Remco Pardoel (born May 23, 1969) is a retired

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

. He competed in the heavyweight division. He has fought in promotions such as the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Shooto Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the ''Shooto Association'' and the ''International Shooto Commission''. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 198 ...

and

Pancrase Pancrase Inc. is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the Ancient Olympic Games. Suzuki and Funaki pr ...

. He was a junior national champion in Judo in 1988, and a competitive BJJ grappler. He made his MMA debut at UFC 2, eventually losing to

Royce Gracie Royce Gracie (; born 12 December 1966) is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer, and a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A member of the Gracie family, he is considered to be one of the most influential figures ...

. Over the course of his career he fought Vernon White,

Minoru Suzuki (born June 17, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a freelancer. In NJPW, Suzuki has held the IWGP Intercontinental Championship as well as twice hol ...

, and

Marco Ruas Marco Antônio de Lima Ruas (; born 23 January 1961) is a Brazilian former mixed martial arts fighter, Submission Wrestler, Kickboxer and instructor. Ruas was the UFC 7 Tournament Champion, and also competed for the World Vale Tudo Championsh ...

Early career

Pardoel began his martial arts career at age 4 when he first began training in

Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

. At age 7, he began training in

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

and took up traditional

Jiu-Jitsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdu ...

at age 11. He won gold at the 1988 Junior National Judo Championships in the

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, followed by a number of Ju Jitsu titles across

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. He became Ju Jitsu world champion in 1993 when the sport's first World Championship was held in

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. There, he met Fabio Gurgel, Romero Cavalcanti, Sylvio Behring and other fighters, who taught him some of the sport's techniques. He would invite the Brazilian team to the Netherlands, and so Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was introduced in Europe, in his hometown of Oss, starting in November 1993.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In 1994, Pardoel was invited to

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

at its event

UFC 2 ''The Ultimate Fighting Championship Part II'' (later renamed ''UFC 2: No Way Out'') was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 11, 1994, at Mammoth Gardens in Denver, Colorado, United States. The e ...

in United States. Cornered by

UFC 1 ''The Ultimate Fighting Championship'' (later renamed ''UFC 1: The Beginning'') was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, United States, on November ...

finalist

Gerard Gordeau Gerard Gordeau (born March 30, 1955) is a Dutch former Savateur, Karateka, Kickboxer, and mixed martial artist. He is the 1991 World Champion Savate and holder of the Dutch Champion Karate title for 8 consecutive years, but foremost known inte ...

, Remco was billed as a Jiu-Jitsu fighter, and was pitted in the first round of the tournament against Alberto Cerro León, a Spanish Pencak Silat practitioner. The bout was long and violent, as although Pardoel threw León to the ground early, the Spaniard resisted his armlock attempts and even tried an illegal

fish hook A fish hook or fishhook, formerly also called angle (from Old English ''angol'' and Proto-Germanic ''*angulaz''), is a hook used to catch fish either by piercing and embedding onto the inside of the fish mouth (angling) or, more rarely, by impal ...

in repeated occasions. John McCarthy, ''Let's Get It On!: The Making of MMA and Its Ultimate Referee'' At the end, Pardoel submitted him with a

sode guruma jime ("sleeve wheel constriction") is a type of Judo chokehold (''shime-waza''), which compresses the opponent’s trachea or the carotid arteries. Technique The technique can be executed from a variety of positions, but is generally performed by ...

. The Dutch fighter was later quoted as: "Alberto was the reason to enter the UFC for me… In Europe, the guys from Pencak Silat and

Wing Chun Wing Chun (Chinese: 詠春 or 咏春, lit. "singing spring"), sometimes spelled Ving Tsun, is a concept-based fighting art, form of Southern Chinese kung fu and close-quarters system of self-defense. In Mandarin, it is pronounced "Yong Chun. ...

are badmouthing all other styles by saying and writing that they are invincible, which hey'renot. So the best way to prove that they are wrong is to challenge them." Pardoel advanced to the next round and fought Muay Thai fighter Orlando Wiet in a memorable match. The heavier Pardoel executed a hip throw and pinned Wiet on the mat with ura gatame. After some hesitation, the Jiu-Jitsu champion then proceeded to land seven brutal

elbow strike An elbow strike (commonly referred to as simply an elbow) is a strike with the point of the elbow, the part of the forearm nearest to the elbow, or the part of the upper arm nearest to the elbow. Elbows can be thrown sideways similarly to a hook ...

s on Wiet's temple, resulting in a knockout. Wiet was actually rendered unconscious after the second blow, and Pardoel himself had to speak to the referee in order to get the match stopped. The Dutch contender went to the semi-finals to face UFC 1 winner

, another Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu exponent. Seconds into the match, Royce captured Pardoel's back while standing, tripped him down and performed a gi choke, making Remco tap out. He returned to UFC in September 1995 at the event

UFC 7 ''UFC 7: The Brawl in Buffalo'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 8, 1995, at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and l ...

