Curly Howard
11-03-2003, 04:46 PM
From http://www.mmaweekly.com/
Interview of the Week: Bas Rutten
By Ryan Bennett, MMAWeekly.com
Just one week before the big Pride Middleweight Grand Prix final, MMAWeekly's Ryan Bennett was able to track down El Guapo himself, Pride commentator Bas Rutten. With his web site, BasRutten.tv, up and running and getting ready to work on a new movie called "The Vault," Bas was still able to make enough time to break down the upcoming Pride card before he heads off to Japan.
Ryan: What's up Bas?
Bas: Man, I'm doing great.
Ryan: I know you're leaving early next week for Japan. The last Pride Grand Prix was amazing and this one looks like it's going to be just as good.
Bas: This is it man. This is the show. 50,000 people coming. Everybody wants to see who is going to be the winner. But the undercard is going to be pretty good. I mean Randleman versus Sakuraba is going to be a good fight to.
Ryan: Bas, you mention the Sakuraba/Randleman fight. Does Sakuraba even got a shot against big Kevin Randleman?
Bas: I think it will be difficult for him to take Kevin Randleman down. I think Kevin has better hands than Sakuraba has. I don't see this turning into a win for Sakuraba. You never know... if Kevin Randleman slips and falls to his back... some freak thing happens and he gets a leg lock or some arm bar, but still he's so strong. He can power himself out. If he's trained good, I think it should be a win for Kevin Randleman.
Ryan: I feel the same way. The toughest part for Sakuraba is that the guys he's fighting are just bigger. Basically, Sakuraba's a 185-pound guy and he's fighting guys that are cutting down to 205. Right?
Bas: Yeah. I think he should lose ten more pounds and fight in the Pride Bushido show and fight guys in his own weight class.
Ryan: A great fight that I'm looking forward to Bas is Murilo Bustamante and Dan Henderson. Henderson is coming off of knee surgery and that's the big story line. I guess Henderson's knee is about 85% right now. That's the big question, can an 85% Dan Henderson come in and beat a 100% Murilo Bustamante?
Bas: That's a difficult one. I think their boxing skills are both about equal. When they hit with the right straight, it's a knock out. But can Murilo take it to the ground? I don't know. I don't think that Dan is going to clinch with him. He saw what he did with Quinton Jackson, he's going to jump to guard and go for triangles, I mean anything, the guy is phenomenal on the ground. This fight is really one that I can't call because it is going to be so difficult. I don't think that Murilo is going to be able to take him to the ground, but if he is not 100%, maybe later in the rounds he'll be able to get him down and that could be a problem for Dan.
Ryan: Bas Rutten joining us live on MMAWeekly radio. So you think that the best thing for Henderson, basically, is to keep it on the feet?
Bas: Yeah, of course. Although his ground and pound is good too when he's busy, but a guy like Bustamante, you don't want to play that game. When you're in mount position, he's going to get you off and he's going to get some crazy submission. I think from Top Team, he is, pound for pound, the most technical fighter.
Ryan: I guess the one thing Henderson has going for him is that he's got to feel good that if a guy like Minotauro Nogueira can't submit him early it might be a problem for Murilo. It's impressive that Hendo could go that far with Minotauro. A lot of people thought he'd get subbed early and he made it to the third round.
Bas: Yeah, I think so too. But then again, there are many things different. Minotauro is much bigger than Henderson, therefore leaving bigger openings for him to escape. I think that he just has a more tighter game, Bustamante. I don't know man. Dan Henderson has surprised me so many times.
Ryan: Let's go to the middleweight tournament, Rampage against Chuck Liddell. You were there to watch these guys the last couple times out. Chuck Liddell versus Alistair Overeem, what an epic war that was.
Bas: Yeah, unbelievable. Overeem did a real good job. He just started his training three years ago. Iceman, he's got the experience, he stayed cool. Although, I think he was hurt at one moment, but he stayed cool, he stayed in his game then he stroked man. Big props to him. I think that for this fight he trained even way harder because I spoke to some people and he's been training like a madman.
