# Remco Pardoel

Remco Pardoel (born 23 May 1969) is a retired Dutch mixed martial artist. He competed in the heavyweight division. He has fought in promotions such as the UFC, Shooto, and Pancrase. He was a junior national champion in Judo in 1988 and a competitive BJJ grappler. He made his MMA debut at UFC 2, eventually losing to Royce Gracie. Throughout his career, he fought Vernon White, Minoru Suzuki, and Marco Ruas.

## Early career

Pardoel began his martial arts career at age 4 when he first began training in Judo. At age 7, he began training in Taekwondo and took up traditional Jiu-Jitsu at age 11. He won gold at the 1988 Junior National Judo Championships in the Netherlands and several Ju Jitsu titles across Europe. He became Ju Jitsu's world champion in 1993 when the sport's first World Championship was held in Denmark. He met Fabio Gurgel, Romero Cavalcanti, Sylvio Behring, and other fighters, who taught him some of the sport's techniques. He would invite the Brazilian team to the Netherlands, so Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was introduced in Europe, in his hometown of Oss, starting in November 1993.

### Ultimate Fighting Championship

In 1994, Pardoel was invited to the Ultimate Fighting Championship at its event UFC 2 in the United States. Cornered by UFC 1 finalist Gerard Gordeau, Remco was billed as a Jiu-Jitsu fighter and was pitted in the first round of the tournament against Alberto Cerro León, a Spanish Pencak Silat practitioner. The bout was long and violent, as although Pardoel threw León to the ground early, the Spaniard resisted his armlock attempts and even tried an illegal fish-hook on repeated occasions. In the end, Pardoel submitted him with a sode guruma jime. The Dutch fighter was later quoted as: "Alberto was the reason I entered the UFC... In Europe, the guys from Pencak Silat and Wing Chun are badmouthing all other styles by saying and writing that they are invincible, which [they're] not. So, challenging them is the best way to prove they are wrong."
Pardoel advanced to the next round and fought Muay Thai fighter Orlando Wiet in a memorable match. The heavier Pardoel executed a hip throw and pinned Wiet on the mat with ura gatame. After some hesitation, the Jiu-Jitsu champion landed seven brutal elbow strikes on Wiet's temple, resulting in a knockout. Wiet was rendered unconscious after the second blow, and Pardoel had to speak to the referee to stop the match. The Dutch contender went to the semi-finals to face UFC 1 winner Royce Gracie, another Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu exponent. Seconds into the match, Royce captured Pardoel's back while standing, tripped him down, and performed a gi choke, making Remco tap out.
He returned to UFC in September 1995 at the event UFC 7. His first opponent would be Karateka Ryan Parker, whom he defeated swiftly by throwing him down, pinning him with kesa gatame, and locking a mounted Ezekiel choke. The Dutchman advanced to meet Luta Livre legend Marco Ruas, the eventual winner. Pardoel got a guillotine choke early, but Ruas escaped via foot stomps, and they both met on the ground, where the Brazilian tried a straight-ankle lock to no avail. After some minutes of struggle, Ruas mounted Pardoel, and the latter opted to tap out. Pardoe later claimed that Ruas was using body oil or lubricant to hinder his hold. It would be Pardoel's last appearance in UFC.

## BJJ black belt controversy

In 2023, Remco made false claims about receiving a record-fast black belt and being the first European promoted to black belt in 1996.
Remco was awarded his black belt in 2007 by Vinicius Magalhães (Draculino), which today would make him a 4th-degree black belt. He wore stripes on his belt according to Draculino's promotion up to 2023 when he suddenly claimed he was promoted to black belt already in 1996 by Fernando Yamasaki and Carlos Gracie Jr. This would have made him the first European-born BJJ black belt as well as the fastest ever to receive a BJJ black belt, in only 2 years and 2 months from getting his first BJJ lesson, from visiting Brazilians.
The claim seems to stem from the early days of international CBJJ competitions when lower belts on several occasions were allowed to compete together with black belts (first BJJ World championship, first BJJ European championship, etc.), and Remco was allowed to compete in the black belt division of the World Championship in Rio 1996. Over the years, Remco has been clear that he had no belt in BJJ at the time and did not belong in the top 8 brackets in the sport. He also competed as a BJJ purple belt in the Budweiser Cup in the US in 2005. Remco has also confirmed that he was only the second person in Holland to receive a BJJ black belt. An investigation on Beltchecker (readable only after logging in) has provided further evidence against Remco's new claims and word from Fernando Yamasaki that he has never promoted Remco to black belt.
In conclusion, he is still a legit 4th-degree black belt (legit for 5th degree in 2026).

