Gilbert Yvel: 'I'm Planning on Showing the World What I'm Capable of Doing'

Once one of the sport’s most feared competitors for both his brutal striking and history of often-erratic behaviour—Gilbert Yvel is preparing to once again establish himself as one of the world’s top heavyweights.

Boasting a resume that includes 36 professional wins, with notable victories over Valentijn Overeem (twice), Semmy Schilt, Cheick Kongo and Pedro Rizzo, Yvel has only been to five decisions in over 50 career bouts.

After fighting all over the world, in early 2010 the well-travelled Yvel landed in the thick of the UFC’s heavyweight division. Although “The Hurricane” came to the UFC amidst much fanfare, an admittedly apathetic Yvel failed to win in three opportunities inside the Octagon in matches against Junior Dos Santos, Ben Rothwell and Jon Madsen, men that boast a combined 50-8 professional mixed martial arts record.

Following a nearly five month hiatus, Yvel has recommitted himself to the sport and is now working to once again be regarded as one of the world’s top heavyweight contenders—one fight at a time.

Recently the Amsterdam-born mixed martial artist sat down for an exclusive interview with Ed Kapp.

How is life for Gilbert Yvel these days?

Good—life is good. I’m training hard, but life is always good for me—what can I say?

What have you been up to lately?

Just training, losing weight, getting in shape, doing a lot of cardio—getting my mojo back, my fighting-mojo [laughs].

Do you have any fights lined up now?

No. After my last fight I did a little soul-searching and I took a month off—doing nothing—just getting away from fighting. For the last two months I’ve been back in the gym, getting in shape—getting the feeling back, again. So, there’s nothing lined up, but I’m starting to itch again—I’m waiting for something to come up.

Did you think that you might be done with fighting after your last loss?

No, not really. To be honest; no, because fighting is what I do.

What inspired you to get back into the gym and get back into shape, again?

I looked in the mirror and I saw somebody I didn’t recognize and I didn’t like.

How committed are you to the sport now?

If I go for something, I’m always committed, but, I want to feel good first—I’m committed. Fuck it! I’m committed—I’m going to go destroy everybody who’s in my way, you know?

What inspired you to get involved with the sport to begin with?

I was training and I had no money. Somebody got injured and they asked me to fight and they gave me 250 dollars—that’s like 15 years ago, so I did it. Basically, the fighting life is not a choice; the moment you step in the ring for the first time and you do good—basically, the road is laid out for you. From there, it’s basically following the sponsors and the promoters. You’re basically stepping on a ride and before you know it, its 15 years later.

Did you ever think you’d be able to make a living off of your passion for the sport?

No. To be honest, it was fun for me. The moment everybody started to make money off fighting, I think it lost a bit of its fun—it was not fun anymore. It wasn’t me against my opponent; it’s what I have to do to make more money so I can make the sponsors and the promoters happy. Especially in the States, now—it’s a different story because there’s so much money involved. So, of course it’s awesome to make a living off of it, but it also took a bit of the sport out of it—the fun. Now it’s more, I’ve got to win, because if I win I’ll get more money—if I win, the sponsors will be happy. So yeah, making a living out of it is awesome but there’s a lot of extra pressure.

What do you think you would be doing if you weren’t a professional mixed martial artist?

I don’t know. I’d probably be doing a different sport—I love sports. Yeah, I’d probably be a soccer player—because I’m from Holland.

Did you play a lot of sports growing up?

Yeah. Basically, every sport there is. I love all types of sports. The bad side of MMA is the moment you’ve committed to it, it’s hard to do other sports. Before, I would snowboard, I did wakeboarding—those are things you can’t do anymore because if you get injured you can’t fight. I love sports, though.

How important has the sport of mixed martial arts been to your life?

It is my life. I’ve been fighting on the streets and in school since I was 10, 11—everywhere. At one point I jumped in the gym and made it my job—it is my life. Wherever I go, people ask me about fighting, fighting, fighting, fighting—there’s never a conversation with me without the questions, “Who are you fighting? When are you fighting?” Mixed martial arts is my life.

What is your earliest memory of fighting?

