Rob Kaman

Robert Diem Kaman (5 June 1960 – 30 March 2024) was a Dutch nine-time kickboxing and Muay Thai world champion.

At the age of 16, he became interested in martial arts and started training in the Indonesian style pencak silat with Ruud van Weldam.

Kaman knocked him out in the 3rd round with a low kick and became the first European WKA world champion in kickboxing.

On 12 January 1984 he fought Payap Premchai, the champion of Thailand, in the Jaap Edenhal in Amsterdam and was declared the winner by unanimous decision.

At the end of that year he beat the great Thai fighter Samart Prasarnmit in Hong Kong as well as Jean Marc Tonus for the European title of full contact.

He fought against Kirkwood Walker, Hansu Premchai, Santiago Garza, and Don Nakaya Nielsen.

[citation needed] At the end of the year, he came back and beat Wessels by knock out in the 2nd round for a WKA world title.

In 1989 Kaman played in the movie Bloodfist with Don Wilson and Billy Blanks and fought three times against Changpuek Kiatsongrit from Thailand and Eddy Matthieu from France.

He fought against the Japanese fighter Yoshinori Nishi in Japan and won by 1st round knock out.

[3] On 29 June 1991, Kaman fought against Luc Verheye in France for the world WKA title.

Kaman fought in France against fighters such as Rick Roufus, Mark Russell, Justin Ward, and Zito Polyo.

On 25 January 1992, Kaman challenged his first professional MMA bout in RINGS against Nobuaki Kakuda.

After only a few fights in the later years, because of too many injuries and a new movie with Jean-Claude Van Damme (Legionnaire), Rob decided to end his career, back where it all started, in the Netherlands.

On 2 September 1999 Rob married film writer artist Carlotta Torchia, and five weeks after, on 24 October 1999, he fought for the last time, against Alexey Ignashov, a 21-year-old amateur world champion in kickboxing.

Kaman later trained UFC light heavyweight Brandon Vera on kickboxing for MMA.

Towards the end of his sports career, Kaman tried his hand at acting, playing in three movies with Jean-Claude Van Damme, Legionnaire, Maximum Risk and Double Team with Dennis Rodman and Mickey Rourke.