Gerard Gordeau

Who is Gerard Gordeau?

Gerard Gordeau is a former savateur, karateka, and mixed martial artist from the Netherlands. Gerard Gordeau is also the 1991 World Champion Savate and the Dutch Champion Kyokushin Karate for 8 years in a row. Gerard is well recognized internationally for his use of “dirty,” often illegal fighting techniques like biting and eye-gouging.

Childhood, Family, and Education

Gordeau, the second of six brothers, lost his father when he was 11 years old and was forced to drop out of school to support his family.

He began karate under the influence of an Indonesian acquaintance with whom Gordeau used to eat.

Furthermore, after challenging and losing to an unassuming Japanese partner, Gordeau started to train seriously after initially viewing it as a hobby.

He sparred with him again after a year of training in various dojos, and this time Gordeau won.

He worked as a bouncer for eight years because of his abilities.

He would tell years later that he lived in constant threat of death due to the severe criminality in the Dutch neighborhoods.

There is no information about Gerard’s educational background accessible from any source.

We do know, however, that he was born and raised in the Netherlands.

As a result, we might deduce that he attended educational institutions in the Netherlands.

Age, Height, and Body Dimensions

Gerard Gordeu has an athletic build, standing at 6’3″ (1.91 m) and weighing 95kg (210 lbs).

Furthermore, Gerard turned 65 years old in 2020, with brown hair and grey eyes.

Gerard was born under the solar sign of Aries, according to his birthdate.

More Facts about Gerard Gordeau

Profession and Career

Gerard Gordeau joined the Kyokushin school after turning professional and competed in the World Open Karate Championships.

Later in life, he trained in amateur wrestling and boxing in an attempt to round out his approach, following the teachings of Kyokushin founder Mas Oyama.

He also studied kickboxing, savate, and judo. Before his MMA debut, Gordeau was a Dutch Karate Champion from 1978 to 1985, a European Savate Champion from 1988 to 1991, and a World Savate Champion in 1992, with an overall competition record of 27-4.

Gordeau made his professional wrestling debut on August 13, 1988, in the shoot-style promotion UWF Newborn, losing a special match against Akira Maeda.

Furthermore, he contested in two bouts at RINGS “free fight” events against Masaaki Satake and Mitsuya Nagai.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

Gordeau was scouted to compete in UFC 1, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, in 1993.

The promoters of the event had sought other high-level fighters in Holland, including kickboxing champion Ernesto Hoost, but Gordeau was the only one who was available and prepared to do it.

Furthermore, because he had been a savate champion the previous year, he was only billed as a savate artist.

He was originally scheduled to face Royce Gracie in the first round of the tournament, but the organizers changed the matchup after learning of Gordeau’s fight in Japan.

Gordeau defeated Tuli in his maiden fight, which was also the first broadcast match in UFC history, in only 26 seconds.

Furthermore, Gordeau advanced to the next round despite the fact that the kick had knocked out three of Tuli’s teeth, two of which were caught in Gordeau’s foot.

Similarly, the announcers reported that the third tooth landed beneath their table, despite allegations that it landed on the audience.

Doctors attended him, but they tapped his foot because they didn’t want Gordeau to have an open wound that may become infected if they tried to extract the teeth.

Gordeau’s punch had also damaged his hand, and he arrived at the next battle with a visibly swollen fist.

Controversy

On a separate subject, Gordeau’s debut sparked some controversy since he appeared to make a Roman salute before the match, prompting accusations that he was a neo-nazi.

Nonetheless, it was explained that he was performing the traditional savate salutation.

Gordeau, in fact, had a Jewish ethnic origin through his father, a French Jew.

His grandfather was likewise executed in the Amersfoort detention camp for his participation in the Dutch resistance.

His next opponent was kickboxing champion Kevin Rosier, who outweighed Gordeau by over 100 pounds and had significantly better health.

Nonetheless, Gordeau comfortably won the fight, driving Rosier against the fence with several leg kicks and jabs while maintaining space.

Similarly, after a half-minute of harassment, Gordeau pulled Rosier to the mat with knee and elbow strikes to the head, causing him to cover down and shield his face, before finishing him with two stomps to the liver.

Unlawful Attacks

Finally, in the final match, the Dutchman fought Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Royce Gracie.

According to Gordeau, Royce was advised by UFC doctors about his injury and used this to his advantage.

