Ben Spijkers
Encyclopedia
Bernhard Hendrikus Martinus Spijkers (born 10 March 1961 in Nijmegen, Gelderland
) is a retired judoka from the Netherlands
, who represented his native country at three consecutive Summer Olympics (1984, 1988 and 1992). He won the bronze medal in the men's middleweight division (– 86 kg) in Seoul, South Korea (1988), alongside Akinobu Osako
from Japan
.
In 1995, Spijkers tried his hand at Mixed Martial Arts
competition by competing in the World Combat Championship and Shooto events.
HI fight with Renzo Gracie in the opening round of the grapplers division at the high production value event World Combat Championships (WCC) was his most high profile battle. Spijkers managed to win the early exchanges by neatly throwing Gracie to the floor but was quickly overpowered and upon giving up his back, he was relentlessly pounded by Gracie with hammerfists to the back of the neck and forced to submit at the 3 minute mark. Upon the ending of the battle Gracie stomped on the back of Spijkers head. Renzo later apologised for his unsporting actions. To cap Spijkers nightmare at the WCC, at the airport prior to his flying back to Europe, he was assaulted by an air stewardess after a disagreement and forced to defend himself. He was arraigned by local police although he was released without charge and flew back to Europe a few days later.
Gelderland
Gelderland is the largest province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem. The two other major cities, Nijmegen and Apeldoorn have more inhabitants. Other major regional centers in Gelderland are Ede, Doetinchem, Zutphen, Tiel, Wijchen,...
) is a retired judoka from the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, who represented his native country at three consecutive Summer Olympics (1984, 1988 and 1992). He won the bronze medal in the men's middleweight division (– 86 kg) in Seoul, South Korea (1988), alongside Akinobu Osako
Akinobu Osako
is a retired judoka from Japan, who represented his native country at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. There he won the bronze medal in the men's middleweight division , alongside Ben Spijkers from the Netherlands.He was born in Nishimorokata District, Miyazaki and began judo at the...
from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
In 1995, Spijkers tried his hand at Mixed Martial Arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
competition by competing in the World Combat Championship and Shooto events.
HI fight with Renzo Gracie in the opening round of the grapplers division at the high production value event World Combat Championships (WCC) was his most high profile battle. Spijkers managed to win the early exchanges by neatly throwing Gracie to the floor but was quickly overpowered and upon giving up his back, he was relentlessly pounded by Gracie with hammerfists to the back of the neck and forced to submit at the 3 minute mark. Upon the ending of the battle Gracie stomped on the back of Spijkers head. Renzo later apologised for his unsporting actions. To cap Spijkers nightmare at the WCC, at the airport prior to his flying back to Europe, he was assaulted by an air stewardess after a disagreement and forced to defend himself. He was arraigned by local police although he was released without charge and flew back to Europe a few days later.
External links
- Videos of Ben Spijkers on judovision.org