Ryan: Bas, you look at last time with Quinton Jackson. He had a tough time with Bustamante. I think a lot of it had to due with the fact that he fought Busta on like nine days notice and Busta's great. Quinton Jackson this time around, what do you expect from him going into this one with Chuck Liddell?
Bas: I think a different game. I think he knows what to expect from Chuck. You know, it's a striking game. I am going to see that equal. I think the normal takedowns, like double-leg and single-leg takedowns, that's something that Quinton doesn't do. So, if he clinches up with Chuck, I think he might take Chuck down. This time there's no fence because Chuck is a master at getting up using the back, pushing against the fence, but there is no fence here. I don't know, Chuck every time goes back for a surprise. Everybody has thought the same thing that this guy for the last year and a half deserves a title shot, you know. But he never got it and then when he fought Randy, I think it was kind of strange also. He wanted to fight Tito and I think there was a mental thing in the head there. And I think it is the same thing that happens with Quinton and Bustamante, it's just a thing that you don't expect. You expect to fight a certain fighter, suddenly you get another fighter and you fight totally different. So, I wouldn't look back at Quinton's last fight and I would say that Chuck improves even better than his last fight.
Ryan: I've been working on a column for *************.com and Quinton versus Chuck, this fight could be broken down about 8 billion different ways.
Bas: Yeah. This is not going to be a submission fight. I think it's going to be a knock out or the distance. I have a real good feeling that this fight is going to go to the distance, which is going to be a war. So, whoever wins is going to be very tired and, I think, is going to fight a fresh Vanderlei Silva. I really don't think that Vanderlei is going to have a problem with Yoshida. If he makes a mistake like taking him to the ground with an inside trip, that would be a really dumb thing to do, then he might lose the fight by submission because you do not want to go to the ground with Yoshida, trust me.
Ryan: Can Yoshida get in the clinch at all in this fight?
Bas: No. It's going to be very difficult. One thing with Vanderlei is that he goes straight forwards and straight backwards and I think that if Yoshida starts like he's running the 100 meters and he runs straight into him and Vanderlei doesn't step to the side, if Yoshida gets a hold of him he might take him down. He's got the gi. That's a lot of extra grip, it's like an extra hand. It sticks to your body. That could be a problem. Once it goes to the ground, we're talking an Olympic gold medalist.
Ryan: I think that's the best strategy for Yoshida. Yeah, he's taking a chance, but when that bell rings, why not just fly right at him? You might get caught, but he really doesn't have another shot to me.
Bas: Jump to left, jump to the right, jump to the left, jump to the right, and then straight forward. Then, hopefully Vanderlei's going to miss and he gets the clinch. In the clinch, he's going to grab his own gi and that grip is not going to break. I really don't see Vanderlei taking him down.
Ryan: If Yoshida gets the clinch, you're telling me that Vanderlei won't be able to get out of it?
Bas: I don't think so. Yoshida knows that Vanderlei is known for his knees, so he's not going to give him any space. He's known for his hip throws and he's got the gi. He's going to tie him up real tight and even if Vanderlei thinks, "I'm going to the inside trip," it's on the ground and it's with the gi... he's just really good, let's say that.
Ryan: My man Bas Rutten breaking down this Pride card for MMAWeekly. One thing I wanted to ask you about with the tournament itself. Their changing the rules just a bit with just one 10 minute round and one 5 minute round, there is no third round. Does that favor any of these four fighters?
Bas: No, I don't think so. It favors the audience because it's going to be more explosive. Now they can go all out. I think it favors the audience.
Ryan: Let's move on to "Big Daddy" Gary Goodridge and Dan Bobish "The Bull." Two pretty big boys, I'm sure that's going to be a pretty exciting match.
