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Remco Pardoel
Remco Pardoel
Born	23 May 1969 (age 55); Oss, Netherlands
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	260 lb (120 kg; 19 st)
Division	Heavyweight
Style	Jujutsu, Aikido, Taekwondo, Karate, Boxing, Judo, Muay Thai, Luta Livre, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Team	Pardoel Sports
Rank	4th Dan Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu; 2nd Black Belt in Taekwondo; 2nd Black Belt in Jujutsu; 1st Black Belt in Judo
Years active	1994–2003
Mixed martial arts record
Total	19
Wins	10
By knockout	2
By submission	6
By decision	2
Losses	6
By knockout	3
By submission	2
By decision	1
Draws	1
No contests	2
Other information
	Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Remco Pardoel (born 23 May 1969) is a retired Dutch^[2] mixed martial artist.^[3] He competed in the heavyweight^[4] division. He has fought in promotions such as the UFC, Shooto and Pancrase. He was a junior national champion in Judo in 1988, and a competitive BJJ grappler. He made his MMA debut at UFC 2, eventually losing to Royce Gracie. Over the course of his career he fought Vernon White, Minoru Suzuki, and Marco Ruas.^[5]^[1]

Early career

Pardoel began his martial arts career at age 4 when he first began training in Judo.^[1] At age 7, he began training in Taekwondo and took up traditional Jiu-Jitsu at age 11.^[1] He won gold at the 1988 Junior National Judo Championships in the Netherlands, followed by a number of Ju Jitsu titles across Europe.^[5]^[1] He became Ju Jitsu world champion in 1993 when the sport's first World Championship was held in Denmark.^[1] There, he met Fabio Gurgel, Romero Cavalcanti, Sylvio Behring and other fighters, who taught him some of the sport's techniques.^[1] He would invite the Brazilian team to the Netherlands, and so Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was introduced in Europe, in his hometown of Oss, starting in November 1993.^[1]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In 1994, Pardoel was invited to Ultimate Fighting Championship at its event UFC 2 in United States. Cornered by UFC 1 finalist Gerard Gordeau,^[6] Remco was billed as a Jiu-Jitsu fighter,^[7] and was pitted in the first round of the tournament against Alberto Cerro León, a Spanish Pencak Silat practitioner. The bout was long and violent, as although Pardoel threw León to the ground early, the Spaniard resisted his armlock attempts and even tried an illegal fish hook in repeated occasions.^[7] At the end, Pardoel submitted him with a sode guruma jime. The Dutch fighter was later quoted as: "Alberto was the reason to enter the UFC for me... In Europe, the guys from Pencak Silat and Wing Chun are badmouthing all other styles by saying and writing that they are invincible, which [they're] not. So the best way to prove that they are wrong is to challenge them."^[8]

Pardoel advanced to the next round and fought Muay Thai fighter Orlando Wiet in a memorable match.^[9] The heavier Pardoel executed a hip throw and pinned Wiet on the mat with ura gatame. After some hesitation, the Jiu-Jitsu champion then proceeded to land seven brutal elbow strikes on Wiet's temple, resulting in a knockout. Wiet was actually rendered unconscious after the second blow, and Pardoel himself had to speak to the referee in order to get the match stopped.^[10] The Dutch contender went to the semi-finals to face UFC 1 winner Royce Gracie, another Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu exponent. Seconds into the match, Royce captured Pardoel's back while standing, tripped him down and performed a gi choke, making Remco tap out.^[9]

He returned to UFC in September 1995 at the event UFC 7. His first opponent would be Karateka Ryan Parker, whom he defeated in swift fashion by throwing him down, pinning him with kesa gatame and locking a mounted Ezekiel choke. The Dutchman advanced to meet Luta Livre legend Marco Ruas, also the eventual winner. Pardoel got a guillotine choke early, but Ruas escaped via foot stomps and they both met on the ground, where the Brazilian tried a straight-ankle lock to no avail. After some minutes of struggle, Ruas mounted Pardoel, and the latter opted to tap out.^[11] Pardoel would later claim that Ruas was using some sort of body oil or lubricant to hinder his hold.^[12] It would be Pardoel's last appearance in UFC.

BJJ black belt controversy

In 2023, Remco made false claims about receiving a record fast black belt and being the first European promoted to black belt in 1996.

