Boxingtalk recently caught up with arguably the best MMA fighter ever, Bas Rutten. Bas talks about his IFL team, addresses rumors of a fight with Chuck Liddell and his MMA fighter of the year. You don’t want to miss who he says is the best fighter ever in his eyes. A must read. Check it out!

PC: What have you been into these days?

BR: I’ve been traveling. The IFL (International Fight League) takes up a lot of time for me, but I really enjoy the IFL. My team recently fought Pat Miletich’s team The Silverbacks. The reigning champions had never lost and my team gave them their first loss. That was really cool. I’ve just been traveling to the other shows; back and forth, back and forth.

PC: A lot of people miss your commentating at the PrideFC events. Can we expect to see you behind the mic for them again?

BR: Nope. Probably not anymore. What’s the saying? “A sheep doesn’t bump on the same stone twice.” I’ve already done that twice and I don’t want to do it again. No.

PC: There’s a rumor that we could see you fight Chuck Liddell in the octagon. Can you speak on that?

BR: No. That’s a rumor, like you said. My knee is not good. If I can’t train, I’m not even thinking about fighting.

PC: You visited Dr. Goldman and went through Zone Healing. What was that experience like for you?

BR: I think it’s great. He has so many fighters right now and everybody is getting great results from it. He has a girl fighter that came in to get treatment and she went for three weeks and now she’s doing really good.

PC: Who would you consider the most dominant 205 pounder in the world right now?

BR: I would say Chuck. Chuck Liddell.

PC: There are so many organizations right now in MMA. Which organization do you feel has the best stable of fighters?

BR: It’s difficult. Right now the UFC has a whole lot of good fighters with the exception of heavyweights, but now they just got Mirko. Pride has the Emelianenko brothers; Fedor and Aleksander. The heavyweight division in Japan is really good. I think the rest is evened out well.

PC: In my opinion, you may be the greatest fighter ever. Who would you give that title to?

BR: Greatest fighter ever! I don’t know. I’m a big fan of all the qualities that B.J. Penn has. I think he’s solid on the ground, striking and defense. He’s the complete package. Everything that he does, he does it really good. If he doesn’t win with it, it doesn’t matter, but the most complete fighter, I would say him.

PC: Who would you give your 2006 MMA Fighter of the year award to?

BR: Chuck Liddell.

PC: Is there any fighter out there that reminds you of yourself?

BR: No. I think I always had a little bit of my own style. I love Cro Cop. His stand game may be a bit better than mine and he’s getting better and better on the ground as well. I like that he can strike with his hands, legs or submission. No, I think I’m a pretty strange individual I guess. I can’t compare anybody to me. Don’t get me wrong, there a whole lot of good fighters. I’m not saying that’s why you can’t compare them to me.

PC: I understand what you’re saying.

PC: I know you had to overcome a lot as a kid to become a fighter (asthma and a skin disease). What do you think would be the best advice you could give a kid coming into the sport?

BR: Watch out with dating. That’s a big no no. I see so many good students and then once they start dating, the girls control them. In the beginning, it’s nice, but they make the mistake of spending too much time with them. The fighters want to come back to training and she says, “No you have to spend more time with me.” You have to say in the beginning, my training stays and that never happens. Another thing would be not to fight too much. Take good fights, but don’t fight 150 fights; you can’t do it. Eventually you will burn out. Don’t make it seem to be so easy.

PC: When you were fighting you used a lot of open palm strikes and you were very successful with it. What made you not hit with your fist and why don’t you think we see more of that?

BR: It was a rule in Pancrase that you couldn’t hit with a closed fist. I hit with my palm, but I hit more with the boney part of my wrist. People thought, “Oh my god he hits so hard with palm strikes.” Listen man, I hit with the boney part of the wrist and that’s harder than a fist. I think it’s harder than a normal right hook.

PC: Yeah, I’ve seen you put some people down with that hook to the body.

BR: Yeah, the body shots come from my bare knuckle fighting background. I’ve always loved body shots.

PC: Thanks for the interview Bas. It’s an honor speaking with you. You are one of my favorites. Good luck with your IFL team. Is there anything you want to say in closing?

BR: Just to keep supporting MMA and go and check out my website, www.basrutten.tv

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