Table of Biography
Melvin Manhoef is a renowned former Surinamese-born Dutch professional boxer and mixed martial artist. Melvin Manhoef is known for his explosive striking style and has competed in various organizations, including K-1, Dream, Strikeforce It’s Showtime, RINGS, ONE FC, and KSW.
Early Life
Melvin Manhoef was born in Paramaribo, Suriname, on 11th May 1976. He holds Dutch nationality and belongs to Surinamese ethnicity. As per the astrological chart, he has a birth sign of Taurus and he is currently 47 years old as of 2023.
He was raised with his younger brother Moreno. His family relocated to Rotterdam, the Netherlands when he was three years old. He grew up playing soccer and was taught Muay Thai by his younger brother. However, he has not mentioned the name and profession of his parents.
Similarly, he has not made public his academic qualifications. He might have earned his formal education from a local community school in Paramaribo. Later, he might have dropped out of college to pursue a career in boxing and mixed martial arts.
Professional Career
Melvin Manhoef fought for the first time when he was 18 years old. Moreover, he easily defeated his opponent in his first battle. He entered the Cage Rage promotion in London in the year 2004. Meanwhile, he became the British Cage Rage Light Heavyweight Champion by beating Fabio Piamonte at Cage Rage 13.
He retained his championship for nearly two years before joining K-1’s MMA affiliate company Hero’s in 2006. He won his debut fight at Hero’s 4 by technical knockout in the first round against Shungo Oyama. Later, he started focusing on MMA over the past couple of years.
He fought against Mark Hunt as a last-minute replacement for Jerome Le Baner at Dynamite!! 2008. Despite his size disadvantage, he knocked Hunt out in 18 seconds. It was the first time Hunt had been defeated by punches.
Following that, on July 20, 2009, at DREAM, he faced former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho. Despite early success with his striking attack on the feet, he was taken down and surrendered by armbar in the first round.
Strikeforce
He signed a multi-year fight contract with Strikeforce. On 30 January 2010, he made his debut for the organization against Robbie Lawler at Strikeforce: Miami. In the match, he was knocked out at 3:33 in the first round.
At Dream 15, he faced Tatsuya Mizuno and was defeated by submission. In March 2011, he returned to the United States to face Tim Kennedy at Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson. He was defeated via submission in the first round.
ONE Fighting Championship
He then signed with ONE Fighting Championship on 31 January 2012 and would be fighting Renato Sobral in the main event at ONE Fighting Championship 3. However, Sobral withdrew from the match, leaving Manhoef to face Yoshiyuki Nakanishi. Due to an unintentional injury to Manhoef’s leg in round 1, the match was declared a No Contest.
He won a knockout victory on 6 October 2012 against Ryo Kawamura, followed by a quick knockout of Dennis Kang on 31 December 2012. On April 5, 2013, he faced UFC veteran Brock Larson at ONE FC. Manhoef was frequently brought down in the final two rounds after controlling the standup and Larson physically running away from him, and Larson won by unanimous decision. On June 8, 2013, he was defeated by Mamed Khalidov in KSW23.
On April 27, he faced Evangelista Santos in a highly anticipated rematch for the Gringo Super Fight Welterweight championship. It was Melvin’s first fight at 170 lbs category. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.
Glory
During the Glory 15: Istanbul broadcast, it was revealed that Manhoef will be one of eight fighters fighting in the Glory 17: Los Angeles – Last Man Standing middleweight tournament on June 21, 2014, in Inglewood, California, USA. He was knocked out by a head kick in round one before losing a majority decision against Filip Verlinden in the quarter-finals.
Bellator MMA
It was announced on 21th July 2014 that, Bellator MMA signed Paul Daley along with Melvin Manhoef. Manhoef made his debut in Bellator against Doug Marshall, in a middleweight bout, at Bellator 125 on 19 September 2014, defeating Marshall via knockout in the first round.
On 15 November 2014, he faced Glory veteran Joe Schilling at Bellator 131, Manhoef lost the fight in the second round due to a knockout. He has competed with fighters such as Alexander Shlemenko, Rafael Carvalho, Remy Bonjasky, Kent Kauppinen, and many others in the Bellator series.
Caption: Melvin Manhoef fighting in the ring (Source:
MyMMANews)
He was set to face Yoel Romero at Bellator 280 on May 6, 2022. However, owing to a hand injury, Manhoef withdrew from the fight and was replaced by Alex Polizzi. The fight has been rescheduled for Bellator 285 on September 23, 2022. In the third round, he was knocked out on the ground by elbows. Following the bout, Manhoef announced his retirement from mixed martial arts.
Post Career
Despite having retired months before, Manhoef will take on Igor Tanabe on December 28, 2022, at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye x Ganryujima. He was submitted by heel hook in the first round and proclaimed his retirement once more. In addition, he established a kickboxing and MMA promotion named World Fighting League.
Melvin Manhoef – Net Worth 2023
The former boxer and mixed martial artist has made a huge sum of money through his fighting career. As of 2023, his net worth is estimated at around $6 million, and earns a salary of $85,000.
Relationship Status
When it comes to his personal life, Melvin Manhoef seems to be possibly single and not dating anyone at the moment. There is no any proper data or information regarding his past love life history.
He has worked hard to keep all of his personal information hidden. Some sources claim Melvin is married, but no information about his wife or children is available. He has also never been associated with a woman throughout his life.
Body Measurements
Caption: Melvin Manhoef showing his aggression (Source: Instagram)
The former boxer and MMA fighter stands 5 feet 8 inches tall (1.73 m) and weighs around 84 kg. Moreover, he has a pair of black eyes with black hair colour while his other body measurements are unknown.
Social Media
On his Instagram page ‘@melvinnomercymanhoef’ there are over 101k followers. There are over 6k followers on his Twitter page ‘@team_manhoef’ and over 56k followers on his official Facebook page.