“You want to take this outside,” When NFL Hall of Famer wanted to fight MMA legend Bas Rutten and regretted it

Former UFC fighter and Pancrase champion Bas Rutten almost fought NFL Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher at a charity event.

“You want to take this outside,” When NFL Hall of Famer wanted to fight MMA legend Bas Rutten and regretted it

Bas Rutten almost fought Brian Urlacher (Image Courtesy - Forbes, US Sun)

Bas Rutten is a former kickboxer who successfully transitioned into the MMA. He had 14 wins and two losses in his kickboxing career. Rutten joined the Pancrase promotion in Japan to pursue his MMA. At the beginning of his career, he struggled against great grapplers like Masukatsu Funaki and Ken Shamrock. However, he worked hard to master the skill of grappling and became the King of Pancrase title holder. However, he once considered fighting NFL player Brian Urlacher in a bar.

Bas Rutten said, “We went to a charity event in Florida. We were there to raise money for a good cause. Afterward, we had the party, an afterparty. There was a band playing, the bands love me. They said to jump on stage. I’m singing with the band… after that, I walked around and stepped on his toes.”

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Rutten stepping on Urlacher’s toes made him angry. Despite many apologies, Urlacher refused to accept the apology. Rutten decided to walk away because it was a charity event. Urlacher approached him and said, “You want to take this outside,” indicating his desire to fight Rutten.

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Urlacher, at that time, did not know who Rutten was. Someone told Urlacher that Rutten was a professional fighter. The former NFL player realized his mistake and apologized to Rutten. Since then, neither of them has talked openly about the incident. Urlacher is a Pro Football Hall of Famer and played for the Chicago Bears for 13 seasons. Rutten is an inspiration for fighters like Georges St-Pierre.

Related: Georges St-Pierre would “rather face Francis Ngannou” than this fighter in a street fight

Bas Rutten vs Frank Shamrock is the first great MMA trilogy

Bas Rutten Franck Shamrock
Rutten vs. Shamrock was an incredible trilogy (Image Courtesy – Quora)

Frank Shamrock is an MMA legend who had an undefeated UFC stint. Before entering the UFC, he had an intense trilogy with Bas Rutten in the Pancrase promotion. They first fought in 1994. It was Shamrock’s debut as an MMA fighter. He won the bout via majority decision on the scorecard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hl2skcfGM0&pp=ygUXdG9wIDEwIHRyaWxvZ2llcyBpbiBtbWE%3D

The second fight happened in 1995, with Rutten winning a split decision. By this time, both fighters had improved significantly. It was an even contest, with Rutten getting the nod in the scorecard. After the fight, Rutten won the King of Pancrase title and went on a five-fight winning streak. Meanwhile, Shamrock won six straight fights, including the Interim-Pancrase title, to set up the trilogy fight.

The trilogy fight happened in 1996 to unify the Interim and Undisputed King of Pancrase titles. Rutten got the better of Shamrock in the fight. He was a much different fighter and found answers to the challenge posed by Shamrock. After ten minutes, the doctor stopped the contest to award a TKO victory to Bas Rutten. At the time, Rutten became the best fighter in the world with his win over Shamrock.

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