Gerard Gordeau| Quick Facts
Full Name | Gerard Gordeau |
Birth Date | March 30th, 1955 |
Birth Place | Den Haag, Netherlands |
Age | 65 years (in 2020) |
Nick Name | “The Undertaker from Hell” |
Religion | Not Available |
Nationality | Dutch |
Education | Not Available |
Horoscope | Aries |
Father’s Name | Not Disclosed |
Mother’s Name | Not Disclosed |
Siblings | Five |
Height | 6’5” (1.96 m) |
Weight | 98kg (216 lb) |
Build | Athletic |
Shoe Size | Not Available |
Hair Color | Brown |
Eye Color | Grey |
Style | Savate |
Team | Dojo Kamakura |
Marital Status | Not Disclosed |
Spouse | Not Disclosed |
Net Worth | $1 million |
Rank | 9th dan Kyokushin Karate (International Budokai)
4th dan Kyokushin Karate (NKA) 7th dan Sei Budo Kai 2nd dan Full-Contact Karate (USA) 3rd Silver glove in Savate (Boxe Francaise) 4th dan Oyama Karate |
Social Media | Instagram, Twitter |
Gerard Gordeau is a Dutch former savateur, karateka, and mixed martial artist.
Moreover, he is the 1991 World Champion Savate and holder of the Dutch Champion Kyokushin Karate title for 8 consecutive years.
Foremost Gerard is known internationally for his employment of “dirty,” often illegal fighting techniques such as biting and eye-gouging.
Furthermore, let’s get to know more about the mixed martial artist Gerard Gordeau. First, let’s look into some of Gerad’s quick facts.
Gerard Gordeau | Childhood, Families, and Education
Curtis Jonathan Hussey, also known as Johnny Curtis, was born in Portland, Maine on July 22, 1981. Gordeau, the second of six brothers, lost his father when he was 11 and was forced to drop out of school to work. He began karate under the influence of an Indonesian friend, who Gordeau used to eat at.
Moreover, after challenging and losing to an unassuming Japanese partner, Gordeau decided to train seriously. He sparred 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 those skills.
Because of the high criminality in the Dutch districts, he would reveal years later that he was constantly in danger of death.
Age, height, and body dimensions
Gerard has an athletic body and stands 6’3″ (1.91 m) tall and weighs 95kg (210 lbs). Harper will be 53 in 2020, and he has brown hair and grey eyes.
Gerard was born under the sign of Aries, according to his birthdate.
Education
Gerard’s educational history is unknown. He was, however, born and raised in the Netherlands. As a result, we can assume he graduated from Dutch educational institutions.
Gerard Gordeau | Work and Life
Gordeau joined the Kyokushin school after turning professional and competed at the World Open Karate Championships. Later in life, he trained in amateur wrestling and boxing to supplement his style, as suggested by Kyokushin founder Mas Oyama.
In addition, he studied kickboxing, savate, and judo. Gordeau held the titles of Dutch Karate Champion from 1978 to 1985, European Savate Champion from 1988 to 1991, and World Savate Champion in 1992 before making his MMA debut.
Rings and UWF Newborn
Gordeau made his pro wrestling debut on August 13, 1988, in the shoot-style promotion UWF Newborn, where he lost a special match against Akira Maeda.
In addition, he competed in two bouts at RINGS “free fight” events against Masaaki Satake and Mitsuya Nagai.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
Gordeau was scouted to compete in UFC 1, or the Ultimate Fighting Championship, in 1993. The event’s organizers sought several high-level fighters in Holland, including kickboxing champion Ernesto Hoost, but Gordeau was the only one who was available and willing to participate.
Furthermore, because he had won the savate championship 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 that Gordeau had fought in Japan.
Gordeau defeated Tuli in his first fight, which was also the first televised match in UFC history, in just 26 seconds.
Furthermore, Gordeau advanced to the next round despite the fact that the kick knocked out three of Tuli’s teeth, two of which were stuck in Gordeau’s foot.
Similarly, the announcers claimed that the third tooth landed beneath their table, but other reports claim 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 could become infected if they extracted the teeth.
Similarly, Gordeau’s punch had also broken his hand, and he arrived at the next fight with a visibly swollen fist.
Controversy
In an unrelated matter, Gordeau’s debut sparked a minor controversy when he appeared to perform a Roman salute prior to the match, earning him accusations of being a neo-nazi. Nonetheless, it was revealed that he was performing the traditional savate salute.
Gordeau, in fact, had a Jewish ancestry through his father, a French Jew. His grandfather, too, was executed at the Amersfoort concentration camp for his participation in the Dutch resistance.
His next opponent was kickboxing champion Kevin Rosier, who outweighed Gordeau by nearly 100 pounds and had slightly better health than Gordeau.