Bas: Again, there's going to be a knockout for sure. This is not going to go the distance. Like I said last time, I gave Gary a good chance against Fedor because he's got some good hands you know. Bobish, he's got some hands too obviously and some submission skills. But Gary looks good, he has been training hard, he looks lean. He stood five rounds with Mark Hunt. I can't call this fight. I know there's a big weight difference.
Ryan: Yeah, Bobish is over 300 hundred pounds and Gary's right in that 230, 240 range, I guess, he might even be a bit bigger.
Bas: That's okay because he trains with Tom Erikson, I guess.
Ryan: I was surprised, not that Fedor won that fight, but going in to that fight, if you were to tell me that Gary Goodridge would not land even a single punch, knowing how good Gary is, that was a shocker to me and probably you as well, right?
Bas: Yeah, it was. But on the other hand, with any fight that ends in the first minute, minute and a half, there's some luck involved too. If you land a clean shot right away that could be the finish, there's a little luck involved in that. Of course, you stand up and you aim for it. My teacher always used to say that. When I was a green belt and sparring with my teacher and kicked him in the head, I'd say, "I'm sorry, it was an accident," and he would say, "Did you aim for my head?" "Yes." "So, it was no accident," he says, "So you did good." That's the other end.
Ryan: Moving on, Heath Herring versus Yamamoto. Does Yamamoto have any shot to beat Heath Herring?
Bas: Actually, I think he does. The only reason for that is, he didn't perform well his last couple fights and that is the only thing. It's a mental thing. He's got to come back from two losses and, of course, Yamamoto is not the caliber of a Fedor or Mirko Cro Cop. But still it is very difficult for a fighter. I have the most respect for a fighter that gets KO'd and then steps back in the ring and wins again. People don't realize, if you go into the ring and you get KO'd the fight before that's inside your head. That could be the only thing for Heath Herring. Otherwise, if he is old Heath, like we knew him in the beginning, he's going to rush over him.
Ryan: You said it Bas, there's no shame in losing to two fighters like Fedor and Cro Cop, but when you lose two fights back to back, how much does that affect you mentally and especially when you got handled in both fights?
Bas: I know his coach, because he was my coach, will talk to him and with Mirko, it was just too much of the influence of Mirko's striking game and he made all the major mistakes. His takedowns came from all the way back, everybody could see the takedown. He wasn't in his game, he should have set it up. Now he fights Yamamoto and he's still learning thai boxing, he thai boxes a lot. He needs a couple of wins and then I'd like to see a rematch. I still consider him as one of the best guys.
Ryan: One fight that I think is going to be outstanding is Minotauro Nogueira versus Mirko Cro Cop. Bas, break this down for me.
Bas: Ummm... I think Nogueira should have changed his game plan already. He's working everything from the back. He should try to go for sweeps and a lot of other things instead of fighting from his back. I don't think that he can take Cro Cop down. Cro Cop is a phenomenal guy. I think in another 6 months, he will start submitting his first guys. I think he already has the capability, but he doesn't use it yet. Especially against Nogueira because you're going to miss it. Still, watch out for this guy because when I saw him fighting for the first time in Pride, his reflexes are phenomenal. The stories I heard about him... when he used to enter the K-1 he never had a sparring partner. He used to spar in the air, like shadowboxing and hit the bag and then he went to K-1 and he became number 2. That's a guy who's got some talent and now he's got the best wrestlers from Croatia. He's got the Bas Rutten Big Book of Combat and he's training really hard and they say that they cannot take him down.
Ryan: The interesting thing about Minotauro's fight against Ricco was, I was just surprised how easily Ricco was able to take Minotauro down. I was just thinking, I don't know how Minotauro's going to take this fight to the ground.
Bas: I think the same thing and if that's how it's going to go, he's going to make a mistake and he's going to get knocked out. On the other had, he got my Bas Rutten's big cojones award last month. He took some big punishment and he still hasn't been ko'd. So, he can take a shot. It's not healthy of course. Maybe he could get a shot and try to take him down, but Mirko's reflexes are so good.
