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Gilbert Yvel Tweets 
Gilbert "The Hurricane" Yvel (June 30, 1976-) is a Dutch mixed martial arts fighter. He is associated with the Vos Gym training camp in the Netherlands.
Yvel is known as an accomplished stand-up fighter, possessed of an unusual arsenal of strikes and kicks as befitting his Muay Thai training, and famous for his signature "flying knee" strike. Yvel's grappling is usually considered sub-par. Although he owns a few wins via submission, many of his losses were due to opponents taking him down and outwrestling or submitting him.
Yvel is infamous for his temper and lack of restraint. For example, in November 2004 during a fight with Atte Backman, he knocked the referee down and subsequently kicked him as he lay prone on the mat. Consequently, Yvel was disqualified from the match.
Prior to that incident, Yvel had been disqualified twice before; once against Karimula Barkalaev in May 1998 for biting, and again in September 2001, at PRIDE 16, in a bout with Don Frye. Several times during this match Yvel repeatedly raked his fingers across Frye's face and pushed his thumb into Frye's eyes to avoid being wrestled to the mat. Yvel also exhibited unsportsmanlike conduct toward referee Yuji Shimada, going so far as to assault him physically by pushing his head back with both hands after receiving his first yellow card, and refusing to restart the fight from ground. The official reason for this disqualification was continued holding of the ropes after repeated warnings.
These incidents have left Yvel with a reputation as a dirty and dishonorable fighter, which he apparently is not ashamed of as witnessed when he proudly marched out of the ring after a match in PRIDE holding his penalized card above his head with a smile.
Due to his aforementioned assault of a referee, as well as losses by disqualification in previous matches, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) rejected Yvel's application for a fighter's license. As a result, he was pulled from a scheduled fight with Sergei Kharitonov at PRIDE 33 in Las Vegas.
Yvel has signed a three-fight deal with Affliction Entertainment, starting with a fight against Josh Barnett at Affliction's January 24, 2009 "Day of Reckoning" event in Anaheim, California. Much controversy surrounded a hearing by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) as to whether to permit Yvel to fight at this event. Yvel was cleared to fight after he met privately with CSAC Assistant Executive Officer Bill Douglas and Chief Athletic Inspector Dean Lohuis three days prior to his scheduled fight with Josh Barnett, where it was determined that he was licensed to compete.
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