My Take
Gerard Gordeau is one of those fighters who belongs to a genuinely wild chapter of combat sports history. A 6'5" Dutch savateur and karateka from The Hague, he somehow became one of the first faces the world ever saw in the UFC — his match against Teila Tuli on November 12, 1993 was literally the opening fight of the very first televised UFC event, and it was as brutal and chaotic as you'd expect from the no-rules-era. Before all that, he'd already earned the 1991 World Savate Championship and held the Dutch Karate title for eight straight years, which is genuinely impressive even outside the MMA context. The guy was a journeyman across disciplines — karate, kickboxing, savate, pro wrestling — at a time when that kind of cross-training was almost unheard of. He's not a household name now, but if you care about where MMA actually started, Gordeau was right there at ground zero.
Overview
Gerard Gordeau (born 30 March 1956) is a Dutch former Savateur, Karateka, Kickboxer, and mixed martial artist. He is the 1991 World Champion Savate and holder of the Dutch Champion Karate title for eight consecutive years, but foremost known internationally for his fight against Teila Tuli in the first televised Ultimate Fighting Championship bout on 12 November 1993.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Gerard Gordeau
- Name (Japanese)
- ジェラルド・ゴルドー
- Reading
- じぇらるど・ごるどー
- Born
- March 30, 1956 (age 70)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aries / Monkey
- Origin
- The Hague, Netherlands
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 196 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- mixed martial arts fighter / professional wrestler / karateka / kickboxer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.