From Bullied to Bold: A Martial Arts Journey

UFC Hall of Famer Bas Rutten on Fundamentals of Real Self-Defense, Savage Fight Stories, How He’s Handled Bullies, Breathing Techniques for Increasing Stamina and Endurance,The Art of Personal Reinvention, and Cultivating the Practice of Prayer | Brought to you by Maui Nui Venison wildly delicious venison, LinkedIn Jobs recruitment platform with 800M+ users, and Eight Sleep’s Pod Cover sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating.

Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten (@BasRuttenMMA) is a Dutch-American actor, former mixed martial artist, kickboxer, and professional wrestler. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion and a three-time King of Pancrase world champion, finishing his career on a 22-fight unbeaten streak with a strike accuracy of 70.6%, the highest ever recorded by FightMetric. 

Rutten was co-host of Inside MMA on AXS TV from 2007 to 2016, and he has been a color commentator in several MMA organizations, including Pride Fighting Championships. He has appeared in numerous television shows, movies, and video games as an actor and continues to be involved in MMA through his coaching and publishing of instructional materials. Bas became a naturalized American citizen in the late 1990s, and in 2015 he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

Please enjoy!

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[08:20] My first exposure to the unbridled might of Bas Rutten.

[10:03] Why is there such a strong martial arts tradition in the Netherlands?

[12:28] Breathlessness, Bruce Lee, bullies, and birds: a glimpse into Bas’s childhood.

[20:10] Why Bas walked out on a culinary career path and gave up modeling.

[23:28] How Pancrase entered the picture.

[33:08] Pancrase rules.

[35:47] Why Ken Shamrock is known as Wayne Shamrock in Japan.

[36:11] On fighting Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki.

[41:43] Underrated Japanese fighters.

[44:03] Remembering Pride, UFC’s Japanese predecessor.

[48:52] Pranks.

[54:17] Absolute monsters.

[57:44] Self-defense for beginners and bouncers.

[1:15:33] Why even professional fighters shouldn’t start street fights.

[1:17:15] Grand Theft Auto IV.

[1:19:28] Now a devout Catholic, Bas explains how the rosary is like meditation.

[1:32:06] Who picks fights with Bas Rutten these days?

[1:34:19] That time Bas got into a bar fight with five bouncers in Sweden.

[1:41:00] Re-learning how to breathe with the O2 Trainer.

[2:09:12] Parting thoughts.

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