Rick John Roufus[1] (born June 3, 1966) is a retired American kickboxer. He has also competed professionally in boxing and mixed martial arts. An accomplished professional fighter throughout his competitive career, Roufus has won multiple world championships across the globe in several weight classes. He was world champion as a super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. Roufus held titles for all the major kickboxing associations worldwide (PKA, IKF, ISKA, FFKA and KICK), and is known for his boxing skills and powerful kicks.
Roufus is the Global Director of Fighter Development for PKA Worldwide.[2] In 2012 he was inducted into the World Kickboxing League Hall of Fame.[3]
Rick Roufus began his martial arts practice at the age of 5 under the tutelage of his father Pat J. Roufus, a renowned PKA referee, who had graduated as a black belt in 1973 by Dukan Yun.[4] Rick learned taekwondo from his father. He quickly rose up the national karate points circuit and debuted as a professional kickboxer in his late teens. He had his first professional fight in May 1985 against the U.C. Owens, whom he defeated by unanimous decision after five rounds.
In April 1987, he fought against John Moncayo for the world title of KICK at super middleweight. Roufus knocked out Moncayo in round 7 to win his first world title.
In the beginning of his career, Roufus fought under the rule of full contact where leg kicks, elbow strikes, and knee attacks were not allowed. He changed directions on 5 November 1988 when he challenged Changpuek Kiatsongrit in a non-title fight in Las Vegas. His pre-fight kickboxing record was 28 perfect wins. Roufus knocked Changpuek down twice with his fists in the first round, causing him a broken jaw. During the break, Chanpuek's corner spilled a bucket of water and ice in the ring, trying to buy time for Changpuek to recover. Finally Roufus lost by TKO in the fifth round due to the culmination of low kicks that he was not prepared for. Roufus had found out the same day of the fight that they would fight with leg kick rules.[5] After the fight, the Roufus brothers sought out Thai experts to learn the art of kicking and kick control.
On 19 June 1991, Roufus faced Marek Piotrowski. It was a rematch, as Piotrowski had defeated him in their first encounter. The vacant ISKA Full Contact Light World title was on the line, while Piotrowski's PKC Full Contact Light Heavyweight World title was also up for grabs. Roufus won by heavy second-round KO from a high kick that left the Polish fighter unconscious on the canvas.
On December 20, 1991, Roufus defended his ISKA Full Contact World Light Heavyweight title against Dutchman Rob Kaman. Initially, Roufus, who had dominated 11 of the 12 rounds, was declared the winner by unanimous decision. Later the bout was declared a no contest after Kaman's corner protested that the fourth round had ended 45 seconds early, the only round they believed could have been. It was critical for Kaman as he had managed to land a high kick in minute 1, causing Roufus to reel. A second fight between the pair took place in February 1994 at Palais Omnisports in Paris-Bercy, France. Tickets for the fight sold out (20,000 people) weeks in advance. Roufus won the match by KO in the second round.
On January 22, 1994 Roufus won the IKF Pro Full Contact Rules Light Heavyweight World Title when he defeated Michael McDonald of Vancouver, BC, Canada, by KO at :43 seconds of round 1 at Caesars Tahoe Casino in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
On March 26, 1994, he traveled to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where he faced Jean-Yves Thériault. Roufus won a unanimous decision after 12 rounds, defending his PKC Full Contact World Light Heavyweight title. In Paris, in 1994, he again faced Ernesto Hoost, WMTA Light Heavyweight World Champion. Roufus dominated the fight for the first 10 rounds but finally lost via KO in round 11 when Hoost landed a powerful high kick.
He later entered the world of boxing. He enjoyed some success, but was never able to fight for a world championship. In August 1996, he challenged for the vacant WBC Continental Americas cruiserweight title. He knocked out Sean McClain, and won his first and only title in boxing.
After several losses, Roufus returned to kickboxing. He emerged victorious at the K-1 USA held August 17, 1998 in Las Vegas, quickly dispatching Pedro Fernandez and Jerome Turcan.
On May 15, 1999 in Lowell Massachusetts, he won the IKF Pro International Rules Heavyweight World title when he defeated Stan Longinidis of Box Hill, Victoria, Australia by RSC after Loniginidis suffered a broken bone in his foot at the end of round 9. It was later revealed that Longinidis had been ill weeks leading to the fight. Roufus was ahead on all three judges' cards at the time, 89-81, 86-83 and 88-81.
In March 2008, Roufus had his second MMA bout, this time in Newkirk, Oklahoma, for Caged Combat Championship Fights. With his first wrestling training partner in MMA working his corner Daniel K. Finch from Yukon, Oklahoma, He defeated Mike Buell via unanimous decision. After a stint in several local promotions, Roufus brought his mixed martial arts record to four wins with six losses.[7]
In 2002 he defeated Kurt Hasley by unanimous decision in the quarterfinals of K-1 USA Las Vegas. In the semifinals he faced Dewey Cooper, whom he also defeated by unanimous decision. In the final he faced Mike McDonald in rematch of their 1994 bout at Caesars Tahoe, where Roufus won his IKF Full Contact Rules World Title when he knocked McDonald out. It was a rematch McDonald was looking forward to, especially with leg kicks this time. However, Roufus had slipped on the ring canvas in his second bout of the night and town his ACL in the bout. Against McDonald he fought cautiously due to the injury because he did not want to risk hurting it more. In the end, he felt like he had done enough to win. However, after three explosive rounds of action, the scores were Judge #1: 29.5 to 28.5 Roufus, Judge #2: 29.5 to 29 Roufus and Judge #3: 29.5 to 29 McDonald.[8] This should have been a majority decision win for Roufus, but instead, it was a draw due to K-1 rules requiring a fighter to win a tournament by two full points. Because of his injury, Roufus withdrew from the bout by choosing not to fight the extra 4th round, giving McDonald the win.[9]
In October 22, 2011, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Roufus won the IKF Legends Title by forfeit when opponent Mighty Mo failed to pass his Nevada State physical. On the night, Roufus fought an exhibition bout against Anthony Newman.[10] Roufus was finally able to meet up with Mo almost a year later on September 8, 2012 in Los Angeles California, winning a three-round split decision.
His last professional fight was at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2012 in Tokyo final 16. At the age of 46, he faced 25-year-old James Wilson. The result of the match was a draw.[11]
Personal life
He is the older brother of Duke Roufus, who is also a kickboxer and a Muay Thai and mixed martial arts instructor.
Roufus was initially declared the winner by decision but the match was later declared a no-contest after Kaman's corner protested that only 1 minute had been fought in the 4th Round - a round that could have been critical to Kaman as he had hurt his opponent. As a result he still retained his ISKA Full Contact Light Heavyweight World title. (1)
1991-08-24
Win
William Knorr
Karatemania III
USA
Disqualification
4
William Knorr failure to attempt 8 kick minimum in 3 different rounds
^Corcoran, John; Farkas, Emil; Sobel, Stuart (1993). The original martial arts encyclopedia : tradition, history, pioneers. Pro-Action Pub. p. 374. ISBN978-0961512637.
^"Rick Roufus". Black Belt. Active Interest Media, Inc. April 1999.
