114 Facts About Peter Aerts

Peter Aerts won his first world title when he was nineteen years old in 1990, taking the International Kick Boxing Federation's Heavyweight Championship.

Peter Aerts would add the Dutch heavyweight title and the World Muay Thai Association's heavyweight title to his mantelpiece before going on to compete in Japan.

Peter Aerts competed in every K-1 World Grand Prix except one, in 2009.

Peter Aerts won his first Grand Prix in 1994 by knocking out Rob van Esdonk and Patrick Smith in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively, before taking a unanimous decision over Masaaki Satake in the finals.

Peter Aerts won the GP the following year when he beat Toshiyuki Atokawa, Ernesto Hoost and then stopped Jerome Le Banner in the finals.

Peter Aerts won this tournament in six minutes and forty-three seconds, which was the quickest K-1 GP win ever at the time.

Peter Aerts was born in Eindhoven, North Brabant, Netherlands on October 25,1970.

Peter Aerts won his first world championship title when he was nineteen.

Peter Aerts switched to "The Champs" gym in Eindhoven, with Eddy Smulders, in 1989 where he won his first world title, taking the IKBF World Heavyweight Championship in 1990.

Peter Aerts received the moniker "The Dutch Lumberjack" by the trainer of his opponent Mark Russell after he defeated Russell by first-round stoppage in Oranjestad, Aruba on 29 June 1991.

Peter Aerts was given his signature sleeveless lumberjack jacket, which he would wear during his ring walk before every match, by his friend Bas Rutten.

On 18 November 1991, Peter Aerts defeated the legendary Frank Lobman via unanimous decision in Rotterdam to win the WMTA World Heavyweight Muay Thai Championship.

Peter Aerts beat Maurice Smith by decision after nine rounds in Paris, France, on 9 April 1992.

Peter Aerts emerged the victor and retained the WMTA title as Lobman retired in round three.

Peter Aerts ended the year with a draw against karate fighter Masaaki Satake in Osaka, Japan, on 4 October 1992.

Peter Aerts then rematched Maurice Smith in Amsterdam on March 7,1993, and knocked him out with a right high kick, a technique that would become Aerts' signature move.

Peter Aerts faced Ernesto Hoost in the quarter-finals, and after a close three rounds, Hoost was named the winner by majority decision.

Peter Aerts returned to K-1 on September 4,1993, against Dino Homsey at K-1 Illusion and KO'd the American with a left high kick in round one.

Fifteen days later in Amsterdam, Peter Aerts made the first defence of his WMTA World Heavyweight Muay Thai Championship against Rob van Esdonk, knocking him out with a right hook less than a minute into round four.

Peter Aerts was still able to handle him and KO'd him just over one minute into the first round.

Peter Aerts simply landed more powerful and a larger number of strikes on Satake en route to a unanimous decision victory.

Peter Aerts returned to the ring on September 12,1994, at the Night of the Stars tournament in Rotterdam.

Peter Aerts then knocked out Glenn Wijngaart in the semis and went into the final against Frank Lobman, who was thirty-eight at this point and facing Aerts for the third time.

Peter Aerts battered Lobman until his corner threw in the towel in round two.

Peter Aerts then made the third defence of his WMTA World Heavyweight Muay Thai title against Ergin Solmaz in Amsterdam on November 12,1994, before going back to Japan to fight Glen Parker at K-1 Legend.

Peter Aerts knocked Parker out with a knee in round one.

Peter Aerts went up against Ernesto Hoost for the third time in the semis in what was another close fight.

Peter Aerts then beat Michael Thompson by KO in a superfight at the K-3 Grand Prix '95 in Nagoya on July 16,1997 before beating Hubert Numrich by points for the WMTA World Super Heavyweight Muay Thai Championship in Amsterdam on October 28,1995.

Peter Aerts ended the year with a forty-second KO win over Mike Bernardo, the hard hitting South African known for his punching power, at K-1 Hercules on December 9,1995.

