This Month’s MMA Birthdays: Bas Rutten Turns 60

Bas Rutten transformed himself into one of the most recognizable figures in mixed martial arts through his competitive accomplishments and a successful transition to life after fighting. “El Guapo” will celebrate his 60th birthday on Feb. 24.

The Tilburg, Netherlands, native finished with a 28-4-1 record that saw him record 24 of his 28 victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission. During his run, Rutten helped shepherd MMA through its formative years, engaged in memorable rivalries, captured championships and built a legion of fans who remain loyal to this day. Well over a decade after he hung up his gloves for good, his presence can still be felt through his work as a television analyst, actor, coach and entrepreneur. Rutten held titles in two organizations: Pancrase and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He laid claim to the openweight King of Pancrase belt on Sept. 1, 1995 and successfully defended it on two occasions, then captured the UFC heavyweight crown on May 7, 1999, vacating it for a potential move to 205 pounds before a series of injuries forced his first retirement. Rutten returned for one appearance some seven years later—he stopped Ruben Villareal with leg kicks at a World Fighting Alliance event—and closed the book on his remarkable career with a 22-fight unbeaten streak during which he compiled a 21-0-1 mark between April 8, 1995 and July 22, 2006. He was enshrined in the pioneer wing of the UFC Hall of Fame in 2015.

Others in MMA celebrating birthdays during the month of February:

FEB. 1

Naoki Sano, 64
Kyle Sturgeon, 62
Bill Mahood, 58
Igor Pokrajac, 46
Chris Tickle, 43
Sinead Kavanagh, 39
Sam Sicilia, 39
Ronda Rousey, 38
Alan Baudot, 37
Jared Papazian, 37
Justin McNally, 34
Nariman Abbasov, 31

FEB. 2

Bounmy Somchay, 52
Shigeyuki Uchiyama, 52
Hector Lombard, 47
Denis Stojnic, 45
Yusuke Kawanago, 44
Matt McCook, 40
Raul Amaya, 39
Herbert Burns, 37
Adlan Ibragimov, 36
Eric Shelton, 34
Lance Gibson Jr., 30
Akraman Alaev, 23

FEB. 3

Shad Smith, 52
Doug Marshall, 48
Rodrigo Damm, 45
Ricardo Tirloni, 42
Mei Yamaguchi, 42
Phillipe Nover, 41
Daniel Teymur, 37
Eduardo Dantas, 36
Damir Ismagulov, 34
Matt Ramirez, 32
Montserrat Ruiz, 32
Natalia Silva, 28

FEB. 4

Johnathan Ivey, 49
Andrei Arlovski, 46
Igor Gracie, 45
Satoru Kitaoka, 45
Luiz Cane, 44
Yaotzin Meza, 44
Kristi Lopez, 42
Anvar Alizhanov, 36
Hugo Cunha, 32
Shamil Magomedov, 32
Alex da Silva Coelho, 29
Andre Lima, 26

FEB. 5

William Sriyapai, 53
Antoni Hardonk, 49
Lyle Beerbohm, 46
Johnny Cisneros, 45
Leonardo Santos, 45
Kyle Bochniak, 38
Bubba Jenkins, 37
Joaquim Silva, 36
Nah-Shon Burrell, 35
Adam Wieczorek, 33
Rodolfo Bellato, 29
Solomon Renfro, 28

FEB. 6

Jeff Bedard, 55
Waachiim Spiritwolf, 49
Vik Grujic, 48
Shinichi Kojima, 46
Mamoru Nakamura, 44
Vitaly Minakov, 40
Andrew Holbrook, 39
Ryan Hollis, 36
Khalil Rountree, 35
Aleksandar Rakic, 33
Jack Shore, 30
Simeon Powell, 26

FEB. 7

Tra Telligman, 60
Tait Fletcher, 54
Mariusz Pudzianowski, 48
Haruo Ochi, 41
Derrick Lewis, 40
T.J. Dillashaw, 39
Lance Palmer, 37
Cesar Avila, 36
Jae Hyun So, 36
Ray Cooper III, 32
Dilano Taylor, 28
Nat Jaroonsak, 26

