Jörgen Kruth, K-1 fighter is currently training MMA at Pancrase Gym in Stockholm, Sweden. Not many people know Jorgen started training Judo and Sport Ju-Jutsu at an early age. He is already showing brilliant talent on the ground and is picking up new skills at an amazing speed. Capitalizing on his world class striking techniques Jorgen is all set to debut at 205lbs.

Jörgen Kruth
Born in 1974 Stockholm, Sweden Weight: 100 kg, Height: 188 cm, Team: Vallentuna Boxing Camp, VBC Top team
Trainer: Mats Söderström
Kick & Thaiboxing Record: 86 Fights, 70 Wins ,14 Losses and 2 Draws, 31 of which by KO
Professional Boxing record: 1 fight 1 win
Professional titles:
WMC Superheavyweight title defended in February 2005
WMC Muaythai Superheavyweight World Champion, 2004
WKA Muaythai professional World Champion, 1998
K-1 Italy Elimination Tournament Champion 2004
K-1 The Netherlands Elimination Tournament Champion 2003
K-1 Europe & Russia Elimination Tournament Champion 2000
K-1 The Netherlands Elimination Tournament Finalist -01 (lost a winning fight with accidental cut)
Amateur Kick & Thaiboxing titles:
WKA Kickboxing Amateur World Champion, 1997
IAMTF Muaythai Amateur World Champion, 1997
IAMTF Muaythai Amateur World Champion, 1996
IAMTF Mu aythai Amateur World Championship silver medallist 1995
Nordic Muaythai Champion, 1994
Other martial arts fight record: Professional Boxing: 1 Fight at Amateur boxing: 3 fights
Taekwondo: 3
Savate: 2 fights

Q: You are born in Stockholm. Were you very active in your childhood?
J: I was quite a normal kid, a bit taller than the other kids. When I was 10 years old I started Judo and Sport Jujutsu.

Q: Then you took up Taekwondo after Judo. Why?
J: Sports involving kicks became very popular in Stockholm at that time. Kids were crazy about it. It might have something to do with stars like Jean Claude V. Dame and Bruce Lee. Martial Arts became a kind of trend in the city. Kids were sporting wide pants which are good for kicking.
Musse Hasselvall (also present at the interview): At that time you could see kids hanging another pair of shoes around the neck which were better for kicking. It was a big martial arts boom in Stockholm. And Taekwondo was the king of them all at that time and there were scores of gyms/dojos in town.
Flying kicks, side-kicks, round houses… Kids were going crazy for flashy kicks.

Q: Did you compete?
J: Yes, I had my first fight when I was 14. Man, before fought I used to get very nervous to the extent that I couldn’t eat or sleep. It took me more than 10 fights before I could function normally prior to a fight.
I was 63.5kg and quite tall that time. The fight was a semi-contact fight and I won on points 3-0. I took part in the All Style Open and some other local fighting events.
Musse: Yeah, I remember your fight in All Style Open. The opponent was a very busy dude running and jumping around all the time. You stayed calm waiting for the moment then you fired off a couple of hellish low kicks and the guy suddenly felt less inclined to move about so much.

Q: HAHA! That’s a good story. Who is your favourite fighter in K-1?
J: Buakaw, Hoost and I like the striking style of Mirko Crocop. In Thailand I like Samart Payakaroon. He is wonderful. In Europe I must say Ramon Dekkers.

Q: Have you made any training buddies outside of the VBC?
J: Yeah, Peter Aaerts. We have trained in Thailand, Holland and Japan. We trained at Osaka Seido Kaikan where they have Musashi and some other big guys. They always welcome us training. Training in Osaka Seido is fantastic. There are many service boys in locker room making things very easy for you, they even have a water-boy for every fighter, carrying your water bottle and supplying dry. I like Japan. They are punctual, pay good, polite and do the business in very professional way.
Q: Which fighter was the toughest in your career?
J: It is Aleksei Ignashov. We had 5 rounds plus 2 extra rounds. He ended up knocking me out with his elbow.

