UFC events

Melvin "No Mercy" Manhoef (born May 11, 1976) is a professional Dutch-Surinamese Muay Thai kickboxer and mixed martial artist, trained by Mike Passenier and fighting out of Mike's Gym from Amsterdam, Netherlands. He is the Cage Rage Light Heavyweight World champion known for his aggressive fighting style and knockout power.



Biography & career

Manhoef was born in Paramaribo, Suriname. When he was three years old his family moved to Rotterdam. Manhoef was involved in soccer during his youth, and was introduced to Muay Thai by his younger brother, Moreno. He soon joined Choku Gym in Zaandam and started training.[citation needed] At 18, he had his first fight, which he won by decision. He made his comeback in September 2001, as part of Chakuriki Gym.



MMA career

In 2004, Manhoef entered the Cage Rage promotion in London, England. He became the Light Heavyweight World champion by beating Fabio Piamonte at Cage Rage 13. He defended his title for almost two years, until entering the K-1's MMA affiliate promotion HERO'S in 2006. He won his first fight at Hero's 4 against Shungo Oyama by technical knockout in first round.

Melvin has switched his main focus to MMA over the past couple of years. He lost to Dong-sik Yoon by submission armbar in K-1 Dynamite!! USA, he defeated Bernard Ackah at K-1 Hero's Middleweight Tournament Opening Round, and also got a TKO win against Fabio Silva, a Chute Boxe fighter, by TKO in K-1 Hero's Middleweight GP Final.

At DREAM.4 Melvin fought Kazushi Sakuraba. Manhoef and Sakuraba circled the ring for the first minute of the fight, before Manhoef dropped Sakuraba with a hard right head kick and finished him via TKO (hammerfists) at 90 seconds into Round 1. With the win, Melvin had advanced to the semifinal round of the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix.

At DREAM.6 Melvin fought Gegard Mousasi as the tournament dictated. Wary of Manhoef's standup, Mousasi quickly took the fight to the ground despite attempts to shrug him with a sprawl. Mousasi took Manhoef's back until scrambling into a triangle choke at 1:28 of the first round, surviving a powerful slam attempt from Manhoef while he had the submission secured. Mousasi went on to win the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix.

At Dynamite!! 2008 Melvin fought Mark Hunt as a late alternate at heavyweight, despite usually functioning at two weight classes below his opponent. Regardless of the size disadvantage, he knocked down the iron-jawed Samoan in 18 seconds and followed with punches as he was postured over Hunt, until the referee stopped the fight. It was the first time Hunt was finished by knockout due to punches in his MMA career.

He fought former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho on July 20, 2009 at DREAM.10. Despite early success on the feet with his striking offensive, Manhoef was taken down and submitted via armbar in the first round.