Despite this, Gordeau easily won the fight, driving Rosier against the fence with leg kicks and jabs while maintaining distance.
Similarly, after a half-minute of harassment, Gordeau pushed Rosier to the mat with knee and elbow strikes to the head, forcing him to cover down and shield his face before finishing him with two stomps to the liver.
Attacks That Aren’t Legal
Finally, in the championship match, the Dutchman faced Brazilian jiu-jitsu master Royce Gracie.
According to Gordeau, Royce was warned about his injuries by UFC doctors and took advantage of this to overpower him.
Furthermore, Gordeau allegedly bit Gracie’s ear in an intentional foul while under Gracie’s mount. Gracie won the fight and the tournament despite landing some palm strikes and headbutts.
After Gerard’s tap out in retaliation for the foul play, the Brazilian also held the choke for a long time.
In addition, Gordeau later justified his illegal 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 approached to fight again in UFC 2 in 1994, but he declined due to payment issues from the previous event.
Furthermore, Hereard arranged for his training partners Remco Pardoel and Freek Hamaker to fill in for him, with him serving as a cornerman.
Wrestling in New Japan
Furthermore, on January 4, 1995, he competed in New Japan Pro Wrestling’s four-man Final Countdown BVD Tournament at the Tokyo Dome during Battle 7. He was defeated by eventual winner Antonio Inoki in his only match.
Gordeau stayed with Inoki as a Universal Fighting-Arts Organization trainer and wrestler, cornering Naoya Ogawa on several occasions.
He was involved in the infamous 1.4 Incident, which occurred on January 4, 1999, at the Tokyo Dome, when UFO member Naoya Ogawa competed in a pro wrestling match against Shinya Hashimoto.
Thank you Japan.
Gordeau applied to the Japanese Vale Tudo Japan tournament two years after his UFC appearance. As a cornerman in the previous edition, he assisted fellow UFC competitor Dave Levicki in his unsuccessful fight against Royce’s brother Rickson.
Gordeau was pitted against Yuki Nakai, a much lighter shoot wrestler.
Using the ring’s advantages, Gordeau grabbed the ropes to avoid takedowns and scored several strikes on Nakai in the first two rounds, including several illegal eye gouges while Nakai was down from a heel hook attempt.
However, after a third-round pass on the ropes, Nakai scored a double leg takedown against the ring corner, escaped Gordeau’s guillotine choke attempt, and dropped down for another heel hook, this time successfully submitting the Dutchman after half an hour of fighting.
Furthermore, after an intense fight in which Yuki refused to seek medical attention in order to continue in the tournament, Nakai lost sight in his right eye as a result of the gouge.
Gordeau, like his UFC fouls, was unapologetic about his actions, stating 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 harbored any ill will toward her. During the fight, Gordeau praised Nakai’s fighting spirit.
Zero-One in Professional Wrestling
Gordeau wrestled in singles matches 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 student Ryoji Sai.
Gerard Gordeau | Awards and Accomplishments
- Eight-time Dutch Champion Kyokushin Karate
- Competed at the World Championships Kyokushin Karate-1979, 1983, 1987
- Savate World Heavyweight Champion- 1991
- Three-time Savate European Heavyweight Champion
- UFC 1 Tournament Runner Up- 1993
Gerard Gordeau | Net Worth
Curtis has not revealed anything about his career earnings. However, reviewing the average salary of several wrestlers, we can assume that-
THUS PRESUMABLE NET WORTH OF JOHNNY CURTIS IS ABOUT $1 MILLION.
Gerard Gordeau | Post- Retirement
In 2000, Gordeau served as a consultant for women’s MMA promotion ReMix, cornered Marloes Coenen.
Furthermore, Gordeau, along with his brothers Al and Nico, owns the Dojo Kamakura in The Hague. He also trained Dutch K-1 fighter Mourad Bouzidi, Anil Dubar, and sometimes the Romanian champion Daniel Ghiță.
Likewise, famous students are Cem Senol of the Dojo Osaka Netherlands, Robert Pepels of the Ashigaru Honbu Dojo Netherlands, and the Ashigaru Ryu style founder.
Moreover, Gordeau runs an International Karate Organization together with Pepels and teaches at camps and seminars worldwide.
Gerard Gordeau | Wife and Children
Gerard is known for keeping his private matters a secret. The only information available regarding him is about his professional life and career.
Moreover, there are also no sources that state Gerard’s relationship with anyone currently or in the past.
Gerard Gordeau | Social Media Presence
Gerard’s social media presence is absent. However, his fans still post about him.
We have provided you with Gerard’s hashtags on various social media platforms-
Twitter– #gerardgordeau
Instagram- #gerardgordeau
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