Nationality Dutch Name Gerard Gordeau Height 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Role Mixed martial artist | Style Kickboxing Wins by knockout 2 Team Dojo Kamakura | |
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Weight 216 lb (98 kg; 15.4 st) Rank 9th dan Kyokushin Karate (International Budo Kaikan)4th dan Kyokushin Karate (NKA)7th dan Sei Budo Kai2nd dan Full-Contact Karate (USA)3rd Silver glove in Savate (Boxe Francaise)4th dan Oyama Karate Movies UFC Classics: Ultimate Fighting Championship: Vol. 1 |
Gerard Gordeau - Memories of UFC 1 on it's 20th Anniversary part 1/2
Gerard Gordeau (born March 30, 1959) is a Dutch former savateur, karateka, and mixed martial artist. He is the 1991 World Champion Savate and holder of the Dutch Champion Kyokushin Karate title for 8 consecutive years, but foremost known internationally for his fight against Teila Tuli in the first televised Ultimate Fighting Championship bout on 12 November 1993.
Contents
- Gerard Gordeau Memories of UFC 1 on its 20th Anniversary part 12
- UFC 1 highlights Relive the craziest event in MMA history
- Mixed martial arts career
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Vale Tudo Japan
- Professional wrestling career
- Kamakura dojo
- Accomplishments and titles
- References

UFC 1 highlights: Relive the craziest event in MMA history
Mixed martial arts career
Gordeau trained in karate for most of his life, but also learned kickboxing and savate. He 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 competitive record of 27-4 before his MMA debut. He also had experience as a bodyguard and bouncer.
Ultimate Fighting Championship

In 1993, Gordeau took part in UFC 1, the first event of Ultimate Fighting Championship, being billed as a representative of the art of savate. In his first match, also the first match in the history of UFC, he was pitted against 400 pound sumo wrestler Teila Tuli in a fight which lasted only 26 seconds. With Tuli charging towards him with a tsukidashi attack, Gordeau eluded him and allowed the sumo to crash against the cage wall; he then took stance and threw a roundhouse kick to Tuli's face, following with a right uppercut before the referee intervened to stop the match. Victorious, Gordeau advanced round, but 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). Doctors attended him but, not wanting Gordeau to have an open wound, and having determined that it would get infected if they tried to extract the teeth out, they simply taped his foot. Gordeau's punch had broke 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. Gordeau has, in fact, a Jewish ethnic background by his father having been a Jewish man from France.
His next fight was against kickboxing champion Kevin Rosier, who outweighted Gordeau again by almost 100 pounds and was in better health. Still, Gordeau dominated the fight easily, driving Rosier against the fence with multiple leg kicks and jabs while keeping distance. Rosier covered down shielding his face, and Gordeau finished him with elbow strikes to the head and a stomp to the liver. Finally, the Dutchman faced Brazilian jiu-jitsu stylist Royce Gracie in the championship bout. During the fight, Gordeau blocked a trip and clamped to the cage to avoid being taken down, but he was eventually grounded. While Gordeau was in Gracie's guard, he allegedly bit Gracie's ear in an intentional foul, but Gracie still managed to submit Gordeau with a rear naked choke to win the fight and the tournament. According to Gordeau, Royce was warned about his injuries and took advantage of them during the match. The Brazilian also held the choke for a long time after Gerard's tap out in retaliation for the foul play.
In 1994, Gordeau was a cornerman for UFC 2 participants Remco Pardoel and Freek Hamaker.
Vale Tudo Japan
Two years after his UFC, Gordeau applied to the Vale Tudo Japan tournament, held in Japan. He was pitted against the much lighter shoot wrestling exponent Yuki Nakai, and again Gordeau resorted to illegal tactics when he repeatedly eye-gouged while he was trying to take him down. At the end, Nakai submitted Gordeau with a heel hook, but lost the sight of his right eye from the gouge.
Professional wrestling career
Gordeau had his debut in professional wrestling on August 13, 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.
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 January fourth, 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.
Through 2001 and 2002, Gordeau participated in various Pro Wrestling Zero1 events, wrestling in singles matches against names like Shinya Hashimoto, Masato Tanaka, Samoa Joe and Steve Corino. He returned to the promotion in 2010 at Zero1's Yasukuni Shrine Festival, where he teamed up with his former student Ryoji Sai to defeat Munenori Sawa and Akebono.
Kamakura dojo
Gordeau, along with his brothers Al and Nico, owns the Dojo Kamakura in The Hague. He also trains the current Dutch K-1 fighter Mourad Bouzidi, along with Anil Dubar, and sometimes the Romanian champion Daniel Ghiță.