Gerard Gordeau is a retired Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 savate

Savate

Savate , also known as boxe française, French boxing, French kickboxing or French footfighting, is a French martial art which uses the hands and feet as weapons combining elements of western boxing with graceful kicking techniques. Only foot kicks are allowed unlike some systems such as Muay...

ur, karate

Karate

is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...

ka, and mixed martial artist

Mixed martial arts

Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

. He is the 1991 World Champion Savate and holder of the Dutch Champion Kyokushin Karate title for 8 consecutive years, but foremost known internationally for his fight against Teila Tuli in the first televised Ultimate Fighting Championship

UFC 1

The Ultimate Fighting Championship was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship , held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, on November 12, 1993...

 bout on 12 November 1993.

Mixed martial arts career

Gordeau had fought in several no-holds-barred matches in his native Netherlands and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, including two bouts against Masaaki Satake

Masaaki Satake

is a Japanese former super heavyweight karateka, kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He was one of the pioneering heavyweight fighters in K-1, after being a member of Kazuyoshi Ishii's Seido-Kaikan school and organization.-Biography and career:...

 and Mitsuya Nagai at "free fight" events held under the then professional wrestling promotion

Professional wrestling promotion

A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...

 RINGS

Fighting Network RINGS

Fighting Network Rings, trademarked as RINGS, is a Japanese combat sport promotion that has lived three distinct periods; puroresu promotion from its inauguration to 1995, mixed martial arts promotion from 1995 to its 2002 disestablishment, and the revived mixed martial arts promotion from 2008 to...

 as well as a shoot style bout with Akira Maeda

Akira Maeda

is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, also known as Kwik-kik-Lee for his time on the British Wrestling show World of Sport. He helped develop the shoot-style of professional wrestling during the late 1980s....

 under the Newborn UWF

Universal Wrestling Federation (Japan)

The original Japanese-based Universal Wrestling Federation was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion from 1984 to 1986, formed by wrestlers who had left New Japan Pro Wrestling. It was a pioneer in the shoot-style of pro-wrestling, which emphasized realistic moves. It was revived as the...

.

Gordeau's Ultimate Fighting Championship match with Teila Tuli lasted only 26 seconds and was stopped after Gordeau knocked out three of Tuli's teeth with a kick. The event announcers claimed that the tooth landed underneath their table, the other two were embedded in Gordeau's foot for the remainder of the show, due to the UFC doctors not wanting Gordeau to have an open wound in his foot. Gordeau also broke his own hand on Tuli's head after the kick. Despite the injury, he fought twice more that night. After winning his second match against Kevin Rosier

Kevin Rosier

Kevin Rosier is an American former kickboxer, boxer and mixed martial artist. He had much success as a kickboxer, winning a number of titles, but did not transition particularly well into the world of boxing and was mostly seen as a journeyman fighter...

, Gordeau lost to Royce Gracie

Royce Gracie

Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...

 in the championship bout. During the bout, while Gordeau was in Gracie's guard, he allegedly bit Gracie's ear in an intentional foul. However Gracie still managed to submit Gordeau to win the fight and tournament.

Gordeau was a trainer for UFC 2

UFC 2

UFC 2: No Way Out was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 11, 1994, at Mammoth Gardens in Denver, Colorado...

 semifinalist Remco Pardoel in 1994. He became notorious as a "dirty fighter", again using illegal tactics with the intentional eye-gouge of Yuki Nakai

Yuki Nakai

is a retired Japanese shooto practitioner and mixed martial artist. He currently teaches Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is the president of the Japan Shooto Association. He competed in Vale Tudo Japan 1995, where he was outweighed by every opponent in the tournament...

 in the 1995 Japan Vale Tudo

Vale tudo

Vale tudo are full-contact unarmed combat events, with a limited number of rules, that became popular in Brazil during the 20th century. Vale tudo has been considered a combat sport by some observers...

. Nakai went on to beat Gordeau by submission, but lost sight in his right eye from the gouge.
Fully half of Gordeau's losses in mixed martial arts come via disqualification.

Professional wrestling career

In 1995, he took part in New Japan Pro Wrestling

New Japan Pro Wrestling

is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...

's four-man Final Countdown BVD Tournament on January 4 at the Tokyo Dome during Battle 7. He lost his match to eventual winner Antonio Inoki

Antonio Inoki

is a Japanese professional wrestling promoter and retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist who now resides between New York City and Tokyo. He was also the founder and former owner of New Japan Pro Wrestling before selling his controlling share in the promotion to Yukes...

.

Since his retirement from MMA, Gordeau has participated in various puroresu events, the last one of which was held at Pro Wrestling Zero1 Yasukuni Shrine

Yasukuni Shrine

is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is dedicated to the soldiers and others who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan. Currently, its Symbolic Registry of Divinities lists the names of over 2,466,000 enshrined men and women whose lives were dedicated to the service of...

 Festival on 11 April 2010 where he teamed with Ryouji Sai

Ryouji Sai

is a Japanese professional wrestler contracted to Pro Wrestling Zero1, where he is a former two-time World Heavyweight Champion.-Career:...