Ryan: As we talk about it, it seems like the only way he's going to be able to do it is if he can eat a couple of punches, get the clinch and take him down.
Bas: Plus, it's down, still what is he going to do? He's got to move around, he's got to move. He trains with the best guys, Mirko is... you watch, he's going to submit people with triangle chokes, with everything, leg locks, everything.
Ryan: That's scary Bas. That guy is scary.
Bas: I mean, every time he steps into the ring, you get kind of nervous. Like, something might happen really bad.
Ryan: That kick against Vovchanchyn was so quick it looked like a punch. It was that fast.
Bas: Yeah, he's got a phenomenal kick. Out of nowhere, bang!
Ryan: Let me ask you this, can Bas Rutten in his prime beat Mirko Cro Cop?
Bas: (Laughs) I don't know man. The problem is this, people always ask me, "What would you do against Mirko?" I say, "First of all, it's not going to go to the ground because I for sure cannot take him down, but I would strike with him." People don't realize that he has been beaten in K-1. So, he is beatable. He is the best striker in Pride for sure, bar none. But there are strikes that KO'd him. The thing with me is, when I purely do striking, I go down to like 190, 185. So, to fight a guy with his power... whoa... scary man. I know that in my prime... I don't want to be a ****y guy... I know that I was a good striker.
Ryan: You were better than good. I'm telling you right now, you were the man. Don't tell me you were good, you were the man. I'm telling you.
Bas: But you know, it's like, when I was fighting, I was always training with Peter Aerts and people wondered who would win and it's like, we're never going to fight so...
Ryan: I know you've got a lot of respect for these guys, but I'm telling you right now, you'd do fine bro. Before I let you go, who is the favorite to win this tournament?
Bas: I don't know now. I think with Chuck and Quinton, I have to go with Quinton because he beat some real good opponents last year. If he's not going to have a total war and then Vanderlei is not going to have a walk in the park, then that's a different story, I don't know what's going to happen then. Then, I think Quinton pulls it off.
Ryan: Hey Bas, always a pleasure, I appreciate it.
Interview of the Week: Bas Rutten
By Ryan Bennett, MMAWeekly.com
Just one week before the big Pride Middleweight Grand Prix final, MMAWeekly's Ryan Bennett was able to track down El Guapo himself, Pride commentator Bas Rutten. With his web site, BasRutten.tv, up and running and getting ready to work on a new movie called "The Vault," Bas was still able to make enough time to break down the upcoming Pride card before he heads off to Japan.
Ryan: What's up Bas?
Bas: Man, I'm doing great.
Ryan: I know you're leaving early next week for Japan. The last Pride Grand Prix was amazing and this one looks like it's going to be just as good.
Bas: This is it man. This is the show. 50,000 people coming. Everybody wants to see who is going to be the winner. But the undercard is going to be pretty good. I mean Randleman versus Sakuraba is going to be a good fight to.
Ryan: Bas, you mention the Sakuraba/Randleman fight. Does Sakuraba even got a shot against big Kevin Randleman?
Bas: I think it will be difficult for him to take Kevin Randleman down. I think Kevin has better hands than Sakuraba has. I don't see this turning into a win for Sakuraba. You never know... if Kevin Randleman slips and falls to his back... some freak thing happens and he gets a leg lock or some arm bar, but still he's so strong. He can power himself out. If he's trained good, I think it should be a win for Kevin Randleman.
Ryan: I feel the same way. The toughest part for Sakuraba is that the guys he's fighting are just bigger. Basically, Sakuraba's a 185-pound guy and he's fighting guys that are cutting down to 205. Right?
Bas: Yeah. I think he should lose ten more pounds and fight in the Pride Bushido show and fight guys in his own weight class.
Ryan: A great fight that I'm looking forward to Bas is Murilo Bustamante and Dan Henderson. Henderson is coming off of knee surgery and that's the big story line. I guess Henderson's knee is about 85% right now. That's the big question, can an 85% Dan Henderson come in and beat a 100% Murilo Bustamante?