Remco was awarded his black belt in 2007 by Vinicius Magalhães (Draculino),^[13] which today would make him a 4th degree black belt. He wore stripes on his belt according to Draculino's promotion up to 2023, when he suddenly claimed he was promoted to black belt already in 1996 by Fernando Yamasaki and Carlos Gracie Jr.^[14] This would have made him the first European born BJJ black belt as well as the fastest ever to receive a BJJ black belt, in only 2 years and 2 months from getting his first BJJ lesson, from visiting Brazilians.

The claim seems to stem from the early days of international CBJJ competitions, when lower belts on several occasions were allowed to compete together with black belts (first BJJ World championship, first BJJ European championship etc.) and Remco was allowed to compete in the black belt division of the World championship in Rio 1996. Over the years, Remco has been very clear on that he had no belt in BJJ at the time and really did not belong in the top 8 bracket in the sport.^[15] He also competed as a BJJ purple belt in Budweiser Cup in the US in 2005.^[16] Remco himself has also confirmed that he was only the second person in Holland to receive a BJJ black belt.^[17] An investigation on Beltchecker (readable only after logging in) has provided further evidence against Remco's new claims as well as word from Fernando Yamasaki that he has never promoted Remco to black belt.^[18]

In conclusion, he is still a legit 4th degree black belt (legit for 5th degree in 2026).

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
19 matches	10 wins	6 losses
By knockout	2	3
By submission	6	2
By decision	2	1
Draws	1
No contests	2


Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	9–6–1 (2)	Tengiz Tedoradze	TKO (submission to punches)	EF 1: Genesis	13 July 2003	1	2:44	London, England
NC	9–5–1 (2)	Roger Godinez	No Contest	GC 11: Gladiator Challenge 11	20 April 2002	1	0:17	San Jacinto, California, United States
Loss	9–5–1 (1)	Mark Smith	Decision	CW 1: Cage Wars 1	23 February 2002	2	0:00	Portsmouth, England
Win	9–4–1 (1)	Glen Brown	Submission (scarf hold)	UKMMAC 1: Sudden Impact	11 November 2001	2	0:00	Kent, England
Draw	8–4–1 (1)	Herman van Tol	Draw	Rings Holland: No Guts, No Glory	10 June 2001	2	5:00	Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
Win	8–4 (1)	Marc Emmanuel	Decision (unanimous)	Rings Holland: Heroes Live Forever	28 January 2001	2	5:00	Utrecht, Netherlands
Loss	7–4 (1)	Roman Savochka	TKO (submission to strikes)	IAFC: Pankration World Championship 2000 [Day 2]	29 April 2000	1	0:00	Moscow, Russia
Win	7–3 (1)	John Dixson	Submission (headlock)	AAC 2: Amsterdam Absolute Championship 2	27 November 1999	1	8:15	Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
Win	6–3 (1)	Michailis Deligiannakis	Submission (keylock)	WVC 8: World Vale Tudo Championship 8	1 July 1999	1	2:20	Aruba
Win	5–3 (1)	John Dixson	Submission (choke)	AAC 1: Amsterdam Absolute Championship 1	25 October 1998	1	4:16	Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
Loss	4–3 (1)	Marco Ruas	Submission (position)	UFC 7: The Brawl in Buffalo	8 September 1995	1	12:27	Buffalo, New York, United States	UFC 5 Tournament Semifinals.
Win	4–2 (1)	Ryan Parker	Submission (lapel choke)	UFC 7: The Brawl in Buffalo	8 September 1995	1	3:05	Buffalo, New York, United States	UFC 5 Tournament Quarterfinals.
NC	3–2 (1)	Carl Franks	No Contest	Shooto: Complete Vale Tudo Access	29 July 1995	1	8:00	Omiya, Saitama, Japan
Loss	3–2	Minoru Suzuki	KO (punch)	Pancrase: Road To The Championship 3	26 July 1994	1	7:16	Tokyo, Japan
Win	3–1	Vernon White	TKO (lost points)	Pancrase: Road To The Championship 2	6 July 1994	1	14:24	Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan
Loss	2–1	Royce Gracie	Submission (lapel choke)	UFC 2: No Way Out	11 March 1994	1	1:31	Denver, Colorado, United States	UFC 2 Tournament Semifinals.
Win	2–0	Orlando Wiet	KO (elbows)			1	1:29		UFC 2 Tournament Quarterfinals.
Win	1–0	Alberto Cerra Leon	Submission (forearm choke)			1	9:51		UFC 2 Tournament Opening Round.

Submission grappling record

KO PUNCHES

Result	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Notes
Loss	Pete Williams	Decision	ADCC world championship 2000	2000
Loss	Ricardo Liborio	Submission (armbar)	World Jiu-jitsu Championship	1996