I remember the first time I got knocked out [laughs]—oh my God, I remember. I used to fight with my foster-parents when I was 10, 11—they used to beat me up, so I used to fight with them. When I fought back was my earliest fight. Another time, I think I was 13 and this guy was annoying me and I just punched him; I punched him on the solar-plexus—I knocked him out and that was the first time I ever knocked anybody out. It’s pretty funny—scary, though—but funny. I couldn’t believe that that could happen—especially on the solar-plexus [laughs]. Yeah, my earliest memory of fighting was with my foster-parents—they beat me up so I had to fight back [laughs].

Could you tell me a little bit about your life growing up?

They—social workers—took me out of my house and put me in foster-care. From then on, I travelled to a couple of foster-parents—I stayed with one family for four years for, like, the best time of my life. After that, I got put in a family place where they beat us up and I had to fight back. I walked away from there and started living on my own. From there, I started doing a little kick-boxing—once a week—with some friends. I started to work as a bouncer, when I was 19 or 20. When I was 20 I fought my first MMA fight. I was training for three months, somebody got injured, and they asked me if I wanted to fight. 15 years later, I’ve fought virtually everywhere; from Holland to Russia to Finland to Japan to the States.

Do you feel that people have a lot of misconceptions of you?

Oh, people don’t know me. I’m, like, the nicest, most loyal person in the world and people don’t know. If people really take the time to get to know me or to spend time with me, then they’ll know me, but there are a lot of misconceptions. I don’t really care what people think of me—I know who I am; what I am.

A lot of people view you as a dirty fighter—what do you think about that?

I take a shower like two times a day [laughs]. No, I was young. I’m from Holland and we do things a little different over there. I’m not always the smartest—I’ve made some stupid mistakes. I’ve made mistakes when I was young—there were a lot of eyes on me. If you, yourself, make a mistake, no one would know, but everybody has seen me on TV; everyone’s seen me fight. I’m no dirty fighter—everybody’s done something stupid, I just did it at the wrong time. I can have a neighbour that beats up his wife all the time but nobody would know, you know?

Do you have any regrets in your career?

[Long pause] No—besides the stupid things of course. You know what, let’s be honest; if I look back right now on the things that I could do differently, right now I would say that I would do them different but on the other side, the way I lived my life and my career made me into the man I am today—it brought me all the way to the person I am today. I’ve made decisions at all the crossroads in my life and it may not be the best decision always, but they were my decisions. I could have done stuff different but it’s the way I am—I’m pretty happy.

How would you like to be remembered when your fighting days are behind you?

Like I am now; Gilbert, you know? If I fight, I go in there to knock somebody out. There are probably a lot more smarter ways to win a fight and to make money and to get rich—like Georges St. Pierre; he’s so smart and he plays the game so smart. If I go in the cage, you don’t want to see me just take people down and work on points—people want to see a fight. I’m not done yet—there’s going to be another four or five years of me and I’m planning on showing the world what I’m capable of doing.

What do you think you can accomplish in the next five years?

I think I can, at least, knock some fools out [laughs]. I want to make another run to the top—I know I can do it. I mean, who are these guys? They’re trained well and they’re good, but I’m better—I know I’m better than them—I just need a chance to prove myself. I’ve got to go to the top and I won’t stop ‘til I get a title-shot—if it’s in the UFC or wherever—otherwise I won’t be able to live with myself. I can’t stop—I cannot. I just want to go for it one more time.

What do you think is your greatest accomplishment as a mixed martial artist?

Greatest accomplishment? I’ve fought in the world’s two biggest shows; I’ve been fighting in Pride and I’ve been fighting in the UFC. Greatest accomplishment? I don’t know. You’re asking good questions. What can I say is my greatest accomplishment as a fighter? When I was young, I dreamt of walking down the street and being recognized all over the world for what I did—because I’m a fighter—and this is what happens now. It was my dream and I followed my dream—to fight in America and Japan. I’ve fought on the biggest shows on Earth.

What does the future hold for Gilbet Yvel?

My future—I’m going to lose a lot more weight, I’m going to get in much better shape, and I’m going to make it back to the UFC. I have to knock some people out first, but my goal is get back in the UFC and once I get back in the UFC, I’m going for a title-shot.

Is there anything that you’d like to say to your fans while you have this opportunity?

I say don’t write me off—I’m on my way back.