On March 10,1996, Peter Aerts knocked out Jean-Claude Leuyer with a highlight-reel high kick at the K-1 Grand Prix '96 Opening Battle in Yokohama to qualify for the 1996 K-1 World Grand Prix.

Already a dominant name in K-1 and the reigning Grand Prix champion, Peter Aerts was the favorite to win the 1996 tournament and as he had demolished Bernardo just six months earlier, he was expected to do the same this time.

The referee gave Peter Aerts a count in round two, and in round three Bernardo knocked Peter Aerts out with a right hook.

Bernardo had broken Peter Aerts' nineteen-fight winning run, and became the first man to beat him in since Ernesto Hoost in 1993.

Peter Aerts was given the chance to avenge this loss at K-1 Revenge '96 four months later, on September 1,1996, when the rubber match was made between the pair.

Peter Aerts knocked Bernardo down in round one and continued to hurt him with low kicks throughout the fight.

In round two, the referee gave Peter Aerts a standing eight count but he contested this as he simply stumbled after throwing a kick.

In 1997, Peter Aerts broke his working relationship with Thom Harinck and the Chakuriki Gym and went to train under former opponent Andre Mannaart at the Mejiro Gym.

Peter Aerts returned to the ring for the first time since his trilogy with Mike Bernardo on March 16,1997, at K-1 Kings '97 where he had the first of his four meetings with legendary Swiss Kyokushin fighter Andy Hug.

Hug was the 1996 K-1 Grand Prix Champion, but Peter Aerts was able to overwhelm him and forced the referee to stop the match in round one.

Peter Aerts then continued to get back on track by TKOing Jean-Claude Leuyer at K-1 Braves '97 on April 29,1997, and KOing Jerome Le Banner at K-1 Dream '97 on July 20,1997.

Peter Aerts was able to dominate the rest of the fight before knocking him cold with a right high kick in round three.

Peter Aerts used his superior speed to pick Bernardo apart with punches before finishing him with a body shot in round three.

Peter Aerts kicked off 1998 with a majority decision victory over Ernesto Hoost, their third fight, at K-1 Kings '98 on April 9.

Peter Aerts then travelled to Zurich, Switzerland to fight Andy Hug for his WKA World Super Heavyweight Muay Thai Championship at K-1 Fight Night '98 on June 6,1998.

Peter Aerts lost his next fight against the Brazilian karateka Francisco Filho at K-1 Dream '98 on July 18,1998.

Peter Aerts knocked Filho down in round one but the match was stopped by the doctor at the end of the round as Peter Aerts had a large cut on his shin, and Filho was awarded the victory.

Peter Aerts soon returned to form knocking out Sinisa Andrijasevic in round two at the K-1 World Grand Prix '98 opening round on September 27,1998, to qualify for the K-1 Grand Prix '98 Final Round on December 13.

Peter Aerts knocked him down twice in round one and forced the referee to stop the bout, sending him into the final against Andy Hug.

Peter Aerts began 1999 in a rich vein of form, finishing Michael McDonald, Jim Mullen, Matt Skelton, Maurice Smith and Sam Greco, respectively, over the course of five months.

Peter Aerts won by technical knockout when Musashi's corner stopped the fight at the end of round four.

Peter Aerts continued his win-streak when he knocked out Andrew Thomson in fifty-six seconds at K-1 King of the Ring 2000 in Bologna, Italy, on May 12,2000.

Peter Aerts was then given the chance to prove this loss was simply a fluke when he rematched Abidi in the quarter-finals of the K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 in Yokohama, a qualifying tournament for the 2000 World Grand Prix.

Peter Aerts was unable to do so and Abidi stopped him en route to the final.

Peter Aerts dominated the fight this time, and knocked Abidi down with a two-punch combination just seconds after the opening bell.

Peter Aerts took a unanimous decision after three rounds.

At the K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Final on December 8,2001, Peter Aerts went up against Francisco Filho at the first stage.

Peter Aerts developed a large hemotoma on his left foot when Filho blocked one of his kicks with his knee.

