Gilbert Yvel

Gilbert Yvel (born 30 June 1976) is a Dutch professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 1997, Yvel competed in the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Affliction, the UFC, Road FC, the RFA, RINGS, M-1 Challenge, Cage Rage, K-1, and Showtime promotions. He is the former RINGS Openweight Champion.

Background Yvel was born in the Netherlands to parents of Surinamese and Haitian descent. He was raised as an orphan in the neighborhood of the Bijlmermeer in Amsterdam. He was promoted to black belt in BJJ in 2024 by Remco Pardoel. He then would fly back to Holland in order to face Semmy Schilt in an interpromotional match. The bout was particularly intriguing because Schilt belonged to Pancrase, RINGS's rival promotion in Japan.

The fight was met under special rules, with Gilbert keeping his gloves for punching while Schilt preferred to go barehanded and use open palm strikes like it was done in Pancrase. Although Schilt was considered a heavy favourite, sporting a huge advantage in both weight and height and boasting victories over Masakatsu Funaki and Guy Mezger, Yvel proved himself at the first minutes of the match by scoring a shocking knockdown on Schilt by a flurry of hooks. The Pancrase fighter recovered with knees to the body and took Yvel down repeatedly in an attempt to submit him, but the ruleset's quick stand-ups and Yvel's own defensive acumen impeded any advance in this field. Meanwhile, while Schilt still won the earlier stand-up exchanges, Yvel eventually took over and bloodied Schilt's eye with punches and a possible eye gouge which was dismissed by the referee. At the end of several grinding assaults, Yvel overpowered Schilt and landed a long series of unanswered punches, finally knocking Schilt out on his feet for the victory.

In his return to Japan, Yvel was scheduled in a rematch with Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. This time, however, Yvel was forced to spend a rope escape by an early toehold, and shortly after had to defend on the ground after being thrown down by the judo specialist. With Gilbert behind on points, the match was stood up, but then it was suddenly stopped when Kohsaka, trying another judo throw, made both them fall outside the ring and was rendered injured by the fall. The bout was declared no contest, but as Yvel had lost a point while Kohsaka hadn't lost any of them, the Japanese was controversially declared winner by points.

In December 1999, Yvel qualified for the King of Kings world tournament. He eliminated karate champion Tariel Bitsadze by armbar on the first round, and went to avenge his defeat to Kohsaka in the second, stopping him by a cut caused by a grazing punch. Yvel would face eventual winner Dan Henderson in his block's final match. The American controlled the wrestling and seemed to have an armbar locked, but Yvel rolled out of it and utilized a strategy consistent on trying to strike between takedown and takedown. In one of those instances, he got a yellow card for landing an illegal elbow to Henderson's spine. At the end, although Yvel landed solid shots, he couldn't finish Henderson and was eliminated by unanimous decision.

Yvel's last bout in RINGS would be against Kiyoshi Tamura in a match for the RINGS Openweight Championship. Again, Yvel was taken down and positionally controlled on the mat, but he resisted successfully Tamura's scarce submission attempts and knocked him out via eye pokes and groin kicks. He won the title, but was forced to vacate it shortly after due to signing up with PRIDE.

Affliction In 2008 Yvel signed a three-fight deal with Affliction Entertainment, his first and only fight on the contract was against Josh Barnett at Affliction's 24 January 2009 "Day of Reckoning" event in Anaheim, California before Affliction abandoned MMA promotion. During the fight, Yvel showed great resilience against his wrestling opponent and kept an active guard which prevented Barnett from submitting him in the first two rounds, until Yvel finally succumbed to punches at the 3:05 mark of the third round.

Yvel was scheduled to fight Chris Gathers at Affliction: Trilogy, a fight which never materialized due to the folding of the promotion.

Ultimate Fighting Championship Yvel fought up-and-coming Brazilian Heavyweight Junior dos Santos at UFC 108 replacing Gabriel Gonzaga for the bout on 2 January. Yvel lost the fight, with Herb Dean stopping the fight at 2:07 in the first round due to strikes. Yvel protested the stoppage but congratulated Dos Santos for winning the fight moments later.

Yvel next faced Ben Rothwell at UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin. Yvel lost by unanimous decision (30–27, 29–28, and 29–28).

