Stephen Tapilatu (born March 17, 1972 in

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

) is a prominent

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

martial artist who has achieved success at the highest level primarily in ITF but also in

WTF WTF most often refers to: *WTF (Internet slang), an expression of disbelief WTF may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and online publications *''The Daily WTF'', a blog about information technology "perversions" *''WTF? What's the ...

taekwondo. He began taekwondo at the age of 8 under the tutelage of his black belt father, Wijnand Tapilatu. He became ITF World Champion in 1990 and 1994 and won two European titles, in 1990 and 1992. In 1991 he won a silver medal at the WTF World Championship in Athens. Tapilatu fought his way to victory in the prestigious King of Taekwondo competition in Tokyo, Japan, in 1995 and 1996. After completing his taekwondo career he took up kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), notably challenging leading figures including Dutch karate champion Ronny Rivano, Brian Lo-An-Joe and the former kickboxing world champion

Perry Ubeda Perry M. Johannes Ubeda (born 15 September 1971) is a Dutch former super middleweight kickboxer. Between 1992 and 2008 he won thirteen titles (national and international) in kickboxing, as well as titles in taekwondo and pro-boxing and he is als ...

. From 1999 to 2008 he was a member of Team Golden Glory, alongside one of the most successful fighters of all time:

Semmy Schilt Sem "Semmy" Schilt (; born 27 October 1973) is a Dutch former kickboxer, Ashihara karateka and mixed martial artist. He stands 212 cm and weighs 171 kg. He is a four-time K-1 World Grand Prix Champion and one-time Glory Heavyweight Grand Slam ...

. Stephen Tapilatu is a member of a large and successful taekwondo family headed by his father Master Wijnand Tapilatu, who was a member of the winning Dutch team that took the 1984 World Taekwondo Championship. His sister Bianca and his cousins Django and Patiparu have also won many ITF titles. Bianca Tapilatu is married to

Tomaž Barada Tomaž Barada is a former Slovenian martial artist in kickboxing and taekwon-do ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with ...

, three times ITF World Champion and six times ITF European champion. He retired from competitive martial arts in 2008. Since that time he has taught taekwondo with his father at Tapilatu's sport center in his home town of Groningen, the Netherlands. He is also much in demand as a personal trainer, and in 2012 played a key role in the return to form of the footballer

Género Zeefuik Género Zeefuik (; born 5 April 1990) is a retired Dutch footballer who played as a striker. Career PSV Eindhoven Before coming to PSV in 2006, he played one year at the youth side of FC Omniworld, after being expelled by Ajax, where he had pla ...

, who began his career at

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

and currently plays for

FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, province of Groningen. Founded on 16 June 1971 as the successor of GVAV, the team compete in the Eredivisie, the highest tier of Dutch football. ...

. Stephen Tapilatu was appointed national coach of ITF Netherlands in November 2012. In July 2022 Tapilatu was promoted to the rank of 7th Dan black belt, joining an elite group of only 2 other ITF taekwondo practitioners currently holding this rank in the Netherlands.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 3-2-2 , Chico Martinez , Decision (unanimous) , Rings Holland: The Untouchables , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Nethe ...

, Netherlands , , - , Draw , align=center, 2-2-2 , Furdjel de Windt , Draw , BOTN 1: Battle of the North 1 , , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0:00 ,

Thialf Thialf is an ice arena in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Thialf consists of the Thialf-hal (a 12,500-capacity speed skating venue) and the Elfstedenhal (a 2,500-capacity ice hockey venue). Thialf is used for long track speed skating, short track spe ...

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, fry, It Hearrenfean ) is a town and municipality in the province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the municipality had a population 50,859 (1 July). ...

, Netherlands , , - , Loss , align=center, 2-2-1 ,

Ronny Rivano Ronny Rivano is a Dutch mixed martial artist. He competed in the Welterweight division. Mixed martial arts record , - , Loss , align=center , 13-13-3 , Chico Martinez , KO (punches) , Bushido Europe: Rotterdam Rumble , , align=center ...

, TKO (leg injury) , 2H2H 4: Simply the Best 4 , , align=center, 0 , align=center, N/A ,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...

, Netherlands , , - , Win , align=center, 2-1-1 ,

Brian Lo-A-Njoe Brian Lo-A-Njoe is a Dutch mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. Who competes in the Lightweight division. He competed for notable organizations like It's Showtime, Shootboxing S-1 Cup, Pride FC, RINGS, Slamm and M-1 Global Mixed martia ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Rings Holland: Some Like It Hard , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Netherlands , , - , Loss , align=center, 1-1-1 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , 2H2H 3: Hotter Than Hot , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:19 ,

, Netherlands , , - , Win , align=center, 1-0-1 ,

Jeffrey Heijm Jeffrey Heijm is a Dutch mixed martial artist. Mixed martial arts record , - , Loss , align=center, 3-4-2 , Metin Yakut , Decision (1-0 points) , KD 2: Killer Dome 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:00 , Amsterdam, Nether ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Rings Holland: Di Capo Di Tutti Capi , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Netherlands , , - , Draw , align=center, 0-0-1 ,

, Draw , Rings Holland: The Thialf Explosion , , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0:00 , Heerenveen, Netherlands ,

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tapilatu, Stephen 1972 births Living people Dutch male taekwondo practitioners Dutch male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Dutch male kickboxers Sportspeople from Groningen (city) 21st-century Dutch people