Gerard Gordeau

Gerard Gordeau (born 30 March 1956) 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 eight consecutive years, but foremost known internationally for his fight against Teila Tuli in the first televised Ultimate Fighting Championship bout on 12 November 1993.

Early life The second of six brothers, Gordeau lost his father when he was 11 and was forced to leave school in order to work for an income. He took up Karate at 16 by influence of an Indonesian friend at whose house Gordeau used to eat. Initially seeing it as just a hobby, Gordeau decided to train seriously after challenging and losing twice to an unassuming Japanese partner. After a year of training in several dojos, he sparred again with him and this time Gordeau won. and Judo.

Ultimate Fighting Championship In 1993, Gordeau was scouted to take part in UFC 1, the first event of Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event's organizers had sought several high-level fighters in Holland, among them Kickboxing champion Ernesto Hoost, but Gordeau was the only one available and willing to do it. As he had been a Savate champion the previous year, he was billed solely as a Savate artist. The Dutchman then took stance and threw a right roundhouse kick to Tuli's face, following with a right uppercut that cut Tuli's eye,

Victorious, Gordeau advanced to the next round, although the bout left him injured, as the kick had knocked out three of Tuli's teeth and two of them had been stuck in Gordeau's foot. The announcers claimed that the third tooth landed underneath their table, although other reports say it landed on the crowd. Gordeau's punch had broken his hand as well, and he came to the next fight with a noticeably swollen fist.

In an unrelated matter, Gordeau's debut caused a minor controversy because he appeared to do a Roman salute before the match, gaining him accusations of being a neo-nazi, but it was explained that he was actually doing the traditional savate salute. In fact, Gordeau had a Jewish ethnic background through his father, a Jewish man from France. His grandfather was also shot at the Amersfoort concentration camp for being part of the Dutch resistance.

His next fight was against Kickboxing champion Kevin Rosier, who outweighed Gordeau again by almost 100 pounds and was in slightly better health. Still, Gordeau dominated the fight easily, driving Rosier against the fence with multiple leg kicks and jabs while keeping distance. After half a minute of harassment, Gordeau pushed Rosier down to the mat with knee and elbow strikes to the head, forcing him to cover down shielding his face, but Gracie, after landing some palm strikes and headbutts, In 2012, Royce would visit Gordeau's dojo in The Hague to train, about which the Dutch fighter stated: "It was the first time after 20 years that we spoke. No hard feelings!"

Gordeau was pitted against the much lighter Shoot Wrestling exponent Yuki Nakai. Taking advantage of the ring they were fighting in, Gordeau grabbed the ropes to avoid takedowns and scored several strikes on Nakai through the first two rounds, including several illegal eye gouges when Nakai was down from a heel hook attempt. However, after a third round passed again on the ropes, Nakai scored a double leg takedown against the ring corner, escaped from a guillotine choke attempt by Gordeau, and dropped down for another heel hook, this time managing to submit the Dutchman after half an hour of fighting. Refusing to seek medical attention in order to continue in the tournament, Nakai lost the sight in his right eye from the gouge.

As with his fouls in UFC, Gordeau was unapologetic of his action, stating that he would do it again if he rematched Nakai. These claims attracted a great deal of criticism. In 2019, however, Gordeau revealed that he and Nakai had privately talked about it, and that Nakai had accepted his apologies and no longer harbored any ill feelings. Gordeau also praised Nakai's fighting spirit during the bout.

Gordeau, along with his brothers Al and Nico, owns the Dojo Kamakura in The Hague. He also trained Dutch K-1 fighter Mourad Bouzidi, along with Anil Dubar, and sometimes the Romanian champion Daniel Ghiță. Famous students are Cem Senol of the Dojo Osaka Netherlands, and Robert Pepels of the Ashigaru Honbu Dojo Netherlands and founder of the Ashigaru Ryu style. Gordeau runs an International Karate Organization together with Pepels, and teaches at camps and seminars worldwide.

Professional wrestling career UWF Newborn and RINGS (1988–1992) Gordeau had his debut in professional wrestling on 13 August 1988 in shoot style promotion UWF Newborn, losing a special match against Akira Maeda. He also competed in two bouts against Masaaki Satake and Mitsuya Nagai at "free fight" events held under RINGS.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1995–1999) In 1995, he took part in New Japan Pro-Wrestling's four-man Final Countdown BVD Tournament on January 4 at the Tokyo Dome during Battle 7. He lost his only match to eventual winner Antonio Inoki. Gordeau remained with Inoki as a trainer and wrestler for the Universal Fighting-Arts Organization, cornering Naoya Ogawa in several occasions.

He took part in the infamous 1.4 Incident, which occurred on 4 January 1999 at the Tokyo Dome, where UFO member Naoya Ogawa faced Shinya Hashimoto in a pro wrestling match. Gordeau was in Ogawa's corner along with Kazunari Murakami and Tiger Mask, and when Naoya turned the bout into a shoot by brutally striking Hashimoto, who had no idea what was going on, Gerard and his colleagues had to protect Ogawa from the NJPW crew in the subsequent brawl. Gordeau later criticized Ogawa's action.

Championships and accomplishments

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

Mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC 1 Tournament Runner Up (1993) UFC Encyclopedia Awards Knockout of the Night (One time) vs. Teila Tuli

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Yuki Nakai Submission (heel hook) Vale Tudo Japan 1995

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Royce Gracie Submission (rear-naked choke)

Win

Kevin Rosier TKO (corner stoppage)

Win

Teila Tuli TKO (head kick)

Kickboxing record (incomplete) Loss

Toshiyuki Atokawa Decision K-1 Illusion 1993 Karate World Cup

Osaka, Japan Loss

Adam Watt KO (right back blow) K-1 Illusion

Tokyo, Japan Win

Jokovic TKO Savate World Championship

Paris, France For Savate World Heavyweight Championship Win

Simon Bienvenu KO Savate World Championship

Toulouse, France Karate record Karate record Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time Record 1991-10-10 Win Masaaki Satake Karate World Cup '91 - All Japan Karate Championship Decision (Divided) 3 Legend: