palm

Richard Plug

Jimmy Portier

Sicco Postma

Dennis de Preter

Faizel Reding

Renaldo Rijkhoff

Arnoud Ritzema

Ronny Rivano

Marc van Rooijen

Rick Rootlieb

Hans Roovers

  • Cool Teacher: Is now a personal trainer, one of the trainers at Karate Team Boelbaai, at Jimmy's Gym in boxing and Kickboxing, and an assistant national coach at the Karate Do Bond Nederland.
  • I Know Karate: A 3rd dan black belt in Kyokushin, a Dutch national champion and a multiple time runner-up in the European and World championships. He has also trained in boxing, Kickboxing, amateur wrestling, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
  • Red Baron: "Hansoku".

Jeffrey van 't Schip

Dave Scott

Jordi Soederhuizen

Peter Steet

Stephen Tapilatu

  • The Apprentice: To his father Wijnand Tapilatu, Chris Dolman, Cor Hemmers and Dave Jonkers.
  • Badass Family: Is a member of a large and successful Taekwondo family headed by his father Master Wijnand Tapilatu, who was a member of the winning Dutch team that took the 1984 World Taekwondo Championship. His sister Bianca and his cousins Django and Patiparu have also won many ITF titles. Bianca Tapilatu is married to Tomaž Barada, three times ITF World Champion and six times ITF European champion.
  • Cool Teacher: Is a personal trainer and a national coach of ITF Netherlands.
  • I Know Taekwondo: A 6th Dan black belt, a ITF World Champion in 1990 and 1994, won two European titles, in 1990 and 1992, in 1991 he won a silver medal at the WTF World Championship in Athens and won the King of Taekwondo competition in Tokyo, Japan, in 1995 and 1996. He also trained for Kickboxing and MMA with Chris Dolman and later with the Golden Glory gym.
  • Red Baron: "The Dragon".

Andre Tete

Michael Tielrooy

Herman van Tol

George Torchinava

Dave Vader

Jerrel Venetiaan

"Jerrel Venetiaan—who has one of my favorite names in all of combat sports, trailing behind Rambaa Somdet—was another part of the biggest night in the Pride/K-1 war, the 2002 Shockwave/Dynamite show. Venetiaan wasn't actually a stranger to MMA—he came into the show with a 2-2-0-1 MMA record, having competed at RINGS Holland and It's Showtime already. He was by no means a grappler, though—and the matchmakers knew it, as they put him against the ever-canny Daijiro Matsui, expecting Matsui to outwrestle and submit him for a good, easy victory. Instead, Venetiaan won—in possibly the biggest shock of all, by decision. Most of the fight has been lost, as on all official releases of the show the first and second rounds have been removed (seriously, organizations, stop doing this), but Venetiaan was landing on the feet and, as we see in the third round, successfully sprawling on Matsui's takedowns. It appears, however, that Venetiaan either didn't know or hadn't been briefed on the rules: Despite being a muay thai specialist with great knees, he holds Matsui in the three-point position for the whole fight and never knees him in his perfectly-placed head. So Venetiaan won a decision. He probably wasn't supposed to do that. Pride made him pay for it, too: A few months later Pride booked him again, this time in a match against fellow RINGS veteran and much better (and bigger) grappler Hirotaka Yokoi, who ragdolled him, pounded on him for two rounds and eventually armbarred him. Venetiaan would fight only once more, a KO victory over Joop Kasteel, before retiring to just kickboxing. And he was no slouch there, either: He won two regional K-1 G Ps, but failed to ever qualify for the World GP. He did hold a couple regional kickboxing titles, but he never had a moment in the sun in the sport—the most visible he got was a decision loss against Peter Aerts. Still an awesome name, though."
— A profile of Venetiaan from a Fire Pro Wrestling user CarlCX from https://steamcommunity.com

Tjerk Vermanen

Peter Verschuren

  • The Apprentice: To Peter Hoopman and Mike Passenier.
  • I Know Taekwondo: A Dutch national champion, trained in Kickboxing at the Hoopman Gym and Mike's Gym. He also had one professional boxing match.

John Verstegen

Jonny van Wanrooy

Gerard van Wijk

Gerrie van Wirdum

  • The Apprentice: To Richard van Asdonck.
  • Badass Family: Her husband Wout Kist is a free fight pioneer and MMA trainer.
  • Badass Teacher: A RINGS Holland trainer and helps run her husband's gym.
  • I Know Kickboxing: Trained at the Sportcentrum Van Asdonck. She also has some experience in savate competitions.
  • Non-Action Girl: Never fought in RINGS.
  • Office Lady: Has worked the office operations of Sportcentrum Van Asdonck and RINGS Holland, is a secretary at the Free Fight Federation and also works membership administration for Vechtsportcentrum Wout Kist.
  • The Smurfette Principle: Is possibly the only female RINGS Holland board member.

Johan Woudstra

Ronald Wustenberg

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