Bas Rutten News

Tom Taylor - April 30, 2020

Bas Rutten has traveled all over the world over the course of his time in the combat sports industry, and he has some pretty interesting stories to share as a result. Rutten shared one of those stories on a recent episode of Submission Radio, harkening back to a time he brawled three men claiming to be Navy SEALs in the famous Roppongi district of Tokyo.

Tom Taylor - May 30, 2019

Earlier this week, former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks — one of many fighters not to be paid by World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation (WBKFF) last fall — implied that former WBKFF president Bas Rutten likely knew something about the promotion’s dicey finances.  “Dude, why didn’t you tell us? He had to have known something,” Hendricks told Bloody Elbow‘s Pull No Punches podcast recently (transcript via MMA News). “He had to have. Was he sitting here thinking along the same line as that guy… Why hasn’t he said anything? It sucks, the whole aspect of it.”

Tom Taylor - May 28, 2019

Former UFC welterweight champ Johny Hendricks was one of many fighters not to get paid by the now defunct bare knuckle fighting promotion WBKFF in late 2018. He’s understandably not happy that he ever got paid for his efforts in the ring. Furthermore, Hendricks has some questions for former WBKFF president Bas Rutten. Rutten claimed to have no previous knowledge of WBKFF’s sketchy finances, and also claimed that he believed WBKFF founder Tom Stankiewicz would eventually pay the fighters he owed money too.

Tom Taylor - March 7, 2019

Conor McGregor has recently been traveling across the United States. During his travels, he’s popped into a number of notable gyms — including the home base of former UFC heavyweight champion Bas Rutten. Speaking on Submission Radio recently, Bas Rutten detailed what sounds like a pleasant visit with the international superstar Conor McGregor, and explained how the Irishman comports himself in the rare moments when the cameras aren’t rolling.

Drake Riggs - December 13, 2018

On November 9, the World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation (WBKFF) held their first ever bare-knuckle boxing event in Casper, Wyoming. The card featured numerous notable MMA fighters. Names included the likes of Chris Leben, Phil Baroni, and former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks.

Tom Taylor - November 16, 2018

Last weekend, World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation (WBKFF) hosted its first event. The sans gloves card, which went down in Casper, Wyoming, was headlined by a middleweight scrap between UFC veterans Chris Leben and Phil Baroni, and also featured a showdown between former UFC welterweight champ Johny Hendricks and Dakota Cochrane. Originally, this inaugural WBKFF card was supposed to include quite a few other big names, such as former NFL player Shawne Merriman and former Bellator star Brennan War. Unfortunately, both of these stars withdrew from the card citing contract issues — which was certainly not a good look for the upstart bare knuckle promotion.

Drake Riggs - August 10, 2018

Mixed martial arts is a very complex sport. When broken down and the layers are peeled back, all techniques come from someone or something. Every punch, every kick, every takedown… Anything that a coach has taught a fighter, that coach has been taught by their coach and so on. It then continues through the fighter and on and on.

Drake Riggs - May 4, 2018

When it comes to MMA legends, there are few quite like the former UFC heavyweight champion, ‘El Guapo’ Bas Rutten. Rutten captured the hearts of many throughout his mesmerizing run from 1993 to 1999 in Pancrase and the UFC as well as his super fun self-defense videos and commentary for PRIDE FC that followed his competitive career.

Justin Golightly - August 24, 2017

Bas Rutten is like that really cool uncle of MMA. He’s been everywhere, he’s done everything, and when you catch up with them, rest assured it’s going to be a blast and he’s going to have an awesome story to tell you. With Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather fighting in mere days, the guys over at Submission Radio got Bas Rutten on to talk about the historic event. El Guapo himself is rooting for McGregor all the way, and he thinks he can get the job done. Of course, we get treated to a tale from his past that relates to the situation. “Conor’s gonna knock him out within four rounds. That’s what I’m gonna say. I’m gonna stick with it. I want my corner with with Conor. And I know skills-wise [Mayweather is better], I know all that. Trust me, I’ve been fighting for a long time. You can call me an idiot, whatever they want. I’m just talking about all the mental aspects and everything there is. And if me committing to Conor is gonna give him a little bit of extra power mentally, so be it. I hope a lot of people are gonna do it because boy do I want to see Mayweather lose.”

Tom Taylor - April 2, 2017

Though nothing is confirmed just yet, it’s very possible that new UFC women’s featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie’s first title defense could be against destructive MMA superstar Cris “Cyborg” Justino. If this is indeed the way things unfold, De Randamie will likely enter the fight as a substantial underdog. According to beloved  MMA veteran Bas Rutten, however, De Randamie should not be discounted in this potential title fight. On a recent episode of The MMA Hour, the fighter-turned-commentator explained that he was impressed by De Randamie in her title-winning defeat of Holly Holm, and that he believes she stands a good chance against Cyborg.

bjpenndotcom - January 13, 2017

In June of 2016, during the UFC 199 broadcast, the UFC announced that former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar would be returning to the Octagon at UFC 200 in July to fight Mark Hunt, nearly 5 years after his last Octagon appearance. At the time of the announcement six months ago, no one could have guessed that the announcement of Lesnar’s return would result in a controversy that would still continue to this day. Leading up to the scrap, Lesnar was given an exemption from the first 3 months of random USADA drug testing. When USADA was able to test Lesnar, they did so numerous times in the span of just a few weeks. While there had been no reports of failed drug tests, it wasn’t until after Lesnar defeated Hunt that it was announced that Lesnar had failed a pre-fight, and fight night, drug test.

bjpenndotcom - October 7, 2016

Tomorrow night in Manchester, England, MMA veterans Vitor Belfort and Gegard Mousasi will step into the Octagon in the co-main event of UFC 204. Interestingly enough, while this is the first time the pair will step into the cage together, it isn’t the first time they have been booked to fight. Back in 2009, Affliction planned on hosting their third fight card, which was planned to play host to a scrap between Mousasi and Belfort, however the fight card was ultimately cancelled, and the promotion folded.

bjpenndotcom - April 23, 2016

Conor McGregor’s ongoing standoff with the UFC took another interesting turn yesterday as UFC President Dana White explained that the door is now closed for McGregor to fight at UFC 200.