Peter Aerts kicked off 2002 with wins over Nicholas Pettas and Andrei Kirsanov in the first half of the year before losing a majority decision to Alexey Ignashov at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 in Fukuoka on July 14,2002.

At the K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 on December 7,2002, Peter Aerts was eliminated from the Grand Prix at the quarter-final stage for the fourth year running when he was beaten by Ray Sefo via split decision.

Peter Aerts rebounded from two consecutive defeats and knocked out Tsuyoshi Nakasako with a high kick at K-1 Beast II 2003 on June 29,2003 before qualifying for the 2003 K-1 WGP by beating Jerrel Venetiaan via unanimous decision at K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 Final Elimination on October 11,2003.

Peter Aerts was judged the winner unanimously and advanced into the semis for the first time since he won the Grand Prix in 1998.

In 2004, Peter Aerts left Mejiro Gym to found Team Peter Aerts, training out of Kops Gym in Amsterdam under Henri Hooft and Jan Plas.

Peter Aerts then defeated Michael McDonald by unanimous decision at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 Final Elimination on September 25,2004, to qualify for the K-1 World GP final eight.

The K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 Final, held on December 4,2004, saw Peter Aerts go up against South African boxer Francois Botha in the quarter-finals.

Peter Aerts lost in the first round when he could not continue after injuring his leg while low kicking Botha.

Williams' aggressive style had Peter Aerts backtracking for much of the fight, but he was still able to show his class and take victory in the deciding round.

Peter Aerts picked up another win over Mighty Mo at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Osaka - Final Elimination on September 23,2005, to ensure his place at the 2005 World Grand Prix.

All three judges agreed that Peter Aerts was the winner.

Peter Aerts was clearly unfamiliar with grappling and was submitted with a heel hook by Oyama as soon as the fight went to the ground at the 0:30 mark of round one.

The circumstances surrounding the match were rather bizarre as Hoost was scheduled to face Bob Sapp that night and Peter Aerts was only there to commentate for television.

However, Sapp ran from the Amsterdam ArenA and Peter Aerts stepped in to replace him, and had to borrow a pair of fighting shorts from Semmy Schilt.

Peter Aerts defeated Musashi by first-round KO, and after Remy Bonjasky was forced to withdraw from the Grand Prix due to an injury, Aerts took his place and met Glaube Feitosa in the semi-finals.

Peter Aerts was unable to reenact his March 2006 performance and Schilt took a unanimous decision after three rounds.

On June 23,2007, at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Amsterdam, Peter Aerts faced Bob Sapp in a much-anticipated superfight.

In what was a rather anticlimactic affair, Peter Aerts struck Sapp with the left knee, Sapp fell down and the fight was over in 0:25 of the first round.

Peter Aerts won the fight at the end of the first round by TKO when Sefo did not answer the bell.

Midway through the first round, Peter Aerts went down in pain clutching his right knee.

Peter Aerts was unable to continue due to injury and Schilt regained the title.

Peter Aerts began 2008 with a TKO win over South African giant Jan Nortje at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Fukuoka on 29 June, before meeting Semmy Schilt for the fourth time at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Seoul Final 16 on September 27.

Peter Aerts was eliminated at the first stage by K-1 Heavyweight Champion Badr Hari.

Peter Aerts gave a poor performance in the match, and was knocked down less than twenty seconds into round one.

Peter Aerts took part in a tournament reserve bout at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final on 5 December 2009, defeating Gokhan Saki by unanimous decision.

None of the tournament fighters were withdrawn so this was the first time since the tournament's founding in 1993 that Peter Aerts had not competed at the K-1 World Grand Prix.

Peter Aerts continued to drop weight, and on 3 April 2010, he faced K-1 Heavyweight Champion Kyotaro for the title at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Yokohama.

Peter Aerts was overwhelmed by a less damaged and much fitter and bigger Alistair Overeem and lost by first-round TKO.

Peter Aerts was expected to face Melvin Manhoef at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2011 in Nanjing Final 16 on 29 October 2011.

