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Bas Rutten Tweets 
Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten (born February 24, 1965) is a retired Dutch mixed martial artist (MMA) and kickboxer. He was the UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three time King of Pancrase, and finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak (21 wins, 1 draw). One of his favorite tactics was the liver shot, and he popularized its use in MMA.
Rutten is known for his charisma and has capitalized on his celebrity 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.Bas then began his professional MMA career with the Pancrase organization in Japan. In 1993, Japanese pro wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki traveled to Holland to scout fighters for their new "hybrid wrestling" (Bushido wrestling) organization, featuring submission fighting, but with no closed fisted strikes to the face. A precursor to what would become modern mixed martial arts, the organization was the first of its kind, and featured such early MMA names as Frank Shamrock, Vernon White, Maurice Smith, Ken Shamrock, and Guy Mezger.
His lack (at that time) of ground-fighting experience led to early defeats at the hands of Masakatsu Funaki and the then "King of Pancrase" Ken Shamrock, and more controversially losing to Frank Shamrock by way of a split judge's decision, Rutten would come back in 1995 and be dealt another loss from Ken Shamrock, but would go on to beat the previously undefeated Minoru Suzuki and win his first "King of Pancrase" title. Avenging his losses to both Frank Shamrock and Masakatsu Funaki in 1996, he went on to defeat both Jason Delucia and Guy Mezger and in so doing became a three time "King of Pancrase." In 1996, he relinquished his title, in order to be present for the birth of his second daughter. Bas returned to Pancrase, taking 8 more victories, bringing his winning streak up to 19 straight fights.
In 1998, Rutten signed with the UFC, the biggest MMA promotion in the United States. His first fight in the UFC was against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka at UFC 18, which Rutten won by KO. Next he faced Kevin Randleman for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 20. This fight went into overtime, with Rutten taking a close decision victory to become the UFC Heavyweight Champion. Bas vacated the title later in the year, in order to drop down to middleweight (his natural weight class), and try to become the first person to hold a UFC title in two weight classes.
While training for his next UFC fight in 1999, Rutten suffered multiple serious injuries, including blowing out his knee (a long running injury), and tearing his biceps. He was forced to retire from MMA competition for the time being, by doctors orders.
During his MMA career he became known for two particular things: his fondness of liver shots and his habit of doing a "Rutten Jump" (jumping split) after winning a fight.
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