FEB. 8

Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson, 1974-2016
Yuki Ishikawa, 48
Jaime Jara, 46
Dave Courchaine, 42
Will Santiago Jr., 42
Chan Rothana, 39
Amber Leibrock, 37
Syuri Kondo, 36
Pawel Pawlak, 36
Makhmud Muradov, 35
Nikolas Motta, 32
Auttumn Norton, 31

FEB. 9

Hiroyuki Abe, 55
Chris Clements, 49
Tiki Ghosn, 48
Mark Munoz, 47
Tim Stout, 46
Charlie Brenneman, 44
Jake Hecht, 41
Henry Cejudo, 38
Felipe Arantes, 37
Darko Stosic, 33
Yuya Wakamatsu, 30
Abdulaziz Ibragimov, 26

FEB. 10

Paul Jones, 62
Masakazu Imanari, 49
Matt Horwich, 47
Nick Ring, 46
Mariusz Radziszewski, 41
Kamil Lebkowski, 37
Islam Mamedov, 35
Shamil Gaziev, 35
Andres Ponce, 32
Modestas Bukauskas, 31
Raiymbek Orynbai, 31
Myktybek Orolbai, 27

FEB. 11

Evan Tanner, 1971-2008
Ken Shamrock, 61
Ali Mokdad, 42
Stephen Thompson, 42
Vagab Vagabov, 39
Andrea Lee, 36
Bec Rawlings, 36
Megan Anderson, 35
Petr Yan, 32
Movsar Evloev, 31
Joanderson Brito, 30
Nainoa Dung, 26

FEB. 12

Jon Madsen, 45
Eric Lawson, 44
Patrick Brady, 41
Tony Ferguson, 41
Yosdenis Cedeno, 40
Joey Miolla, 40
Hunter Tucker, 39
Luke Jumeau, 37
Jessica Sotack, 34
Hailey Cowan, 33
Stefan Sekulic, 33
Ion Pop, 27

FEB. 13

Elvis Sinosic, 54
Dean Lister, 49
Anthony Lapsley, 45
Ewerton Teixeira, 43
Pedro Nobre, 39
James Bochnovic, 36
Kizaemon Saiga, 36
Dan Hooker, 35
Lucas Barbosa, 33
Shawn Teed, 33
Pingyuan Liu, 32
Khusein Askhabov, 30

FEB. 14

Steve Vigneault, 47
Hiroshi Nakamura, 44
Oleg Borisov, 42
Kenny Robertson, 41
Ivan Buchinger, 39
Tyler McGuire, 39
Micah Miller, 38
Chris Mierzwiak, 37
Jayson Jones, 36
Irwin Rivera, 36
Joey Diehl, 34
Montana De La Rosa, 30

FEB. 15

Ray Sefo, 54
David Baron, 52
Karla Benitez, 46
Thor Skancke, 42
Brian Rogers, 41
Alex Soto, 41
Cezar Ferreira, 40
Steven Siler, 38
Ciro Rodrigues, 36
Emiliano Sordi, 34
Khalid Taha, 33
Ben Tynan, 31

FEB. 16

Frank Caracci, 55
Carina Damm, 46
Zelg Galesic, 46
Logan Clark, 40
Mark Eddiva, 39
Andy Ogle, 36
Victoria Leonardo, 35
Vladimir Mineev, 35
Mirsad Bektic, 34
Matt Wagy, 33
Johnny Munoz Jr., 32
Karoline Martins Moreira, 28

FEB. 17

Ismael de Jesus, 45
Brett Rogers, 44
Will Ribeiro, 42
Ben Edwards, 41
Yoshitaka Naito, 41
Carrington Banks, 36
Manon Fiorot, 35
Andre Muniz, 35
Anatoly Tokov, 35
Gregory Rodrigues, 33
Juancamilo Ronderos, 30
Rickson Thai Zenidim Bueno, 26

FEB. 18

Justin McCully, 49
Ross Pointon, 47
Jimi Manuwa, 45
Marvin Blumer, 43
Melvin Blumer, 43
Joseph Duffy, 37
Fabiano Silva, 37
Stefan Struve, 37
Marc-Andre Barriault, 35
Curtis Blaydes, 34
A.J. Fletcher, 28
Guilherme Uriel, 28

