Tommy Morrison- MMA

Tommy Morrison, nicknamed The Duke, was an American heavyweight boxer and a former World Boxing Organization champion, who also took part in MMA. He lost only three out of a total of 52 professional fights. Morrison appeared in the 1990 Sylvester Stallone boxing film Rocky V. Morrison retired from boxing in 1996 when he tested positive for HIV.

Morrison attempted a comeback in 2006, claiming he had tested negative for HIV. In August, 2013, Morrison's mother announced that her son was in the final stages of AIDS, and he died on September 1, 2013.

Morrison was born on January 2 in 1969 in Gravette, Arkansas. Morrison was raised in Delaware County, Oklahoma. Morrison's nickname, "The Duke", is based on the claim that he was a grandnephew of Hollywood star John Wayne (né Marion Morrison). Since Morrison's older brother and two uncles were boxers, Morrison's father urged him to begin boxing locally at the age of ten. At the age of 13, Morrison used a fake ID and entered fifteen "toughman" contests (the minimum age for contestants was 21). He later told The New York Times that he lost only one of these matches.

Tommy Morrison, starring opposite Sylvester Stallone in Rocky V

The Duke had a tough childhood. Morrison's mother was acquitted of a murder charge four decades ago. His father, Tim, was abusive; he would get drunk and beat Morrison as well as his mother. Tim was also a perpetual philanderer until Diana finally left him. Morrison's brother, Tim Jr., spent 15 years in prison for rape.

In 1988, Morrison won the Regional Heavyweight Title – Kansas City Golden Gloves from Donald Ellis and advanced to the National Golden Gloves in Omaha, Nebraska, where he lost a split decision to Derek Isaman. Two weeks later, Morrison took part in the Western Olympic trials in Houston, Texas winning the Heavyweight Title and garnishing the "Most Outstanding Fighter" of the tournament. Two weeks after that at the Olympic Trials, held in Concord, California, Morrison lost a split decision to Ray Mercer, who would go on to win the gold medal at the Seoul Olympics. His combined professional and amateur record is 343–24–1, with 315 wins by knockout.

In 1996, Morrison was scheduled to fight against Arthur Weathers. The Nevada Athletic Commission determined that Morrison had tested positive for HIV. The Commission suspended Morrison from boxing in Nevada. Several days later, Morrison's physician administered a test, which was also positive. At a news conference on February 15, 1996, Morrison said he had contracted HIV because of a "permissive, fast and reckless lifestyle". Morrison stated that he would "absolutely" never fight again. However, in 2006, Morrison announced that the tests had been incorrect and that he was healthy enough. Many years passed in controversy as the state of his health could not be determined.

11 years after his HIV diagnosis and subsequent retirement from boxing, Morrison, his legal adviser Peter McKinn and is current girlfriend promoted his MMA foray as a means to begin his athletic comeback. Morrison's only trip inside a MMA cage was cage fighting's preeminent freak-show achievement. He fought his only MMA fight at maybe the fifth or sixth largest casino in the Phoenix metro area against sheetrock worker, John Stover. The rules of the fight were changed at the last moment and the fight turned more into a boxing match than a MMA one. Unsurprisingly, Morrison won.

In August 2013, ESPN.com reported that Morrison's mother Diana disclosed that Tommy had "full-blown AIDS" and was "in his final days." She also stated that Morrison had been bedridden for over a year. The same article also stated that Morrison's wife, Trisha, did not believe Morrison had AIDS. On September 1, 2013, Morrison died at a hospital in Omaha, Nebraska at the age of 44. According to the celebrity news website TMZ, Morrison's causes of death were given as cardiac arrest, septicemia, pseudomonas aeruginosa and multi organ failure.