Peter Aerts's next fight was a TKO loss against Tyrone Spong at an It's Showtime event on 30 June 2012 in Brussels, Belgium.

Peter Aerts competed in the sixteen-man 2012 Glory Heavyweight Grand Slam at Glory 4: Tokyo - 2012 Heavyweight Grand Slam in Saitama, Japan on 31 December 2012 but injury forced him to bow out of the tournament at the first stage.

Peter Aerts performed well in round one of his bout with his one-time student Mourad Bouzidi but broke his right hand in the process and was unable to come out for the second round.

Peter Aerts fought Jamal Ben Saddik at Glory 8: Tokyo on 3 May 2013 at the Ariake Coliseum.

In what was publicized as his retirement match, Peter Aerts lost a tightly contested split decision to Rico Verhoeven at Glory 13: Tokyo, Japan on 21 December 2013.

Peter Aerts was initially expected to compete in a heavyweight tournament at GFC Series 1 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 29 May 2014.

Peter Aerts fought to a draw with Cooper, tearing his hamstring during the match.

Peter Aerts fought Freddy Kemayo at Fight Night Saint-Tropez II in Saint-Tropez, France on 4 August 2014, losing by TKO as a result of a leg injury in round two.

Peter Aerts then faced Ernesto Hoost for the sixth time on 19 October 2014 in Osaka for the vacant WKO World Heavyweight Championship.

Peter Aerts' retirement was short-lived and he returned to the ring to compete in his third mixed martial arts match, against the debuting Estonian sumo wrestler Baruto Kaito at Rizin World Grand Prix 2015: Part 2 at the Saitama Super Arena on 31 December 2015.

Peter Aerts lost to his larger opponent via a lopsided unanimous decision.

In yet another retirement match, Peter Aerts was scheduled to face Tsotne Rogava at WFL 5: Champion vs Champion in Almere on 23 April 2017, but his opponent was later changed to Nordine Mahieddine.

Peter Aerts defeated Mahieddine by unanimous decision to record his 105th career win.

Peter Aerts took part in a scoreless exhibition bout against Atakan Arslan at MFC 24 in Izmir, Turkey on 27 January 2018.

On 26 July 2018, Peter Aerts lost by unanimous decision to Jan Soukup at Yangames Fight Night 6 in Prague, Czech Republic.

Peter Aerts defeated Christian Muller via KO due to a knee strike in the first round of their match at La Familia Fight Night X in Halle, Germany on 4 May 2019.

The 49-year-old Peter Aerts won against 45-year-old Brazilian-Japanese opponent Jairo Kusunoki via a low kick KO early in the second round at HEAT 46 in Tokyo on 19 January 2020.

In 2011, Peter Aerts began competing as a professional wrestler in the Inoki Genome Federation.

Peter Aerts debuted on August 27,2011, against Shinichi Suzukawa at IGF: Super Stars Festival '11 and won by brutalizing his opponent until the referee stopped the match.

Peter Aerts then knocked out Hideki Suzuki at IGF 17 on September 3,2011.

The match ended when Lashley held Fujita by the arms and let Peter Aerts deliver one of his famous kicks to his head, knocking him out.

Peter Aerts played a fictionalized version of himself in the 2011 Dutch comedy film New Kids Turbo in which the protagonists, a group of guys who always look for trouble and create chaos in a small village, borrow some money from him.

Peter Aerts is seen living in a villa, and in one scene he knocks out one of the guys for refusing to give him the money back.

Peter Aerts reprised the role in the 2012 sequel New Kids Nitro.

Peter Aerts filmed a Japanese television commercial for Cup Noodles with Andy Hug and Ernesto Hoost in the 1990s.

Peter Aerts has a stepdaughter, Serena, from his wife's previous relationship.

Peter Aerts owns an amateur kickboxing association in Japan, Peter Aerts Spirit.

In December 2023, Peter Aerts announced that he has launched a new kickboxing organization, Legend, that is based in Japan.