Furthermore, Gordeau is accused of intentionally biting Gracie’s ear while riding on her mount. Gracie managed to submit Gordeau with a rear-naked choke after landing numerous palm blows and headbutts to win the fight and the tournament.

In revenge for the foul play, the Brazilian also held the choke for a long time following Gerard’s tap-out.

Gordeau subsequently rationalized his unlawful attack by saying, “If you’re going down, you might as well give him something to remember you by,” but he also praised Gracie as the better fighter.

UFC 2

Gordeau was contacted to fight again in UFC 2 in 1994, but he declined due to concerns about his money from the previous event.

Furthermore, Hereard had his training mates Remco Pardoel and Freek Hamaker take his place, with him as a cornerman.

Wrestling New Japan Pro

Furthermore, on January 4, 1995, he competed in New Japan Pro Wrestling’s four-person Final Countdown BVD Tournament at the Tokyo Dome during Battle 7.

He was defeated in his lone encounter by eventual victor Antonio Inoki.

Gordeau remained with Inoki as a Universal Fighting-Arts Organization trainer and wrestler, cornering Naoya Ogawa on several occasions.

He was there at the infamous 1.4 Incident, which occurred on January 4, 1999, at the Tokyo Dome, where UFO member Naoya Ogawa competed in a pro wrestling battle against Shinya Hashimoto.

Thank you, Japan

Two years after his UFC stint, Gerard Gordeau applied to the Japanese Vale Tudo Japan competition.

As a cornerman in the previous season, he assisted fellow UFC contender Dave Levicki in his unsuccessful match against Royce’s brother Rickson.

Gordeau faced Yuki Nakai, a significantly lighter shot wrestling competitor.

Using the ring to his advantage, Gordeau gripped the ropes to escape takedowns and scored multiple strikes on Nakai in the opening two rounds, including three illegal eye gouges while Nakai was down after a heel hook attempt.

However, following a third-round pass on the ropes, Nakai secured a double leg takedown against the ring corner, evaded

Gordeau’s guillotine choke attempt, and sank down for another heel hook, this time successfully submitting the Dutchman after half an hour of fighting.

Furthermore, after a heated bout in which Yuki refused to seek medical attention in order to continue in the competition, Nakai lost sight in his right eye as a result of the gouge.

Gordeau, like his UFC infractions, was unapologetic about his actions, adding that he would do it again if he fought Nakai again. These assertions drew a lot of criticism.

Furthermore, in 2019, he revealed that he and Nakai had discussed it and that he no longer had any ill will against her. During the battle, Gordeau lauded Nakai’s battling attitude.

Zero-One in Professional Wrestling

Gordeau wrestled in singles battles against Shinya Hashimoto, Masato Tanaka, Samoa Joe, and Steve Corino at various Pro Wrestling Zero1 events in 2001 and 2002.

Furthermore, he returned to the promotion in 2010 at Zero1’s Yasukuni Shrine Festival, defeating Munenori Sawa and Akebono with his former disciple Ryoji Sai.

Gerard Gordeau | Achievements and Awards

• Kyokushin Karate is an eight-time Dutch champion.
• Attended the World Championships Kyokushin Karate, 1979, 1983, and 1987
• 1991 Savate World Heavyweight Champion
• Savate European Heavyweight Champion three times UFC 1 Tournament runner-up in 1993

Salary and Earnings

Gerard Gordeau’s net worth is assumed to be $1 million.

Following Retirement

Gordeau cornered Marloes Coenen in 2000 while working as a consultant for the women’s MMA promotion ReMix.

Gordeau also owns the Dojo Kamakura in The Hague with his brothers Al and Nico. He also worked with Dutch K-1 fighter Mourad Bouzidi, Anil Dubar, and occasionally Romanian champion Daniel Ghiţă.

Famous students include Cem Senol of the Dojo Osaka Netherlands, Robert Pepels of the Ashigaru Honbu Dojo Netherlands, and the originator of the Ashigaru Ryu style.

Gordeau also co-founded the International Karate Organization with Pepels and teaches at camps and seminars all over the world.

Gerard Gordeau and his family

Gerard Gordeu is well-known for keeping his personal life discreet. The little information on him that is available is about his professional life and career.

Furthermore, there are no sources stating Gerard’s present or previous relationships.

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Online Presence

Gerard has no social media profile. His fans, though, continue to talk about him.

Gerard’s hashtags on various social media sites have been supplied to you-

#gerardgordeau on Twitter

#gerardgordeau on Instagram