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 19 matches | 10 wins | 6 losses |
| By knockout | 2 | 3 |
| By submission | 6 | 2 |
| By decision | 2 | 1 |
| Draws | 1 | 1 |
| No contests | 2 | 2 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 9–6–1 (2) | Tengiz Tedoradze | TKO (submission to punches) | EF 1: Genesis | 13 July 2003 | 1 | 2:44 | London, England | |
| NC | 9–5–1 (2) | Roger Godinez | No Contest | GC 11: Gladiator Challenge 11 | 20 April 2002 | 1 | 0:17 | San Jacinto, California, United States | |
| Loss | 9–5–1 (1) | Mark Smith | Decision | CW 1: Cage Wars 1 | 23 February 2002 | 2 | 0:00 | Portsmouth, England | |
| Win | 9–4–1 (1) | Glen Brown | Submission (scarf hold) | UKMMAC 1: Sudden Impact | 11 November 2001 | 2 | 0:00 | Kent, England | |
| Draw | 8–4–1 (1) | Herman van Tol | Draw | Rings Holland: No Guts, No Glory | 10 June 2001 | 2 | 5:00 | Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands | |
| Win | 8–4 (1) | Marc Emmanuel | Decision (unanimous) | Rings Holland: Heroes Live Forever | 28 January 2001 | 2 | 5:00 | Utrecht, Netherlands | |
| Loss | 7–4 (1) | Roman Savochka | TKO (submission to strikes) | IAFC: Pankration World Championship 2000 [Day 2] | 29 April 2000 | 1 | 0:00 | Moscow, Russia | |
| Win | 7–3 (1) | John Dixson | Submission (headlock) | AAC 2: Amsterdam Absolute Championship 2 | 27 November 1999 | 1 | 8:15 | Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands | |
| Win | 6–3 (1) | Michailis Deligiannakis | Submission (keylock) | WVC 8: World Vale Tudo Championship 8 | 1 July 1999 | 1 | 2:20 | Aruba | |
| Win | 5–3 (1) | John Dixson | Submission (choke) | AAC 1: Amsterdam Absolute Championship 1 | 25 October 1998 | 1 | 4:16 | Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands | |
| Loss | 4–3 (1) | Marco Ruas | Submission (position) | UFC 7: The Brawl in Buffalo | 8 September 1995 | 1 | 12:27 | Buffalo, New York, United States | UFC 5 Tournament Semifinals. |
| Win | 4–2 (1) | Ryan Parker | Submission (lapel choke) | UFC 7: The Brawl in Buffalo | 8 September 1995 | 1 | 3:05 | Buffalo, New York, United States | UFC 5 Tournament Quarterfinals. |
| NC | 3–2 (1) | Carl Franks | No Contest | Shooto: Complete Vale Tudo Access | 29 July 1995 | 1 | 8:00 | Omiya, Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 3–2 | Minoru Suzuki | KO (punch) | Pancrase: Road To The Championship 3 | 26 July 1994 | 1 | 7:16 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 3–1 | Vernon White | TKO (lost points) | Pancrase: Road To The Championship 2 | 6 July 1994 | 1 | 14:24 | Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan | |
| Loss | 2–1 | Royce Gracie | Submission (lapel choke) | UFC 2: No Way Out | 11 March 1994 | 1 | 1:31 | Denver, Colorado, United States | UFC 2 Tournament Semifinals. |
| Win | 2–0 | Orlando Wiet | KO (elbows) | UFC 2: No Way Out | 11 March 1994 | 1 | 1:29 | Denver, Colorado, United States | UFC 2 Tournament Quarterfinals. |
| Win | 1–0 | Alberto Cerra Leon | Submission (forearm choke) | UFC 2: No Way Out | 11 March 1994 | 1 | 9:51 | Denver, Colorado, United States | UFC 2 Tournament Opening Round. |

## Submission grappling record

KO PUNCHES
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
| Loss | Pete Williams | Decision | ADCC world championship 2000 | 2000 | | | |
| Loss | Ricardo Liborio | Submission (armbar) | World Jiu-jitsu Championship | 1996 | | | |