Bas: That's a difficult one. I think their boxing skills are both about equal. When they hit with the right straight, it's a knock out. But can Murilo take it to the ground? I don't know. I don't think that Dan is going to clinch with him. He saw what he did with Quinton Jackson, he's going to jump to guard and go for triangles, I mean anything, the guy is phenomenal on the ground. This fight is really one that I can't call because it is going to be so difficult. I don't think that Murilo is going to be able to take him to the ground, but if he is not 100%, maybe later in the rounds he'll be able to get him down and that could be a problem for Dan.
Ryan: Bas Rutten joining us live on MMAWeekly radio. So you think that the best thing for Henderson, basically, is to keep it on the feet?
Bas: Yeah, of course. Although his ground and pound is good too when he's busy, but a guy like Bustamante, you don't want to play that game. When you're in mount position, he's going to get you off and he's going to get some crazy submission. I think from Top Team, he is, pound for pound, the most technical fighter.
Ryan: I guess the one thing Henderson has going for him is that he's got to feel good that if a guy like Minotauro Nogueira can't submit him early it might be a problem for Murilo. It's impressive that Hendo could go that far with Minotauro. A lot of people thought he'd get subbed early and he made it to the third round.
Bas: Yeah, I think so too. But then again, there are many things different. Minotauro is much bigger than Henderson, therefore leaving bigger openings for him to escape. I think that he just has a more tighter game, Bustamante. I don't know man. Dan Henderson has surprised me so many times.
Ryan: Let's go to the middleweight tournament, Rampage against Chuck Liddell. You were there to watch these guys the last couple times out. Chuck Liddell versus Alistair Overeem, what an epic war that was.
Bas: Yeah, unbelievable. Overeem did a real good job. He just started his training three years ago. Iceman, he's got the experience, he stayed cool. Although, I think he was hurt at one moment, but he stayed cool, he stayed in his game then he stroked man. Big props to him. I think that for this fight he trained even way harder because I spoke to some people and he's been training like a madman.
Ryan: Bas, you look at last time with Quinton Jackson. He had a tough time with Bustamante. I think a lot of it had to due with the fact that he fought Busta on like nine days notice and Busta's great. Quinton Jackson this time around, what do you expect from him going into this one with Chuck Liddell?
Bas: I think a different game. I think he knows what to expect from Chuck. You know, it's a striking game. I am going to see that equal. I think the normal takedowns, like double-leg and single-leg takedowns, that's something that Quinton doesn't do. So, if he clinches up with Chuck, I think he might take Chuck down. This time there's no fence because Chuck is a master at getting up using the back, pushing against the fence, but there is no fence here. I don't know, Chuck every time goes back for a surprise. Everybody has thought the same thing that this guy for the last year and a half deserves a title shot, you know. But he never got it and then when he fought Randy, I think it was kind of strange also. He wanted to fight Tito and I think there was a mental thing in the head there. And I think it is the same thing that happens with Quinton and Bustamante, it's just a thing that you don't expect. You expect to fight a certain fighter, suddenly you get another fighter and you fight totally different. So, I wouldn't look back at Quinton's last fight and I would say that Chuck improves even better than his last fight.
Ryan: I've been working on a column for *************.com and Quinton versus Chuck, this fight could be broken down about 8 billion different ways.
Bas: Yeah. This is not going to be a submission fight. I think it's going to be a knock out or the distance. I have a real good feeling that this fight is going to go to the distance, which is going to be a war. So, whoever wins is going to be very tired and, I think, is going to fight a fresh Vanderlei Silva. I really don't think that Vanderlei is going to have a problem with Yoshida. If he makes a mistake like taking him to the ground with an inside trip, that would be a really dumb thing to do, then he might lose the fight by submission because you do not want to go to the ground with Yoshida, trust me.
Ryan: Can Yoshida get in the clinch at all in this fight?
