Where are they now: Gilbert Yvel

Seriously, Gilbert Yvel is a very scary looking man and was at one time a damn good fighter too. The last news I heard was when he brought in to Zagreb, Croatia to help Mirko Cro Cop become something of a dirtier fighter and generally improve his stand-up back to the good old K1 and Pride days. The dutchmen still trains with Vos Gym alongside Remy Bonjasky Antoni Hardonk and coach Ivan Hippolyte in Rotterdam, Holland.

He is known as one of the most controversial fighters and figures in the sport. He was disqualified a few times during his PRIDE career for biting his opponent. When he fought Don Frye (on a short list of guys in the sport I'd least like to have mad at me) he gouged his eyes, raked his fingernails across the face and then bit his nose. He was supposed to fight on PRIDE's USA debut card but the Nevada Athletic Commission refused to license him due to his lengthy resume of unsportsmanlike conduct. The fact that biting, gouging and other chicanery was essentially Yvel's "take down defense" is also very disturbing.

Yvel is currently under contract to K-1 and currently holds a impressive 5 fight winning streak. He is still an interesting match up for just about any top fighter but since he is persona non grata in the US his careers is limited to fighting in Japan and Europe. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him fight for either Dream or World Victory Road in 2009 as these two organizations are very desperate for any heavyweight talent at the moment .