. His first opponent would be

Karateka (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fujian ...

Ryan Parker, whom he defeated in swift fashion by throwing him down, pinning him with kesa gatame and locking a

mounted Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, Co ...

Ezekiel choke. The Dutchman advanced to meet

Luta Livre Luta Livre (, lit. ''freestyle fighting''), known in Brazil as Luta Livre Brasileira (lit. ''Brazilian freestyle fighting'') or Luta Livre Submission, and also Brazilian Submission Wrestling, is a Brazilian martial arts and combat sport created ...

legend

, also the eventual winner. Pardoel got a

guillotine choke The guillotine choke, also known as Mae Hadaka Jime (前裸絞, "front naked choke"; compare to a rear naked choke) in judo, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from in front of the opponent, often on the ground but can also be done while stan ...

early, but Ruas escaped via foot

stomp Stomp may refer to: *Stomp (strike), a downwards kick using the heel Music and dance * ''Stomp'' (album), by Big D and the Kids Table, 2013 * Stomp (jazz), a type of rhythmic jazz tune popular in the 1920s *Stomp (theatrical show), a percussive p ...

s and they both met on the ground, where the Brazilian tried a straight-ankle lock to no avail. After some minutes of struggle, Ruas mounted Pardoel, and the latter opted to tap out. Pardoel would later claim that Ruas was using some sort of body oil or lubricant to hinder his hold. It would be Pardoel's last appearance in UFC.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 9–6–1 (2) , Tengiz Tedoradze , TKO (submission to punches) , EF 1: Genesis , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:44 ,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England , , - , NC , align=center, 9–5–1 (2) , Roger Godinez , No Contest , GC 11: Gladiator Challenge 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:17 ,

San Jacinto, California San Jacinto ( ; ; Spanish for " St. Hyacinth") is a city in Riverside County, California. It is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet to its south and Beaumont, California, to its north. The mountains associated with ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–5–1 (1) , Mark Smith , Decision , CW 1: Cage Wars 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:00 ,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 9–4–1 (1) , Glen Brown , Submission (scarf hold) , UKMMAC 1: Sudden Impact , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:00 ,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England , , - , Draw , align=center, 8–4–1 (1) , Herman van Tol , Draw , Rings Holland: No Guts, No Glory , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, North Holland, Netherlands , , - , Win , align=center, 8–4 (1) , Marc Emmanuel , Decision (unanimous) , Rings Holland: Heroes Live Forever , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

, Netherlands , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–4 (1) , Roman Savochka , TKO (submission to strikes) , IAFC: Pankration World Championship 2000 ay 2, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:00 ,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3 (1) , John Dixson , Submission (headlock) , AAC 2: Amsterdam Absolute Championship 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 8:15 ,

, North Holland, Netherlands , , - , Win , align=center, 6–3 (1) , Michailis Deligiannakis , Submission (keylock) , WVC 8: World Vale Tudo Championship 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:20 , Aruba , , - , Win , align=center, 5–3 (1) , John Dixson , Submission (choke) , AAC 1: Amsterdam Absolute Championship 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:16 ,

, North Holland, Netherlands , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–3 (1) ,

, Submission (position) , rowspan=2, UFC 7: The Brawl in Buffalo , rowspan=2, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 12:27 , rowspan=2,

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–2 (1) , Ryan Parker , Submission (lapel choke) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:05 , , - , NC , align=center, 3–2 (1) , Carl Franks , No Contest , Shooto: Complete Vale Tudo Access , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 8:00 , Omiya, Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–2 ,

, KO (punch) , Pancrase: Road To The Championship 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 7:16 ,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Vernon White , TKO (lost points) , Pancrase: Road To The Championship 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 14:24 ,

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, Hyogo, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 ,

, Submission (lapel choke) , rowspan=3, UFC 2: No Way Out , rowspan=3, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:31 , rowspan=3,

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Orlando Wiet , KO (elbows) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:29 , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Alberto Cerra Leon , Submission (forearm choke) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 9:51 ,

Submission grappling record

KO PUNCHES , - style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;" , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Result , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Method , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Event , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Round , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Time , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , - , Loss, , Ricardo Liborio , , Submission (armbar) , , World Jiu-jitsu Championship, , 1996, , , , , , , -

References

External links