Michael Percy Passenier (born 9 April 1969) is a Dutch

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

trainer who owns Mike's Gym in

Oostzaan Oostzaan () is a municipality and a town in the Zaanstreek, Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is ...

. He is also known by the nickname "Big Mike".

Biography

Passenier was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

to a Dutch mother and a

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

se father. He was raised in the neighborhood

Betondorp Betondorp (; Concrete Village) is a neighbourhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was built in the 1920s as an experiment in building affordable housing with new, cheap building materials, chiefly concrete. The houses are built in a sober, minimali ...

by his mother and stepfather. Passenier played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

in his youth. At the age of 15, he attended a kickboxing event for the first time, and became impressed by the visitors and the atmosphere. While working in a bar, he met kickboxing world champion

Gilbert Ballantine Gilbert Ballantine (born 14 March 1961) is a Surinamese-Dutch retired professional kickboxer and a nine-time kickboxing and Muay Thai world champion. He also took part in mixed martial arts competition, winning three Rings Dutch championships. ...

. Passenier sparred with Ballantine, who appreciated Passenier's skills and invited him to work as an assistant coach. Passenier never entered the professional ring himself.

Mike's Gym

Passenier began teaching martial arts in 2002. A year later, he opened his own gym, named Mike's Gym. Passenier became more known in the world of kickboxing when he trained

Joerie Mes Joerie "The Shark" Mes (born March 16, 1979) is a Dutch former kickboxer, fighting out of Mike's Gym in Amsterdam. He is a former Dutch and European Muay Thai champion who later competed in K-1 MAX. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest ...

, who was considered one of the best combination specialists in kickboxing. The silhouette of Mes was made part of the Mike's Gym logo. Mike's Gym became one of the biggest martial arts gyms in the Netherlands. Passenier's pupils are distinguished by their willingness to win by knockout during a bout. They do not use points-oriented tactics. Passenier trained many world champions, including

Melvin Manhoef Melvin Manhoef (born 11 May 1976) is a retired Surinamese people, Surinamese-born Dutch people, Dutch mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and Kickboxing, kickboxer. In kickboxing, he is a former It's Showtime (kickboxing), It's Showtime Middl ...

Badr Hari Badr Hari (Arabic: بدر هاري; born 8 December 1984) is a Moroccan-Dutch professional kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter. Born in Amsterdam, Hari made his professional kickboxing debut in 2000, and quickly rose to fame with his aggressive and ...

Murthel Groenhart Murthel Cyrill Dwyth Groenhart (born October 10, 1986) is a Dutch-Surinamese kickboxer and mixed martial artist. Groenhart is the 2012 K-1 World MAX World Championship Tournament Champion and former Glory Welterweight Champion. Kickboxing ca ...

and

Sahak Parparyan Sahak "Hak" Parparyan (; born 4 September 1988) is an Armenian kickboxer, who is sometimes referred to as Sahak "Hak" Avetisyan. He’s a former It's Showtime 85MAX world champion and was ranked number one in the world from 2011-2012 before fight ...

. At certain stages of their careers, he coached top contenders such as

Gökhan Saki Gökhan Saki (born 18 October 1983Artur Kyshenko Artur Kyshenko ( Ukrainian: Артур Кишенко, born November 14, 1986) is a Ukrainian middleweight kickboxer, fighting out of Kyshenko Gym. He is the 2015 Kunlun Fight 80 kg Tournament World Champion and K-1 World MAX 2008 Finalist ...

Alistair Overeem Alistair Cees Overeem (born 17 May 1980) is a Dutch former professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight Champion, K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, and was the first fight ...

Freddy Kemayo Freddy Kemayo (born May 6, 1982) is a French heavyweight kickboxer. He is a three-time French Kickboxing Champion. Biography and career Kemayo joined Faucon Gym in 1999 and has been training there under Bingo and Richard Roudy ever since. In 200 ...

Björn Bregy Björn Heinrich Walter Bregy (born September 30, 1974) is a Swiss heavyweight kickboxer, European Yoseikan Budo champion and K-1 Europe 2006 in Amsterdam tournament Champion. He holds notable wins over Gokhan Saki, Ray Sefo, Alexander Ustino ...

Sergey Adamchuk Serhii Adamchuk (born February 7, 1990) is a Ukrainian kickboxer. A professional competitor since 2008, Adamchuk is a former Glory featherweight champion and three time featherweight title challenger. Combat Press ranked him as a top ten feath ...

and Sergei Lashchenko. On November 26, 2009, a fire broke out in the building next to Mike's Gym, which burned down the gym. The gym was reopened on March 29, 2010.

Notable fighters trained

Paul Daley Paul Anthony Daley (born 21 February 1983) is a British former mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and kickboxer. A professional competitor from 2003 to 2022, Daley competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC, Bellator MMA, Bella ...

Daniel Sam Daniel Anthony Sam (born 13 August 1981) is an English super heavyweight kickboxer and is currently ranked UK number 1 in the heavyweight division of Muay Thai. He has fought on the top kickboxing promotions including Enfusion, SUPERKOMBAT, G ...

Giga Chikadze Giga Chikadze ( ka, გიგა ჭიკაძე; born 25 August 1988) is a Georgian professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Chik ...

* Sergei Lashchenko *

Cosmo Alexandre Cosmo Alexandre Moreira da Rocha (born 24 April 1982) is a Brazilian professional kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He is a former It's Showtime 77MAX World Champion, WMC Intercontinental and WPMF World Champion, W5 World Champion. On 5 De ...

Yousri Belgaroui Yousri Belgaroui (born 2 June 1992) is a Tunisian-Dutch kickboxer and mixed martial artist. In kickboxing, he has competed in Glory, where he is a three-time Glory Middleweight Championship challenger. He was ranked as a top ten middleweight b ...

Donegi Abena Donegi Abena (born February 23, 1998) is a Surinamese-Dutch kickboxer Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid martial art and boxing type based on punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place ...

Antonio Plazibat Antonio Plazibat (born 12 December 1993) is a Croatian professional kickboxer, who currently competes in the Heavyweight division of Glory. Plazibat is a former K-1 Heavyweight Champion. At the amateur level, Plazibat captured medals at both ...

Stoyan Koprivlenski Stoyan Koprivlenski (born 21 June 1994) is a Bulgarian Muay Thai kickboxer, fighting out of Oostzaan, Netherlands. He currently competes in the -70kg divisions of Glory and K-1, where he is the 2024 K-1 World MAX Championship Tournament Final C ...

Jamal Ben Saddik Jamal Ben Saddik (born October 3, 1990) is a Belgian-Moroccan professional Kickboxing, kickboxer. He is a former two-time Glory (kickboxing)#Glory Heavyweight Championship, Glory Heavyweight Championship challenger and 2018 in Glory#Glory Heavywe ...

* Tariq Osaro *

Chico Kwasi Chico Fernando Samuel Kwasi (born March 11, 1998) is a Dutch-Surinamese professional kickboxer and former boxer, currently competing in the welterweight division of Glory, where he is the reigning welterweight champion. He previously competed for ...

* Anissa Haddaoui *

Mellony Geugjes Mellony Geugjes (born 26 July 1992) is a Dutch female kickboxer and mixed martial artist, based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She has competed professionally since 2009 and is the current ISKA Featherweight champion which she won by defeating Dilara ...

References

External links

Mike's Gym Official Website

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Passenier, Mike 1969 births Kickboxing trainers Living people Martial arts school founders Mixed martial arts trainers Dutch sportspeople of Surinamese descent Martial artists from Amsterdam