Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) features world-class martial artists and elite athletes competing against one another in one of the purest forms of modern day unarmed combat.
However, the savage science’s roots can be traced back to the dark days of top organisations such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the ‘90s and gross mismatches in Japanese promotion Pride FC; featuring weird, goofy fights between opponents who had little to no knowledge about actual MMA techniques.
The much-abhorred ‘MMA Freakshow’ is looked upon by MMA fans and pundits alike, with equal parts disgust and guilty pleasure. If you are an old-school MMA fan, you are all too familiar with this concept. But if you’re new to the savage science, saddle-up. You are in for a laugh-riot. Let’s take a look at a few such infamous fighters and matchups-
#5 Bob Sapp vs Akebono Taro 1 and 2
Ah! Get your freak on folks! In case you’re new to MMA and aren’t familiar with names like Bob Sapp and Akebono, buckle up. You’re in for a wild, freaky ride.
Bob Sapp the American pro-wrestler, actor, musician (yes, he was terrible) and part-time kickboxer and MMA fighter; fought Akebono Taro twice. The first fight took place at K-1 Dynamite on December 31st, 2003 and the second at RIZIN Fighting Federation 2 on 31st December 2015.
Both fights were freaky and didn’t even remotely represent anything close to legitimate MMA competition. With 6’5” 360+ pound Sapp and the 6’8” 550 pound Sumo wrestler Akebono Taro, both fights represent the epitome of Japanese MMA freakshow fights.
Sapp won the first fight that was held under kickboxing rules by way of KO (Akebono has zero striking, nada, zilch!). The rematch took place under Shoot boxing rules, where Takedowns and ground submissions weren’t permitted, but standing subs such as standing joint locks and chokes were allowed.
Nevertheless, none of that would matter as the (non) fight would end after Akebono was unable to continue, resulting in a technical decision win for Sapp.
Bob Sapp and Akebono Taro are like bizarro versions of Goku and Vegeta, destined to fight forever. More JMMA freak shows, please…
#4 Kimo Leopoldo vs. Bam Bam Bigelow
Yes, Bam Bam Bigelow (real name- Scott Bigelow) competed in MMA, badly losing to MMA veteran Kimo Leopoldo in what was one of the most unintentionally hilarious and awkward matchups of all time.
Bam Bam standing at an imposing 6’3” and weighing in over 325 pounds faced Leopoldo at in November of 1996 in...wait for it...Japan! Where else would we get such a gem of a fight, where Leopoldo represented a lower to mid-tier old-school MMA competitor and Bigelow came in with his pro-wrestling credentials which meant squat inside the cage?
The actual fight barely made it past the two-minute mark, with Leopoldo executing a takedown on his gigantic opponent, proceeding to bounce the pro-wresting veteran’s head off the canvas like a basketball. After offering no resistance except a few flailing slaps from the bottom, Bigelow gave up his back, which Leopoldo jumped on to secure a rear-naked choke and with it the submission win.
And the freak-show didn’t end there either! The media professionals and photographers covering the event followed the pro-wrestling star backstage, recording everything from Bigelow’s facial cuts as well as a nasty hematoma around his right eyeball. The cameras were turned off after repeated requests by Bam Bam and his team.
After making a mockery of himself as well as making his co-workers in the pro-wrestling business look bad, Scott Bigelow never competed in the sport of MMA again. Up next we look at the top 3...
#3 ‘Butterbean’ vs. Genki Sudo
Any discussion about JMMA and bizarre MMA fights is incomplete without the inimitable and irreplaceable, Eric ‘Butterbean’ Esch. Butterbean is best known for being a Super-Heavyweight KO artist and a good test for up-and-comers for many years, in the world of professional boxing.
Genki Sudo, on the other hand, is a legitimate MMA fighter, having fought in notable organisations such as the UFC, Pancrase and K-1. Sudo also dabbled in kickboxing and his fight against Esch is to this date considered one of the freakiest fights in the history of freak-show fights.
New MMA fans please note- You DO NOT want to miss the two fighters’ respective ring entrances for this fight! You’ll love it.
With Butterbean weighing over 425 pounds and Sudo, being a career Lightweight (LW), walking around the LW limit of 155 pounds; the size disparity between the two fighters was downright comical. Now for those of you unfamiliar with Eric Esch, for years, he was considered to be a legitimate pro-boxing gatekeeper and had also won the Super-heavyweight Championship in the lesser-heralded IBA boxing organisation.
Nevertheless, Butterbean and Sudo played to the Japanese crowd, taunting each other and showboating. Sudo relied on his speed and stayed at kicking range, tagging his giant opponent with leg kicks, front leg side- kicks, and at one point a spinning back kick that connected square on Butterbean’s...ahem...’gut’; making his stomach jiggle well over 30 seconds after the kick connected.
