Murthel Groenhart
Encyclopedia
Murthel "The Predator" Groenhart (born October 10, 1986) is a Dutch
based Surinamese super middleweight
Muay Thai
kickboxer fighting out of Amsterdam, Netherlands for Mike's Gym
, where he is trained by Mike Passenier. He is the 2008 K-1 Italy Oktagan champion currently fighting within the It's Showtime
organization.
, Murthel began his kickboxing career fighting on small shows in the Netherlands
. He made his SLAMM
debut in 2006, losing both of his fights with the organization, including a decision loss to Leroy Kaestner
at B-Klass level. In 2008, Murthel was invited by the K-1
organization to take part in an eight man tournament, which had originally been intended for heavyweights but was changed later for fighters around the 75 kg bracket. Murthel won the competition in spectacular fashion, dispatching all three of his opponents by stoppage on the night to take the title in Milan
.
The performance at the K-1 tournament led to Murthel being invited to take part in a fight within the It's Showtime
organization – the Netherlands biggest kickboxing organization. He lost his debut to It's Showtime Reality winner Sem Braan
but impressed enough to be invited back for further matches. Although an impressive fighter with a good knockout ratio, Murthel has had up and down performances within the organization, winning fights against the likes of Yassin Boudrouz and Joep Beerenpoot by knockout
, but losing to Vladimir Moravcik and being knocked out by Ali Cenik, fights he should have been expected to do better in. Murthel has also fought and lost to top class fighters such as Cosmo Alexandre
and Nieky Holzken
– with the loss against Holzken after an extension round, being slightly unfortunate for some who felt Murthel deserved more. Despite some inconsistent performances, Murthel won the vacant E.M.T.A. European title at the start of 2010, defeating Amir Zeyada
in an impressive showing.
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...
based Surinamese super middleweight
Super middleweight
Super Middleweight is a boxing and Muay Thai weight division that has a weight limit of 168 pounds .- 1960s–1983 :There was interest in a division between Middleweight and Light Heavyweight in the late 1960s, the mid-1970s, and the early 1980s...
Muay Thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
kickboxer fighting out of Amsterdam, Netherlands for Mike's Gym
Mike's Gym
Mike's Gym is a kickboxing and mixed martial arts gym, founded by Mike Passenier and headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.-History:The gym was founded by Mike Passenier in 2003....
, where he is trained by Mike Passenier. He is the 2008 K-1 Italy Oktagan champion currently fighting within the It's Showtime
It's Showtime
It's Showtime is a kickboxing and mixed martial arts promotion based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was founded by Simon Rutz in 1998 and held its first show in 1999. They are known to cross promote their events with K-1 and other European promotions from Italy, Belgium and England...
organization.
Biography/Career
Originally from SurinameSuriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
, Murthel began his kickboxing career fighting on small shows in 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...
. He made his SLAMM
SLAMM!! Events
SLAMM!! Events was a Netherlands based mixed martial arts and thaiboxing promotion based in Almere, Netherlands. They organize their flagship "Nederland vs Thailand" series, a ten-hour marathon of mixed martial arts and kickboxing fights as well as an international events in Spain, Belgium, Italy...
debut in 2006, losing both of his fights with the organization, including a decision loss to Leroy Kaestner
Leroy Kaestner
Leroy "Bamm Bamm" Kaestner is a Dutch welterweight kickboxer fighting out of Bullys gym Arnhem for Team Aerts/Afafa. He is the K-1 World MAX 2009 Europe Tournament champion currently competing in K-1 MAX.- Career and biography :...
at B-Klass level. In 2008, Murthel was invited by the K-1
K-1
K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
organization to take part in an eight man tournament, which had originally been intended for heavyweights but was changed later for fighters around the 75 kg bracket. Murthel won the competition in spectacular fashion, dispatching all three of his opponents by stoppage on the night to take the title in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
.
The performance at the K-1 tournament led to Murthel being invited to take part in a fight within the It's Showtime
It's Showtime
It's Showtime is a kickboxing and mixed martial arts promotion based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was founded by Simon Rutz in 1998 and held its first show in 1999. They are known to cross promote their events with K-1 and other European promotions from Italy, Belgium and England...
organization – the Netherlands biggest kickboxing organization. He lost his debut to It's Showtime Reality winner Sem Braan
Sem Braan
Sem "Semtex" Braan is a Dutch Muay Thai super middleweight kickboxer fighting out of Amsterdam, Netherlands for Mejiro Gym...
but impressed enough to be invited back for further matches. Although an impressive fighter with a good knockout ratio, Murthel has had up and down performances within the organization, winning fights against the likes of Yassin Boudrouz and Joep Beerenpoot by knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
, but losing to Vladimir Moravcik and being knocked out by Ali Cenik, fights he should have been expected to do better in. Murthel has also fought and lost to top class fighters such as Cosmo Alexandre
Cosmo Alexandre
Cosmo "Good Boy" Alexandre is a Brazilian middleweight Muay Thai kickboxer. He is the former WMC Intercontinental and WPMF World champion. On December 5, 2009 he won WMC King's Cup Challenger tournament in Bangkok, Thailand.-Biography and career:Cosmo Alexandre Moreira da Rocha was born in Santos,...
and Nieky Holzken
Nieky Holzken
Nieky "The Natural" Holzken is Dutch welterweight kickboxer, fighting out of Golden Glory Gym in Breda, Netherlands. He is two time European Muay Thai champion and K-1 MAX Scandinavia 2006 tournament champion currently competing in K-1 MAX.-Biography and career:Nieky Holzken made his K-1 debut on...
– with the loss against Holzken after an extension round, being slightly unfortunate for some who felt Murthel deserved more. Despite some inconsistent performances, Murthel won the vacant E.M.T.A. European title at the start of 2010, defeating Amir Zeyada
Amir Zeyada
Amir "The Sphinx" Zeyada is an Egyptian-Dutch cruiserweight Muay Thai kickboxer currently fighting out of the Chakuriki Gym in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where he is trained by Thom Harinck. He is a former Dutch national champion who originally started fighting as a middleweight...
in an impressive showing.
Titles
- 2010 E.M.T.A. K-1 rules European champion -76 kg
- 2008 K-1 Italy Oktagan tournament champion -75 kg
- 2007 Angels of Fire II tournament title -75 kg
Kickboxing record
| Kickboxing Record | |
|---|---|
Legend: |
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See also
- List of male kickboxers
- List of It's Showtime events
- List of K-1 champions
- List of K-1 events
- List of kickboxing organizations