Yvel then faced Jon Madsen on 23 October 2010 at UFC 121, replacing an injured Todd Duffee. Both men circled early on in the fight before Madsen shot for a double-leg takedown that downed Yvel after Gilbert slipped when his knee buckled, they ended up against the cage. Madsen then hit Yvel multiple times when Yvel's head was pressed up against the Octagon padding, resulting in the referee stopping the fight. Yvel was subsequently released from his UFC contract after the loss.

Post UFC Yvel was scheduled to face former King of the Cage champion Tony Lopez in a PRIDE rules bout at Colosseo Championship Fighting 6: Bushido on 23 July 2011. However, the event was postponed and was then scheduled take place on 3 September. The event was subsequently canceled.

Gilbert Yvel cut down to 205-pounds to compete in the Light-Heavyweight division for Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA). He was successful in his debut in this weight class, defeating Damian Dantibo at RFA 1 – Pulver vs. Elliott. The event took place on Friday, 16 December 2011 at the Viaero Event Center in Kearney, Nebraska. On 30 March 2012, Yvel faced Houston Alexander at RFA 2 – Yvel vs. Alexander, winning by first-round knockout.

Yvel was scheduled to fight against fellow UFC veteran and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion Marcio Cruz on 2 November 2012 at Resurrection Fighting Alliance 4 in Las Vegas, Nevada. but he was forced out of the bout due to an injury.

Yvel announced his retirement in an interview with Ground and Pound TV. He plans to become a trainer at Agoge MMA in Germany.

Yvel also has fought two kickboxing matches, losing to Ray Sefo and beating Yuji Sakuragi.

Bad conduct and subsequent rehabilitation Yvel has acquired, through a number of instances, a lingering reputation in the MMA community for his temper and poor sportsmanship in the ring earlier in his career.

In his May 1998 bout with Karimula Barkalaev, Yvel was disqualified for biting his opponent.

Yvel's 2009 Affliction match-up with Josh Barnett was scheduled to take place in California. Again, because of his past behaviour, there was debate over whether he should be allowed to have a fight license. After taking the unusual step of arranging a personal meeting between Yvel, Assistant Executive Officer Bill Douglas and Chief Athletic Inspector Dean Lohuis, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) did license him to fight there.

Championships and accomplishments Mixed martial arts Fighting Network RINGS RINGS Openweight Championship (One time) International Mix-Fight Association 1998 KO Power Tournament Runner Up M-1 Global 1997 M-1 MFC Light Heavyweight World Championship Tournament Winner World Vale Tudo Championship WVC Superfight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record Win

Mighty Mo Technical Submission (armbar) Road FC 047

Beijing, China Win

Ricco Rodriguez TKO (leg kicks) Akhmat Fight Show 31

Grozny, Russia Win

Houston Alexander KO (punch) RFA 2

Kearney, Nebraska, United States Win

Damian Dantibo TKO (submission to punches) RFA 1

Kearney, Nebraska, United States Loss

Jon Madsen TKO (punches) UFC 121

Anaheim, California, United States Loss

Ben Rothwell Decision (unanimous) UFC 115

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Loss

Junior dos Santos TKO (punches) UFC 108

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Pedro Rizzo KO (punches) Fight Force International: Ultimate Chaos

Biloxi, Mississippi, United States Loss

Josh Barnett TKO (submission to punches) Affliction: Day of Reckoning

Anaheim, California, United States Win

Alexander Timonov TKO (punches) M-1 Challenge 9

Saint Petersburg, Russia Win

Sergey Shemetov Submission (toe hold) K.O. Events: Tough Is Not Enough 2008

Rotterdam, Netherlands Win

Michał Kita KO (punch) Gentlemen Fight Night 5

Tilburg, Netherlands Win

Hakim Gouram KO (punch) K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Amsterdam

