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The following piece was submitted to MMATorch by guest contributor David Bargh
Yesterday the world of combat sports lost a true legend in Ramon "The Diamond" Dekkers at the young age of just 43. It has been reported that Dekkers was riding his bike when he collapsed after feeling light headed; when emergency services arrived on the scene they attempted to revive him but to no avail.
Dekkers began training in Muay Thai in his teens under Cor Hemmers and won a Dutch national title at the age of 18. He went on to be an eight time world champion at six different weight classes fighting 221 times and was the first Dutch fighter to really make an impact in Thailand. His one and only appearance in an MMA bout came in 2005 against Genki Sudo which he lost via heel hook. Dekkers famously fought UFC veteran Duane "Bang" Ludwig in a K-1 Max 2005 superfight, after injuring his shoulder in the first round Dekkers punched with only his left hand and still managed to knock Ludwig down in every round and take a unanimous decision win.
After retiring in 2006 Dekkers went on to be a coach at the Dutch Golden Glory team, coaching such MMA stars as UFC heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem and former Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion Marloes Coenen.
David Bargh
david.bargh@gmail.com
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