Lloyd van Dams

Infobox Kickboxer
name=Lloyd van Dams


realname=Lloyd Daniël van Dams
nickname=The Tornado
height=height|m=1.86
weight=convert|110|kg|lb|abbr=on|lk=on
nationality=flagicon|Netherlands Dutch
birth_date=Birth date and age|1972|3|5|mf=y
birth_place=Para District, Suriname
death_date|=
death_place|=
style=Muay Thai
team=Fight Club Van Dams
total=79
wins=64
losses=12
draws=1
no contests=
KO=33|

Lloyd "The Tornado" van Dams ( born March 5, 1972) is a Super Heavyweight muay thai kickboxer from Utrecht, Netherlands.

Biography and career

Born in Suriname, Lloyd van Dams moved to the Netherlands when he was 7 years old. When he was 12 he began training kickboxing. He first started at SWSU, a Surinamese gym in Utrecht. When he was good enough, his trainer decided him to take him to Chakuriki Utrecht. Van Dams started fighting official bouts when he was 18 years old.

When he was 20 he moved from Utrecht to Dordrecht and began training with Jan Vleesenbeek. This trainer was known for his hard training methods, which suited Van Dams very well. When Vleesenbeek decided to stop training his pupils, Van Dams moved to a gym called "Survivor" in Breda.

When facing problems in his personal life in 1996, Van Dams moved back to Utrecht. He went training with Chakuriki in Amsterdam, with Thom Harinck as the trainer. There he was very impressed with the hard training methods. He developed himself as one of the topfighters of the gym and became professional kickboxer.

In 1999 he made his K-1 debut at the K-1 Braves 1999, after beating Matt Skelton in the semi-finals he lost to Xhavit Bahjrami at the finals. After a few years of silence, Van Dams made his comeback in 2005. First he fought at an 8-man tourney called "Fight at the Border" in Belgium, where he lost his comeback on points from Petar Masjtorovic. A few days later he won a 4-man tourney in Romania. He defeated Pavel Majer and Alben Belinski.

Currently Van Dams is under contract with Team It's Showtime.

Van Dams is loved by a lot of fighting fans for his great courage and excellent chin. For the untrained eye he may seem small, fat and unfit, but he has great heart and never gives up. He is also blessed with one of the hardest lowkicks in the business, matching the likes of Ernesto Hoost and Peter Aerts.

In 2006 Lloyd opened his own gym, Fight Club Van Dams in Utrecht, Holland. He still continues to fight professionally once in a while but spends most of his time with his family and training young fighters at his new gym.

Titles

*1996 NKBB Dutch Champion
*1997 8-men Tournament; Winner
*1998 KO-Power Tournament: Winner
*1998 EMTA European Champion
*1999 WMTA World Champion
*2000 WFCA World Champion
*2004 King of the rings champion 8 men Tournament.

ee also

*List of male kickboxers
*List of kickboxing organizations
*List of K-1 events