Q: What is your best fight?
J: It must be a K-1 Holland Tournament in which I ranked 2nd after Gurhan Degermenci, Samil Benazos and Brecht Wallis. . I had 3 fights that night with extra rounds. In total I had 11 rounds in one night. That was the most exhausting experience ever. I would say the Paul Slowinski fight was my best fight.

Q: What is your best memory in K-1?
Jorgen: I have many. You know tattoos are a big taboo in Japan. A small Japanese waitress saw my tattoos and I got thrown out the restaurant haha.
Then K-1 people helped me out and explained my situation. So I could go back to the restaurant.
Do you remember the riot at K-1 in Las Vegas (Sefo vs Eastman)? I was there. You can check the fight in You Tube. That was an unforgettable scene. Eastman connected with good shots and Sefo turned up the heat.
Soon after, Sefo kick hits Eastman’s eye or very close to the eye. After the doctor check, the fight restarted. Sefo totally ignoring Eastman’s touching-glove-greeting instead attacked Eastman hella hard. Eastman couldn’t do much when he unexpectedly (for him) got attacked. The referee stops the fight and both corner men enteres the ring. But Eastman was pissed off and Sefo told him to get it on. A big 1-2 came from Sefo and Eastman went to the canvas and a massive brawl ensued. Policemen and security guards rushed into the ring. I think something like 20 men were in the ring.. The whole ordeal is unforgettable really.

Q: Why did you start training MMA?
J: I have been interested in MMA for some years. Watching Pride and UFC, I especially I liked Pride. They had many exciting bouts. I like the ring which is good for MMA, I think. They had good rules which made the fights very exciting and they had many versatile fighters who put on some amazing fights, I really do miss Pride.
I like the UFC too. But their fights are simpler and based on scrambles + G&P and the elbows cause a lot of premature stoppages due to cuts. Anyway, I have trained a bit with Jari Heiskanen and Richard Bohlenius but at that time K-1 Scandinavia was going on. I didn’t have not much time for MMA although Rickard game me BJJ lessons sometimes in his gym. Now I am training at Pancrase Gym.

Q: Who are your favorite 5 mma fighters?
J: Fedor, Andelson Silva, Dan Hendersson. It is fun to see Mark Hunt who always puts on an exciting show
Q: How do you think MMA compares to K-1?
J: K-1 had dominated the standing events of the world. But it has been down these days. I hear the ticket sales are going down to roughly 17,000. At the peak they sold more than 75,000 tickets. On the other hand MMA is a new born exciting high demanding sport. New things are happening all the time and many new techniques and fighters are coming and going.
Q: You’ve been invited to Team Quest to be a stand-up instructor and helped Dan Henderson. How was the camp there?
J: Yes, I stayed at Hendo’s house for 6 weeks. He has a nice house with a big swimming pool. I helped Dan with his standing game and he helped me with my ground game. Sokodju, Ryo Chonan and Mayhem Miller were there too. Mayhem was always talking and seems to be a very busy man. Chonan and Sokouju are nice guys. I have rolled with Dan and Sokodju. Both are extremely strong and are awesome athletes. Me? I had no chance on the ground at all against them. I was very impressed that they have professional coaches and training systems. There have diet coach, conditioning coach, standing coach and ground coach. They have all the skills needed for your training.

Q: How is your MMA training going now?
J: The training camp at Team Quest has meant so much. Their professional training gave me a significant boost and made me even more hooked on MMA. Since then I have spent much more time on becoming a pro MMA fighter. I think I am learning quickly. And Omar and the Pancrase guys help me a lot. My fighting style? I am working hard for ground games but maybe for the fights I would like to take a G&P approach. I will be able to make 205 lbs. and I am looking for some warm-up fights for things to come.

Q: Wow! You have already assembled some high rated standing techniques. So it all seems wide open for you to step in a take a slice of the pie. When is the next Shooter’s Challenge? Anyone up for taking on Jorgen Kruth?