Bas: No. It's going to be very difficult. One thing with Vanderlei is that he goes straight forwards and straight backwards and I think that if Yoshida starts like he's running the 100 meters and he runs straight into him and Vanderlei doesn't step to the side, if Yoshida gets a hold of him he might take him down. He's got the gi. That's a lot of extra grip, it's like an extra hand. It sticks to your body. That could be a problem. Once it goes to the ground, we're talking an Olympic gold medalist.
Ryan: I think that's the best strategy for Yoshida. Yeah, he's taking a chance, but when that bell rings, why not just fly right at him? You might get caught, but he really doesn't have another shot to me.
Bas: Jump to left, jump to the right, jump to the left, jump to the right, and then straight forward. Then, hopefully Vanderlei's going to miss and he gets the clinch. In the clinch, he's going to grab his own gi and that grip is not going to break. I really don't see Vanderlei taking him down.
Ryan: If Yoshida gets the clinch, you're telling me that Vanderlei won't be able to get out of it?
Bas: I don't think so. Yoshida knows that Vanderlei is known for his knees, so he's not going to give him any space. He's known for his hip throws and he's got the gi. He's going to tie him up real tight and even if Vanderlei thinks, "I'm going to the inside trip," it's on the ground and it's with the gi... he's just really good, let's say that.
Ryan: My man Bas Rutten breaking down this Pride card for MMAWeekly. One thing I wanted to ask you about with the tournament itself. Their changing the rules just a bit with just one 10 minute round and one 5 minute round, there is no third round. Does that favor any of these four fighters?
Bas: No, I don't think so. It favors the audience because it's going to be more explosive. Now they can go all out. I think it favors the audience.
Ryan: Let's move on to "Big Daddy" Gary Goodridge and Dan Bobish "The Bull." Two pretty big boys, I'm sure that's going to be a pretty exciting match.
Bas: Again, there's going to be a knockout for sure. This is not going to go the distance. Like I said last time, I gave Gary a good chance against Fedor because he's got some good hands you know. Bobish, he's got some hands too obviously and some submission skills. But Gary looks good, he has been training hard, he looks lean. He stood five rounds with Mark Hunt. I can't call this fight. I know there's a big weight difference.
Ryan: Yeah, Bobish is over 300 hundred pounds and Gary's right in that 230, 240 range, I guess, he might even be a bit bigger.
Bas: That's okay because he trains with Tom Erikson, I guess.
Ryan: I was surprised, not that Fedor won that fight, but going in to that fight, if you were to tell me that Gary Goodridge would not land even a single punch, knowing how good Gary is, that was a shocker to me and probably you as well, right?
Bas: Yeah, it was. But on the other hand, with any fight that ends in the first minute, minute and a half, there's some luck involved too. If you land a clean shot right away that could be the finish, there's a little luck involved in that. Of course, you stand up and you aim for it. My teacher always used to say that. When I was a green belt and sparring with my teacher and kicked him in the head, I'd say, "I'm sorry, it was an accident," and he would say, "Did you aim for my head?" "Yes." "So, it was no accident," he says, "So you did good." That's the other end.
Ryan: Moving on, Heath Herring versus Yamamoto. Does Yamamoto have any shot to beat Heath Herring?
Bas: Actually, I think he does. The only reason for that is, he didn't perform well his last couple fights and that is the only thing. It's a mental thing. He's got to come back from two losses and, of course, Yamamoto is not the caliber of a Fedor or Mirko Cro Cop. But still it is very difficult for a fighter. I have the most respect for a fighter that gets KO'd and then steps back in the ring and wins again. People don't realize, if you go into the ring and you get KO'd the fight before that's inside your head. That could be the only thing for Heath Herring. Otherwise, if he is old Heath, like we knew him in the beginning, he's going to rush over him.
Ryan: You said it Bas, there's no shame in losing to two fighters like Fedor and Cro Cop, but when you lose two fights back to back, how much does that affect you mentally and especially when you got handled in both fights?
