Bas Rutten and the 10 Most Successful Ex-Fighters in MMA

Bas Rutten/ Scott Petersen for MMAWeekly.com

For a professional fighter, mixed martial arts encompasses your entire life.

Between training camps, the down time in between bouts and fight day, the most talented professional will totally immerse themselves into the sport.

The most successful among these fighters have endeared themselves to the masses, so much so that guys like the legendary Bas Rutten—a colorful and enigmatic star in MMA—have achieved even more success, long after their fighting careers have subsided. 

 

Photo Credit: Bas Rutten/Scott Petersen for MMAWeekly.com

Don Frye

Former UFC tournament champion Don Frye has been regarded as one of the early pioneers of the sport, having competed both in the early Octagon and Pride eras, taking on some of the best in the world.

In his debut with the UFC, Frye scored an eight-second knockout over Tomas Ramirez. The victory was coveted as the fastest KO in the organization's history, until along came Duane "Bang" Ludwig.

Don't let his burly, rough-and-tough mustache fool you, Frye knows how to really "getter done," as he shows his chops here in these Shark Fight's outtakes, for which "The Predator" served as a color commentator for the promotion in the past. 

Ricardo Almeida

Almeida (top)/ Jeff Cain for MMAWeekly.com

Former King of Pancrase, Ricardo Almeida was, for a while, regarded as one of the best in both the middleweight and welterweight class.

Whilst in the UFC, Almeida defeated the likes of Matt Horwich, Matt Brown, TJ Grant and Kendall Grove.

Now retired, Almeida has continued to train the likes of former Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez as well as current UFC stud Frankie Edgar, all the while becoming a judge for the New Jersey State Athletic Commission—making him among a short list of ex-fighters to do so. 

Randy Couture

A former 5-time UFC champion, Randy Couture has long ago cemented his legacy in the sport, as "The Natural" is often regarded as one of the all-time best to ever lace up the gloves.

Having earned titles in both the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions, Couture has used his Olympic-caliber wrestling skills to defeat the likes of Pedro Rizzo, Gabriel Gonzaga, Tim Sylvia, Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell, among others.

Now having been retired since last April, Couture has continued to pursue his career as a budding actor, having starred in such films as "The Expendables"—an action thriller which saw Couture star alongside juggernauts in Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis, among others. 

Royce Gracie

Royce (right)/ Sherdog.com

When the sport of mixed martial arts needed a man to spearhead the movement, MMA found its kingpin in the undersized and underwhelming Royce Gracie.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt entered the UFC at the age of 26, taking on behemoths much larger in stature. Despite the discrepancy in size, Royce dominated the opposition, having won three of the first four tournaments the organization held, submitting fellow UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock along the way.

Now, the Gracie fighter enjoys travelling the world, teaching seminars at very prestigious academies for a very prestigious amount of cash. 

Kenny Florian

Florian/ April Pishna for MMAWeekly.com

This is not to say that Kenny Florian is indefinitely retired, but this will just illustrate that if he'd like to, the Bostonian could exit the sport with some cushy options.

The perennial UFC contender has been regarded as one of the best fighters in the world, in both the lightweight and featherweight divisions, having competed competed three times for the title.

Florian, intermittently, has done color commentary for both the WEC and the UFC, while putting his analyst hat on for ESPN when he co-hosted MMA Live with Jon Anik.

Chuck Liddell

Liddell/ Scott Petersen for MMAWeekly.com

Unarguably one of the most dominant champions in UFC history, Chuck Liddell left behind an impressive list of victims long before he finally decided to hang up the gloves in June of 2010.

Th former light heavyweight kingpin dethroned then champion Randy Couture in 2006, avenging a previous career defeat to the living legend.

Next, a four-fight win streak ensued, which saw "The Iceman" defend his crown against the likes of Renato Sobral, Jeremy Horn, Couture and rival Tito Ortiz—knocking out all men before the final bell.

The UFC Hall of Famer now enjoys a lucrative job directly with the organization for which he's worked with for the better part of his career. Liddell is now the Executive Vice President of Business Development.

He did go to school for accounting, dontcha' know.  

Guy Mezger

Mezger/ Luke Power for Sherdog.com

Former UFC and Pride contender Guy Mezger has exited the sport for a long while.

Mezger hasn't seen the inside of a ring or cage since 2003, when a TKO victory over Daniel Bergman capped off a successful 30-14-2 career in MMA.

Since his exit, which was solidified as a result of suffering a stroke, Mezger has remained an active figure in the MMA world, having commentated for such organization's as Dream in Japan, while serving as President for HDNet Fights. 

Pat Miletich

Miletich/ Dave Mandel for Sherdog.com

The first and former UFC welterweight champion, Pat Miletich has become one of the most revered figures in MMA.

Miletich is well-documented for both his fighting prowess and coaching skills, having cultivated several world champions under the Miletich Fight Systems banner, which at one point housed the likes of Tim Sylvia, Jens Pulver and Matt Hughes—all former UFC champs.

Since then, Pat has enjoyed success as a color commentator for Showtime, regularly heard putting his mic skills to the test for Strikeforce. 

Frank Shamrock

Shamrock (right)/ Scott Petersen for MMAWeekly.com

The first UFC light heavyweight champion, Frank Shamrock's alias is "The Legend" and rightfully so.

A former King of Pancrase as well, Shamrock has been a figure head in the heavyweight, light heavyweight and middleweight divisions, having defeated the likes of Bas Rutten, Jeremy Horn, Tito Ortiz, Phil Baroni and Cesar Gracie in the past.

After back-to-back losses to the likes of Cung Le and Nick Diaz, Shamrock finally hung up the gloves in 2009. However, the Californian already solidified his position with the Showtime execs, as Shamrock had become one of the featured color commentators for Strikeforce bouts. 

Bas Rutten

A former King of Pancrase and UFC heavyweight champion, Bas Rutten may have left us too soon as a professional mixed martial artist, though he has since been regarded as one of the true faces of MMA, thanks to his escapades outside the ring or cage.

After defeating Ruben Villareal in his comeback bout in 2006, Rutten indefinitely hung up the gloves, citing multiple injuries as his original deterrent from the sport. 

All the while, Rutten has done color commentary for many organization's over the years, most notably Pride, where his voice became synonymous with the fight's itself.

Rutten also serves as coach out of his own academy, where he still teaches regularly, as well co-host for the popular Inside MMA program, with Kenny Rice. 

AND he's an actor, having been in films alongside Kevin James in the past. Basically, Rutten is the man.