The entire GLORY team would like to extend its sincerest condolences to the loved ones of eight-time world Muay Thai champion Ramon Dekkers, an incredible human being and one of kickboxing’s all-time greatest pioneers, who tragically passed last week at the age of 43 in his birthplace of Breda, Netherlands.
Ramon was a true inspiration to the entire martial arts world and a global ambassador for the sport of kickboxing. During his legendary, 20-year professional career (1986-2006), Ramon amassed a stellar record of 186-33-2, 95 KOs, over the course of a stunning 221 career bouts, and was the first foreigner in history to win the coveted “Thai Boxer of the Year” award in Thailand.Â
Known to legions of fans as “The Diamond,” Ramon was labeled by kickboxing color commentator Stephen “The Fight Professor” Quadros as the “modern day fighting equivalent of Mas Oyama, Helio Gracie, Bruce Lee or Muhammad Ali” and referred to by Mixed Martial Arts legend and famed media personality Bas Rutten as “the greatest pound-for-pound striker in the world.”
Ramon’s quiet, but friendly demeanor and humble attitude outside of the ring was a stark contrast to his ferocious and unforgivingly relentless style of fighting inside of it that became the prototype for subsequent generations of fighters. Such a beloved public figure he became that the Thai government stopped requiring Ramon to present a passport to enter their country.
Less than three months ago, we had the pleasure of spending time with Ramon, who traveled all the way to Japan to support us at our GLORY 4 Tokyo New Year’s Eve event. Even six years after his retirement, Ramon’s presence was felt by all, including his stepfather and former mentor, GLORY Ambassador Cor Hemmers, who raised
The martial arts world has lost a true hero who will forever be missed and remembered as an icon.