.

Kamakura dojo

Gordeau, along with his brothers Al and Nico, owns the Kamakura dojo

Dojo

A is a Japanese term which literally means "place of the way". Initially, dōjōs were adjunct to temples. The term can refer to a formal training place for any of the Japanese do arts but typically it is considered the formal gathering place for students of any Japanese martial arts style to...

 in The Hague

The Hague

The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

. He also trains the current Dutch K-1 fighter Mourad Bouzidi

Mourad Bouzidi

Mourad "The Silent Power" Bouzidi is Dutch–Tunisian heavyweight kickboxer, fighting out of Team Kamakura/Team Aerts in The Hague, Netherlands. He is the current Dutch Heavyweight W.F.C.A. kickboxing champion....

, along with Anil Dubar, a Muay Thai

Muay Thai

Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...

 fighter. Gerard Gordeau, Anil Dubar and Mourad Bouzidi are also known as the golden three due to their successes in the international kickboxing scene and K-1 in particular.

Accomplishments and titles

• 9th dan Kyokushinkai Karate (Budo Kaikan)
• 7th dan Sei Budo Kai
• 4th dan Kyokushinkai Karate (NKA)
• 2nd dan Full-Contact Karate (USA)
• Highest degree Savate (Boxe Francaise)
• 4th dan Oyama Karate
• Eight time Dutch Champion Kyokushin Karate
• Competed at the World Championships Kyokushin Karate (1979, 1983, 1987)
• Savate World Heavyweight Champion (1991)
• Three time Savate European Heavyweight Champion
• UFC 1 Tournament Finalist (1993)

Mixed martial arts record

|-
|Loss
|align=center|3-4
|   Yuki Nakai

Yuki Nakai

is a retired Japanese shooto practitioner and mixed martial artist. He currently teaches Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is the president of the Japan Shooto Association. He competed in Vale Tudo Japan 1995, where he was outweighed by every opponent in the tournament...

| Submission (heel hook)
| Vale Tudo Japan 1995
|
|align=center|4
|align=center|2:41
|Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|3-3
|   Royce Gracie

Royce Gracie

Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...

| Submission (rear naked choke)
| UFC 1

UFC 1

The Ultimate Fighting Championship was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship , held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, on November 12, 1993...

|
|align=center|1
|align=center|1:44
|Denver, Colorado

Denver, Colorado

The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

, U.S.
|For UFC 1 Championship
|-
|Win
|align=center|3-2
|   Kevin Rosier

Kevin Rosier

Kevin Rosier is an American former kickboxer, boxer and mixed martial artist. He had much success as a kickboxer, winning a number of titles, but did not transition particularly well into the world of boxing and was mostly seen as a journeyman fighter...

| TKO (corner stoppage)
| UFC 1

UFC 1

The Ultimate Fighting Championship was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship , held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, on November 12, 1993...

|
|align=center|1
|align=center|0:59
|Denver, Colorado

Denver, Colorado

The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

, U.S.
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|2-2
|   Teila Tuli
| TKO (soccer kick)
| UFC 1

UFC 1

The Ultimate Fighting Championship was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship , held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, on November 12, 1993...

|
|align=center|1
|align=center|0:26
|Denver, Colorado

Denver, Colorado

The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

, U.S.
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|1-2
|   Masaaki Satake

Masaaki Satake

is a Japanese former super heavyweight karateka, kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He was one of the pioneering heavyweight fighters in K-1, after being a member of Kazuyoshi Ishii's Seido-Kaikan school and organization.-Biography and career:...

| DQ (punches after the break)
| Rings - Mega Battle I
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|2:13
|Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|1-1
|   Mitsuya Nagai
| Submission (guillotine choke)
| Rings - Astral Step Final
|
|align=center|4
|align=center|0:34
|Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|0-1
|   Dick Veldhuis
| DQ (elbows after the break)
| MTBN
|
|align=center|1
|?
|Amsterdam, Netherlands
|

Kickboxing record

(incomplete)

|-
|Loss
|align=center|27-6
|   Toshiyuki Atokawa
| Decision
| K-1 Illusion 1993 Karate World Cup
|
|align=center|N/A
|align=center|N/A
|Osaka, Japan
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|27-5
|   Adam Watt

Adam Watt

Adam Watt is an Australian former boxer and kickboxer. He has studied kickboxing, Seido-kaikan karate, and boxing. He has been called the "Aussie Sniper" and later "Lights Out" because of his high level karate and boxing skills, and one punch knock out power...

| KO (spinning back fist)
| K-1 Illusion
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|2:07
|Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|27-4
|   Jokovic
| TKO
| Savate World Championship
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|0:01
|Paris, France
|For Savate World Heavyweight Championship
|-
|Win
|align=center|26-4
|   Simon Bienvenu
| KO
| Savate World Championship
|
|align=center|?
|align=center|?
|Toulouse, France
|

External links

• Profile at K-1
  K-1
  K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...