We’re back with the final installment of the Bas Rutten GIFathon. We left off with Rutten’s second victory over Maurice Smith, but the big story was his second loss to Ken Shamrock. That fight marked the first and only time in his career where Bas was unable to avenge a loss. Bas credits that defeat for inspiring him to shore up the holes in his ground game. Up to that point, his only losses came via submission and he was tired of it. After Pancrase: Eyes of the Beast 2, Rutten began training grappling twice a day, seven days a week until he was satisfied with his skillset.
The feature fight on this one is his 3rd fight against Frank Shamrock. Before Pancrase: Truth 5, the two were 1-1. In the first fight, Shamrock picked up a unanimous decision. Bas responded with a split decision in the second tilt. The rubber match would answer the remaining questions. They battled back and forth with Shamrock looking to gain the advantage on the ground as Bas tried to punish him on the feet. Two iconic MMA moments emerged from this fight. First, in an attempt to take Rutten down, Shamrock tackled him through the ropes sending them both falling out of the ring. Second, whie struggling to secure a leglock, Frank started taunting Bas who was hitting him in the face. Finally losing his composure, Bas closed his fist on his next strike and lost a point because of the illegal maneuver. In the end, Bas pulled out the victory after opening a cut above Frank’s eye.
Bas went unbeaten in the remaining 12 fights of his career, including a UFC 20 win over Kevin Randleman to win the heavyweight title. While training for his next fight, in what would be his Middleweight (205 lbs, now Light Heavyweight) debut, Bas suffered as series of injuries that forced him to retire from fighting. He’d return for one last fight against Ruben Villareal in 2006 who he beat in the first round via leg kick TKO.
Zombie Prophet came through once again with the highlight GIFs. He didn’t miss a second with the Shamrock fight with 15 of them dedicated to that battle alone.
Bas Rutten vs. Ryushi Yanagisawa II
Bas Rutten vs. Guy Mezger
Bas Rutten vs. Katsuomi Inagaki
Bas Rutten vs. Frank Shamrock III