1. Melvin Manhoef was born on 11 May 1976 and is a retired Surinamese-born Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer.
46 Facts About Melvin Manhoef
1. 2.
Melvin Manhoef played soccer during his youth, and was introduced to Muay Thai by his younger brother, Moreno.
3.
At the age of 18, Melvin Manhoef had his first fight, which he won by decision.
4.
Melvin Manhoef made his comeback in September 2001, as part of Chakuriki Gym.
5.
In 2004, Melvin Manhoef entered the Cage Rage promotion in London.
6.
Melvin Manhoef became the British Cage Rage Light Heavyweight Champion by beating Fabio Piamonte at Cage Rage 13.
7.
Melvin Manhoef defended his title for almost two years, until entering the K-1's MMA affiliate promotion Hero's in 2006.
8.
Melvin Manhoef won his first fight at Hero's 4 against Shungo Oyama by technical knockout in first round.
9.
Melvin Manhoef has switched his main focus to MMA over the past couple of years.
10.
At Dream 6 Melvin Manhoef fought Gegard Mousasi as the tournament dictated.
11.
Melvin Manhoef fought former WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo Filho on 20 July 2009 at Dream 10.
12.
Melvin Manhoef made his debut for the organization against Robbie Lawler on 30 January 2010 at Strikeforce: Miami.
13.
Melvin Manhoef fought Tatsuya Mizuno at Dream 15 and lost by submission.
14.
Melvin Manhoef returned to the United States in March 2011, facing Tim Kennedy at Strikeforce: Feijao vs Henderson.
15.
Melvin Manhoef lost the fight via submission in the first round.
16.
On 31 January 2012 it was announced that Melvin Manhoef had signed with ONE Fighting Championship and would be fighting Renato Sobral in the main event at ONE Fighting Championship 3.
17.
However, Sobral pulled out of the fight and Melvin Manhoef faced Yoshiyuki Nakanishi.
18.
Melvin Manhoef scored a knockout victory on 6 October 2012 against Ryo Kawamura, followed by a quick knockout of Dennis Kang on 31 December 2012.
19.
Melvin Manhoef helped his teammate Lyoto Machida train for a fight with Dan Henderson.
20.
Melvin Manhoef openly hoped to sign with the UFC after visiting UFC 156 in Las Vegas and meeting with Dana White.
21.
In 2013 Melvin Manhoef fought UFC veteran Brock Larson at ONE FC on 5 April.
22.
Melvin Manhoef lost to Mamed Khalidov at KSW23 on 8 June 2013.
23.
Melvin Manhoef won the bout via TKO, early in the first round.
24.
Melvin Manhoef lost to Filip Verlinden in the quarter-finals, suffering a head kick knockdown in round one before losing a majority decision.
25.
Melvin Manhoef made his Bellator debut against Doug Marshall, in a middleweight bout, at Bellator 125 on 19 September 2014.
26.
Melvin Manhoef won the fight via knockout in the first round.
27.
Melvin Manhoef faced Glory veteran Joe Schilling on 15 November 2014 at Bellator 131.
28.
Melvin Manhoef next faced Alexander Shlemenko on 13 February 2015 at Bellator 133.
29.
Melvin Manhoef lost via knockout early in the second round.
30.
Melvin Manhoef faced Rafael Carvalho on 20 May 2016 for the Bellator Middleweight World Championship at Bellator 155.
31.
Melvin Manhoef lost the bout via knockout due to a head kick in the fourth round.
32.
Melvin Manhoef made a comeback to kickboxing and faced Remy Bonjasky for the fourth time, after losing three times, on 29 October 2017.
33.
Melvin Manhoef announced his retirement from kickboxing and stated that he would focus on his MMA career.
34.
Melvin Manhoef was scheduled to face Chidi Njokuani on 30 November 2018 at Bellator 210.
35.
However, on 1 November 2018 it was reported that Melvin Manhoef pulled out from the event due to injury and he was replaced by John Salter.
36.
Melvin Manhoef won the bout via technical knockout in the first round.
37.
Subsequently, Melvin Manhoef signed a two-fight contract extension with the organization.
38.
Melvin Manhoef was next expected to face Simon Biyong at Bellator 248 on 10 October 2020.
39.
However, the bout was scrapped and Melvin Manhoef instead faced Corey Anderson at Bellator 251 on 5 November 2020.
40.
Melvin Manhoef was scheduled to fight Yoel Romero on 6 May 2022 at Bellator 280.
41.
However, Melvin Manhoef withdrew from the bout due to a hand injury and was replaced by Alex Polizzi.
42.
Melvin Manhoef lost the bout via knockout on the ground via elbows in the third round.
43.
Melvin Manhoef was submitted via heel hook in the first round and announced his retirement.
44.
Melvin Manhoef founded a kickboxing and MMA-promotion named World Fighting League.
45.
Melvin Manhoef stopped the men from fleeing in a car by performing a PIT maneuver, and then, with the assistance of neighbours, detained the suspects until police arrived.
46.
Melvin Manhoef gave a statement to police afterwards, although legal ramifications of his actions are unclear.