Michael Jan Hugo Kuiper (born June 7, 1989) is a Dutch

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who most recently competed in the

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

division. A professional competitor since 2009, he has competed for the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

and Titan FC.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Kuiper comes from a

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

background and holds a black belt in the discipline. He made his

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

debut in February 2009 and defeated his opponent, Ahmed Sultan, with a triangle choke. He went on to have a further six fights that same year, winning all of them in the first or second round. In 2009 he won the Belgium MMA title, and was rewarded with the MMA fighter of the year 2009. After defeating David Marcina on November 20, 2010, he was set to return to the cage on December 4, 2010 to face Welsh boxer John Phillips at '' BAMMA 5: The Beast vs. Crazy Bear'' in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. But due to snowstorms in the UK the event was cancelled.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In his UFC debut Kuiper faced Rafael Natal on February 4, 2012 at UFC 143. He lost the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision. Kuiper faced Jared Hamman on August 11, 2012 at

UFC 150 ''UFC 150: Henderson vs. Edgar II'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 11, 2012, at the Ball Arena, Pepsi Center now known as Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. Background A fight between Dennis Hal ...

. Kuiper defeated Hamman via second-round TKO. Kuiper was expected to face Thiago Perpetuo on January 19, 2013 at UFC on FX 7. However, Perpetuo suffered an injury and was replaced by

Caio Magalhaes Caio may refer to: * Caio (name), a Portuguese given name derived from the Latin given name Gaius * Caio, Carmarthenshire, a village in west Wales * ''Caio'' (moth), a genus * Italian destroyer ''Caio Duilio'', a destroyer of the Italian Navy Se ...

. On December 27, it was announced that Magalhaes had also pulled out of the bout and that Kuiper would be shifted to UFC on Fox 6 on January 26, 2013 to face Buddy Roberts. It was then announced on January 8 that Roberts had been forced out of the bout with an illness and was replaced by promotional newcomer Josh Janousek. Then just days before the event, Janousek himself pulled out of the bout citing an injury. With no time to find a suitable replacement for Kuiper, he was pulled from the event as well. This meant that 4 potential opponents for Kuiper (Perpetuo, Magalhaes, Roberts and Janousek) had all pulled out of the proposed bout. Kuiper next faced

Tom Lawlor Thomas Joseph Lawlor (born May 15, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and podcast host. He is signed to both New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was the inaugural and longest reigning NJPW Strong Openw ...

on April 6, 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV 9. He lost via submission early in the second round. Kuiper faced Brad Scott on October 26, 2013 at

UFC Fight Night 30 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The large ...

. He lost the fight via front choke submission in the first round, and was subsequently released from the promotion shortly after.

Titan FC

Kuiper fought fellow former UFC fighter

Matt Riddle Matthew Fredrick Riddle (born January 14, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is the reigning MLW World Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He ...

in the co-main event of Titan FC 27 on February 28, 2014. Kuiper lost by guillotine choke in the second round.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 15–7 , Rodrigo Carlos , Submission (keylock) , Caribbean FC 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:50 , Oranjestad, Aruba , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–6 , Adrick Croes , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Caribbean FC 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A , Oranjestad, Aruba , , - , Win , align=center, 15–5 , Cristiano Machado , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Caribbean FC 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:46 , Oranjestad, Aruba , , - , Win , align=center, 14–5 , Oktay Karatas , TKO (punches) , Battle Events: Amersfoort , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:34 ,

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht, Netherlands. As of 31 January 2023, the municipality had ...

, Netherlands , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–5 , Gregory Milliard , TKO (punches) , Redemption FC 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:48 , Oranjestad, Aruba , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4 , Lutciano Zimmerman , KO (punches) , Strength and Honour 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Dessel Dessel () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the town of Dessel proper. In 2021, Dessel had a total population of 9,659 inhabitants. The total area is 27.03 km2. Nuclear industries ...

, Belgium , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–4 ,

, Submission (guillotine choke) , Titan FC 27 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:29 ,

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–3 , Brad Scott , Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Munoz , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:17 ,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–2 ,

, Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC on Fuel TV: Mousasi vs. Latifi , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:05 ,

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 , Jared Hamman , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:16 ,

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–1 , Rafael Natal , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 143 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 , Morris Cilfoni , TKO (punches) , Milano in the Cage 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 , Clearance Noordzee , KO (punches) , Staredown FC 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A , Deurne, Belgium , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , David Marcina , TKO (punches) , Live 2 Fight , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:14 ,

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

, Spain , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Baudin Egoluev , Submission (armbar) , Ultimate Takedown 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:42 ,

Herstal Herstal (; ), formerly known as Heristal, or Héristal (), is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city of Wallonia located in the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. It lies along the Meuse river. Herst ...

, Belgium , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Ivan Brguljan , TKO (punches) , One Gate 2 Far , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Heerlen Heerlen (; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeast of the Netherlands. It is the third largest settlement proper in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Measured as municipality, it is the f ...

, Netherlands , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Patrice Wagemans , KO (punch) , Strength and Honour 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:10 ,

, Belgium , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Bert Van Geystelen , Submission (armbar) , Bulls Gym Gala , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A , Putte, Belgium , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Saigan Muradov , TKO (punches) , The Battle of Akersloot , , align=center, N/A , align=center, N/A , Akersloot, Netherlands , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Bert Van Geystelen , Submission (armbar) , Staredown FC 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, Belgium , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Kevin Goodliff , Decision (unanimous) , Battle of South 7 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Hoensbroek Hoensbroek () is a Dutch town in the municipality of Heerlen. It is situated in the southeast of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg, a province in the southeast of the Netherlands. Until 1982, Hoensbroek was a separate municipality. Hoensbroek is kno ...

, Netherlands , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Ahmed Sultan , Submission (triangle choke) , Outsider Cup 12 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:00 ,

Mülheim an der Ruhr Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr (, ; ; ) and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home ...

, Germany ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuiper, Michael 1989 births Living people Dutch male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Dutch male judoka Dutch practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Goirle Martial artists from North Brabant Sportspeople from Tilburg Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 20th-century Dutch people 21st-century Dutch sportsmen