FEB. 19

Duke Roufus, 55
Chad Leonhardt, 45
Ben Alloway, 44
Liz Carmouche, 41
Ednaldo Oliveira, 41
Jarred Mercado, 40
Peter Queally, 36
Desiree Yanez, 35
Nam Jin Jo, 34
Josiel Silva, 34
Emilee King, 32
Szymon Karolczyk, 25

FEB. 20

Antonio Inoki, 1943-2022
Phillip Miller, 46
Rousimar Palhares, 45
Cody Donovan, 44
Tim Means, 41
Derek Anderson, 35
Ottman Azaitar, 35
Damian Stasiak, 35
Shanna Young, 34
Natan Schulte, 33
Grant Dawson, 31
Ravena Oliveira, 28

FEB. 21

Chris Kelades, 44
Paul Daley, 42
Kerry Hughes, 40
Shintaro Ishiwatari, 40
Alex Oliveira, 37
Roman Salazar, 37
Brian Ortega, 34
Brett Johns, 33
Matt Sayles, 31
Tabatha Ricci, 30
Dakota Zimmerman, 29
Adam Masaev, 25

FEB. 22

Wallid Ismail, 57
Gregor Herb, 47
Edgar Garcia, 41
Ryan Hall, 40
Jena Bishop, 39
Colby Covington, 37
Kuat Khamitov, 37
Jack Grant, 33
Rob Wilkinson, 33
John Allan, 32
Ludovit Klein, 30
Michal Oleksiejczuk, 30

FEB. 23

Ruan Potts, 47
Nick Cottone, 45
Gina Begley, 44
Mike Estus, 42
Robert Washington, 42
James Vick, 38
Jacob Silva, 37
Olivier Aubin-Mercier, 36
Mike Hofer, 35
Edson Gomez, 34
Al Matavao, 31
Ramzan Suleymanov, 30

FEB. 24

Andre Roberts, 60
Bas Rutten, 60
Jon Fitch, 47
Vitor Ribeiro, 46
Nick Burgos, 45
Shinsuke Nakamura, 45
Fernando Bruno, 43
Jan Blachowicz, 42
Maiju Suotama, 39
Jordan Kaaze, 34
Gadzhi Omargadzhiev, 32
Mando Gutierrez, 28

FEB. 25

Michael Quintero, 49
Marcos Rodrigues dos Santos, 49
Kelly Kobold-Schmitz, 42
Ron Stallings, 42
Jacob McClintock, 37
Zac Pauga, 37
Cesar Gonzalez, 36
Meas Meu, 35
Rachael Ostovich, 34
Alfie Davis, 33
Hisham Hiba, 33
Anthony Romero, 28

FEB. 26

Ricardo Morais, 58
John Lober, 57
Tomar Washington, 47
Gustavo Henrique Kuhn, 45
Satoshi Watanabe, 43
T.J. Grant, 41
Ken Hasegawa, 38
Kyle Frost, 37
Jeff Lentz, 36
Reant Febriza Rainir, 36
Gokhan Saricam, 34
Louis Lee Scott, 25

FEB. 27

Rob Lisita, 42
Michael Knaap, 41
Antonio Castillo Jr., 38
Misha Cirkunov, 38
Thibault Gouti, 38
Alex Munoz, 35
Jun Yong Park, 34
Sean Strickland, 34
Kyle Daukaus, 32
Laureano Staropoli, 32
Aga Niedzwiedz, 30
Luke Trainer, 29

FEB. 28

Jorge Rivera, 53
Khomkrit Niimi, 52
Mitch Chilson, 47
Michael Bisping, 46
Adam Antolin, 43
Vinicius Moreira, 36
Jarod Trice, 36
Glaico Franca, 34
Eduarda Moura, 31
Alesha Zappitella, 30
Bin Xie, 27
Yazmin Jauregui, 26

FEB. 29

Jim Yorke, 49
Francimar Barroso, 45
Patrick Cote, 45
Masayoshi Kato, 41
Edson Pereira, 41
Brandon Bettencourt, 37
Dashawn Boatwright, 37
Clay Dixon, 37
Masaki Nishi, 33
David Putvin, 33
Enzo Perez, 29
Tiziano Ferranti, 25