Bas: I know his coach, because he was my coach, will talk to him and with Mirko, it was just too much of the influence of Mirko's striking game and he made all the major mistakes. His takedowns came from all the way back, everybody could see the takedown. He wasn't in his game, he should have set it up. Now he fights Yamamoto and he's still learning thai boxing, he thai boxes a lot. He needs a couple of wins and then I'd like to see a rematch. I still consider him as one of the best guys.
Ryan: One fight that I think is going to be outstanding is Minotauro Nogueira versus Mirko Cro Cop. Bas, break this down for me.
Bas: Ummm... I think Nogueira should have changed his game plan already. He's working everything from the back. He should try to go for sweeps and a lot of other things instead of fighting from his back. I don't think that he can take Cro Cop down. Cro Cop is a phenomenal guy. I think in another 6 months, he will start submitting his first guys. I think he already has the capability, but he doesn't use it yet. Especially against Nogueira because you're going to miss it. Still, watch out for this guy because when I saw him fighting for the first time in Pride, his reflexes are phenomenal. The stories I heard about him... when he used to enter the K-1 he never had a sparring partner. He used to spar in the air, like shadowboxing and hit the bag and then he went to K-1 and he became number 2. That's a guy who's got some talent and now he's got the best wrestlers from Croatia. He's got the Bas Rutten Big Book of Combat and he's training really hard and they say that they cannot take him down.
Ryan: The interesting thing about Minotauro's fight against Ricco was, I was just surprised how easily Ricco was able to take Minotauro down. I was just thinking, I don't know how Minotauro's going to take this fight to the ground.
Bas: I think the same thing and if that's how it's going to go, he's going to make a mistake and he's going to get knocked out. On the other had, he got my Bas Rutten's big cojones award last month. He took some big punishment and he still hasn't been ko'd. So, he can take a shot. It's not healthy of course. Maybe he could get a shot and try to take him down, but Mirko's reflexes are so good.
Ryan: As we talk about it, it seems like the only way he's going to be able to do it is if he can eat a couple of punches, get the clinch and take him down.
Bas: Plus, it's down, still what is he going to do? He's got to move around, he's got to move. He trains with the best guys, Mirko is... you watch, he's going to submit people with triangle chokes, with everything, leg locks, everything.
Ryan: That's scary Bas. That guy is scary.
Bas: I mean, every time he steps into the ring, you get kind of nervous. Like, something might happen really bad.
Ryan: That kick against Vovchanchyn was so quick it looked like a punch. It was that fast.
Bas: Yeah, he's got a phenomenal kick. Out of nowhere, bang!
Ryan: Let me ask you this, can Bas Rutten in his prime beat Mirko Cro Cop?
Bas: (Laughs) I don't know man. The problem is this, people always ask me, "What would you do against Mirko?" I say, "First of all, it's not going to go to the ground because I for sure cannot take him down, but I would strike with him." People don't realize that he has been beaten in K-1. So, he is beatable. He is the best striker in Pride for sure, bar none. But there are strikes that KO'd him. The thing with me is, when I purely do striking, I go down to like 190, 185. So, to fight a guy with his power... whoa... scary man. I know that in my prime... I don't want to be a ****y guy... I know that I was a good striker.
Ryan: You were better than good. I'm telling you right now, you were the man. Don't tell me you were good, you were the man. I'm telling you.
Bas: But you know, it's like, when I was fighting, I was always training with Peter Aerts and people wondered who would win and it's like, we're never going to fight so...
Ryan: I know you've got a lot of respect for these guys, but I'm telling you right now, you'd do fine bro. Before I let you go, who is the favorite to win this tournament?
Bas: I don't know now. I think with Chuck and Quinton, I have to go with Quinton because he beat some real good opponents last year. If he's not going to have a total war and then Vanderlei is not going to have a walk in the park, then that's a different story, I don't know what's going to happen then. Then, I think Quinton pulls it off.
Ryan: Hey Bas, always a pleasure, I appreciate it.