MMA Gumbo

From Fighters Only Magazine:

DREAM and K-1 standout Melvin “No Mercy” Manhoef has signed a multi-year agreement with Strikeforce, it has been confirmed.

The 33 year old, who hails from Amsterdam, Netherlands, comes to Strikeforce after reaching the semi-final round of the 2008 DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix tournament, earning first round TKOs of Dae Won Kim and Kazushi Sakuraba along the way.

Manhoef’s explosive style of fighting has helped him earn 22 of his 30 career MMA wins and 27 of his 45 career kickboxing victories by way of knockout. In February 2005, Manhoef initiated his best run to date, a 10 fight win streak in MMA competition.

Among his victims during this stretch were Ian “The Machine” Freeman and Crosley Gracie, both of whom Manhoef stopped in the first round with strikes. Manhoef was crowned Cage Rage champion on September 10, 2005 after scoring a 51 second knockout with punches on Brazil’s Fabio Piamonte in London.

Asked on short notice to serve as a replacement in a heavyweight matchup with knockout artist Mark Hunt at the annual New Year’s Eve “Dynamite” extravaganza in Saitama, Japan last year, Manhoef obliged and, despite being at a tremendous weight disadvantage, crushed the Samoan fighter with an onslaught of punches a mere 18 seconds after the opening bell rang.

Manhoef’s career in K-1, the world’s premiere stand-up fighting league, dates back to February 24, 2002. During his tenure with the Japanese promotion, he has triumphed over the likes of former K-1 tournament champions Stefan Leko and Ruslan Karaev, whom Manhoef crushed with a left hook only 31 seconds into their meeting in Amsterdam on June 23, 2007.

Born in Suriname, Manhoef relocated to Rotterdam with his family when he was three years old. He was introduced to the sport of Muay Thai by his brother and, at age 18, won his first bout