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Bas Rutten's possible return!!!

1K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  Onganju 
#1 ·
I just read this from MMA Weekly...

Bas Rutten is a legend in the sport, boasting a 27-4-1 record. Is the 41-year-old contemplating a return to the ring?

When asked about the recent rumors that he’s coming back, Bas responded, "I think I’m interested, but I’m just training. I have so many injuries. I started training with those guys, and my injuries started going away. Right away, everything started to blow up. Everybody starts making assumptions and everything, but I’m just going to wait and see what happens with my body. I’m training for what, three weeks? I haven’t trained in three years, and haven’t fought in seven. I’m just working my body, just like this morning, I trained. From there, I’m just going to see."

Rutten continued, "It’s been a long time, but you know what? I sparred the first day... it was a terrible sparring session. The second and third day, I started dropping people with liver shots all over the place, so it came back so fast. The only thing, I’ve got to start rolling now. It will be my first roll workout... the rest of it is just power training, strengthening my arms and everything, so I’ll be in good shape for it."

Rutten's last fight was against Kevin Randleman in May of 1999 at UFC 20: Battle for the Gold, where he won by decision to capture the UFC Heavyweight Title.

Put on the spot by MMAWeekly’s Ryan Bennett and asked if he wants to fight again, Rutten answered, "Yeah, the itch is definitely there. I’ve got the bruises. My foot is swollen, and everything is back... and you know what? To tell you the truth, man, I missed that. I feel like I’m alive again. It’s really cool. I feel really good."

Bennett followed up by asking, "Give me your percentage of Bas coming back to fight between now and the end of the year." Rutten responded, "I think there’s a clear chance, like 80 to 90 percent. That’s good. If I keep going like I do now, I see no problems."

Bas added, "Randy [Couture] doing it, in a way made me say, 'Man, come on, man.' We're both going to open a gym next month. We just got the keys and everything. I said, 'I’ve just got to come back.'"

If Rutten does return to MMA competition, which organization might be choose for his comeback fight? Bas provided a not-so-subtle hint when he said, "What about Pat Miletich fighting Renzo Gracie in August? They’re going to fight in the IFL, and so the coaches are going to fight each other, and God knows, there are going to be four new coaches coming, and maybe I’m going to be fighting one of the other coaches."

It certainly sounds as if Bas Rutten will be making a return to MMA competition, and we'll keep you posted on his future plans as more details emerge.

I realy hope El Guapo returns to the ring.
 
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#5 ·
Bas could easily fight at 205. However, as eager as I am to see what he could do now, he would have to go through the paces to get back into things. The MMA scene has evolved greatly since he was UFC HW Champ, and the level of competition (and skill) has increased drastically since the inception of MMA.

He's been gone for a looonnnnggg time... Over 7 years to be exact. Many greats lose a lot being away from the ring in only a fraction of the amount of time.
 
#6 ·
Onganju said:
Bas could easily fight at 205. However, as eager as I am to see what he could do now, he would have to go through the paces to get back into things. The MMA scene has evolved greatly since he was UFC HW Champ, and the level of competition (and skill) has increased drastically since the inception of MMA.

He's been gone for a looonnnnggg time... Over 7 years to be exact. Many greats lose a lot being away from the ring in only a fraction of the amount of time.
I agree. He most likely will be fighting in the IFL if he does return, so the chances of a Rutten/Liddell match is pretty slim anyway. IFL will be a good place for him to get some tune-up fights though. That way we can see were he is at, now that he is getting up there in age.

Hearing that he is possibly coming back makes me think about what would have been if he had never left? All the great possible matchups we missed when that guy left is unreal.

Bas/Liddell, Couture, Belfort, Silva, Rua, Ortiz, Randleman 2, Vovchanchyn, Overeem and the list could go on...
 
#7 ·
Hearing that he is possibly coming back makes me think about what would have been if he had never left? All the great possible matchups we missed when that guy left is unreal.

Bas/Liddell, Couture, Belfort, Silva, Rua, Ortiz, Randleman 2, Vovchanchyn, Overeem and the list could go on...
Too true. But I believe if there was ever a time for Bas to get a away from Fighting, he did it at the best possible time. UFC was quickly reaching its plateau from its original inception and no one knew that it was about to be banned from PPV for almost 2 full years. Bas' credibility and entertaining personality made it easy for him to segue into commentating, writing and training other fighters. If he hadn't, would we be without the likes of Duane Ludwig or Genki Sudo (two of the most exciting/entertaining LWs in the world)? So I don't think he could've done so at any better time. Besides that, there really wasn't anyone else to fight worth noting (aside from Rickson Gracie who never faced Bas) at the time.

I do think it would have been more realistic for Bas to get back into the mix after only a 2 year lay-off. He'd still be in his physical prime. But, he's made a lot more money going the other route and hasn't had to worry about getting hurt or beaten in the mean time, so who can blame him?
 
#8 ·
It's Official

You've probably heard/read it by now. But according to this Bas is officially returning to the ring on July 22nd for the WFA: King of the Streets card. He's set to meet Kimo.

I'm eager to see this one (in fact, tickets are still available for this) but Bas has a lot of work to do, even if he feels he's "close to ring shape."
 
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