Amsterdam, Netherlands Win

Akira Shoji TKO (punches) Pride 34

Saitama, Japan Win

Rodney Glunder KO (punches) 2 Hot 2 Handle: Pride and Honour

Rotterdam, Netherlands Win

Fabiano Scherner TKO (punches) Cage Rage 17

London, England Loss

Roman Zentsov KO (punch) Pride Total Elimination Absolute

Osaka, Japan Win

Valentijn Overeem Submission (armbar) It's Showtime 13

Amsterdam, Netherlands Loss

Ikuhisa Minowa Submission (toe hold) Pride Bushido 6

Yokohama, Japan Loss

Atte Backman DQ (Yvel attacked referee) Fight Festival 12

Helsinki, Finland Win

Cheick Kongo TKO (punches) It's Showtime 10

Amsterdam, Netherlands Draw

Daniel Tabera Draw (unanimous) M-1: Russia vs. The World 7

Saint Petersburg, Russia Loss

Jeremy Horn Decision (unanimous) Pride 21

Saitama, Japan Win

Bob Schrijber TKO (doctor stoppage) 2 Hot 2 Handle: Simply The Best 4

Rotterdam, Netherlands Win

Ibragim Magomedov Submission (rear-naked choke) M-1: Russia vs. the World 2

Saint Petersburg, Russia Loss

Don Frye DQ (eye gouging) Pride 16

Osaka, Japan Loss

Igor Vovchanchyn Submission (rear-naked choke) Pride 14

Yokohama, Japan Win

Carlos Barreto KO (flying knee) 2 Hot 2 Handle: Simply The Best 2

Rotterdam, Netherlands Loss

Kazuyuki Fujita Decision (unanimous) Pride 12

Saitama, Japan NC

Wanderlei Silva NC (Yvel kicked in groin) Pride 11

Osaka, Japan Win

Gary Goodridge KO (head kick) Pride 10

Tokorozawa, Japan Loss

Vitor Belfort Decision (unanimous) Pride 9

Nagoya, Japan Win

Kiyoshi Tamura TKO (punches) Rings Japan: Millennium Combine 1

Tokyo, Japan Win

Brian Dunn TKO (punches) 2 Hot 2 Handle: Simply The Best 1

Rotterdam, Netherlands Loss

Dan Henderson Decision (unanimous) Rings Japan: King of Kings 1999 Final

Tokyo, Japan Win

Joop Kasteel KO (palm strikes) Rings Holland: There Can Only Be One Champion

Utrecht, Netherlands Win

Tsuyoshi Kohsaka TKO (doctor stoppage)

Win

Tariel Bitsadze Submission (armbar)

Win

Dennis Reed KO (flying knee) International Mix Fight Association: Amsterdam Absolute 2

Amsterdam, Netherlands Win

Fabio Piamonte TKO (punches) World Vale Tudo Championship 9

Oranjestad, Aruba Loss

Tsuyoshi Kohsaka Technical Decision (points) Rings Japan: Rise 5

Yokohama, Japan Win

Semmy Schilt KO (punches) Rings Holland: The Kings of the Magic Ring

Utrecht, Netherlands Win

Tsuyoshi Kohsaka TKO (doctor stoppage) Rings Japan: Rise 2

Osaka, Japan Win

Todd Medina KO (knee) World Vale Tudo Championship

Oranjestad, Aruba Win

Big Mo T KO (flying knee) Rings Holland: Judgement Day

Amsterdam, Netherlands Win

Lee Hasdell TKO (doctor stoppage) Rings Holland: The Thialf Explosion

Heerenveen, Netherlands Win

Valentijn Overeem TKO (shoulder injury) Rings Holland: Who's the Boss

Utrecht, Netherlands Loss

Karimula Barkalaev DQ (biting) International Absolute Fighting Council: Pankration European Championship 1998

Moscow, Russia Loss

Bob Schrijber KO (punches and soccer kick)

Win

Algirdas Darulis TKO (knockdowns)

Win

Bob Schrijber Submission (achilles lock) Rings Holland: The King of Rings

Amsterdam, Netherlands Win

Bas Jussen KO Red Devil Free Fight 2

Amsterdam, Netherlands Win

Oleg Tsygolnik KO (punch)

Win

Sergei Tunic KO (punches)

Win

Pedro Palm TKO Alkmaar Fight Night: Fight Gala

Bergen, Netherlands Win

Vyacheslav Kiselyov TKO (knees) Red Devil Free Fight 1

Amsterdam, Netherlands Win

Leon Dijk KO (knee) Rings Holland: Utrecht at War

Utrecht, Netherlands Win

Rob van Leeuwen TKO (corner stoppage) Rings Holland: The Final Challenge

Amsterdam, Netherlands Kickboxing record Win Yuji Sakuragi Shoot Boxing Battle Summit "Ground Zero Tokyo, Japan TKO (3 Knockdowns)

1–1 Loss Ray Sefo K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 in Fukuoka Fukuoka, Japan KO (Low Kicks)

0–1