After literally running away from several exchanges, Sudo managed to land an ankle-pick takedown on the colossal Esch, landing in top position on the huge American boxer. After attempting a heel hook submission at the end of round 1, round 2 started with Sudo propelling himself off the ropes (no, seriously!) pro-wrestling style; resulting in a clash of their two contrasting bodies.
After an ugly ground scramble, Sudo managed to secure a heel-hook and tap his opponent out.
Butterbean vs. Sudo was an entertaining, funny as well as oddly intriguing matchup not only for JMMA fans but for MMA fans worldwide. That brings us to one of the scariest looking fighters in MMA history...
#2 Giant Silva vs. Henry Sentoryu ties with Giant Silva vs. Akebono
One can’t possibly fit all Paulo Cesar da Silva fights in one list. The man better known as ‘Giant Silva’ has a pro-MMA record of two victories with six defeats, with his pair of wins being over Sentoryu and Akebono.
Here’s the tale-of-the-tape for these matchups- Giant Silva (7’2”, 385 pounds); Henry Sentoryu (5’9” 300 pounds); Akebono Taro (6’8”, 550 pounds).
Giant Silva isn’t to be confused with the WCW/WWF pro-wrestler the late-Jorge Gonzalez aka El Gigante/Giant Gonzalez, who faced the Undertaker at Wrestlemania 19. Although both aforementioned giants have performed as pro-wrestlers in the WWF.
Nevertheless, Silva’s fight against Sentoryu at Pride Total Elimination 2004 and against Akebono at ‘K-1 Premium 2006 Dynamite!!’ are both without a doubt the craziest (non) fights in our sport’s young history.
After losing to MMA veteran Heath Herring at Pride’s year-end event in 2003, Silva fought Sentoryu, a sumo wrestler who had zero knowledge about MMA techniques; submitting the 5’9” stout sumo via an awkward kimura. Silva’s final pro-fight would come against Akebono, also ending in a kimura-sub win for Silva.
Words can’t rightfully describe how cringe-worthy both fights were (as was any Giant Silva or Akebono fight!), with two sumo wrestlers who know nothing about fighting, going up against the slow, plodding Giant who himself had difficulty walking let alone putting up a fight. Thank you, Nobuyuki Sakakibara! Up next is the mother of all freak shows...
#1 Gabi Garcia vs every single past opponent
It’s a bird...no, a dragon...She-Hulk, anyone? Not really. It’s MMA’s freak of the season- Gabi Garcia.
Standing at an imposing 6’2” and weighing in at 245 pounds of lean muscle, Garcia is a multiple time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) world champion. She is also one of RIZIN Fighting Federation’s biggest attractions.
And although RIZIN FF is a newly formed organisation, all of you MMA hardcore fans out there would probably know that the Boss-man for the Japanese promotion is Nobuyuki Sakakibara, former Pride FC head honcho and alleged Yakuza-ally.
Now mind you, in no way do I mean to disrespect Ms Gabi or discredit her BJJ accomplishments, but facts are facts. And although it is, in fact, a bit difficult, to find female opponents that can match Garcia’s size and strength; Garcia and her team have avoided legitimate competition in spite of her obvious physical and athletic superiority.
She has striking that’ll make Ronda Rousey look like Muhammad Ali and Edmond Tarverdyan look like Emmanuel Steward. In all four fights, Gabi rushed at her opponent in a straight line, flailing her arms around, throwing windmill strikes with horrendous technique.
All fights featured the gigantic Brazilian towering over her outmatched opponents, who, along with being severely undersized, also had negligible combat experience.
She fought Lei’D Tapa in her debut fight (yes, the TNA pro-wrestler and valet), finishing her via TKO, in a terrible fight where neither woman knew how to strike. Garcia submitted her next two opponents after which came the big one. It was announced that she would face 52-year-old Japanese pro-wrestler, Shinobu Kandori, at RIZIN 4 on December 31st, 2016.
In the lead-up to the fight, Kandori pulled out owing to injury and her replacement was no better- then 49-year-old pro-wrestler, Yumiko Hotta.
Garcia-Hotta started off with the Japanese granny doing her ‘slingshot off the ropes’ pro-wrestling routine. Hotta kept showboating and when she tried to do the same for the third consecutive time inside the RIZIN ring, Garcia grabbed her by the hair and just threw her around as though Hotta were a ragdoll.
She then caught Hotta against the ropes with a flurry of flailing, wide hooks; dropping her and finishing the fight via ground-and-pound. The fight was followed by a strange sequence where one of Hotta’s corner-men, a man so to speak, apparently challenged Gabi to a fight.
If that fight ever comes to fruition, the smart money would be on Gabi beating said dude via ‘Whatever the hell she wants’.
And as if that wasn’t enough, German pro-wrestler, Jazzy ‘Alpha Female’ Gabert confronted Garcia inside the ring, challenging her to a fight. A brawl nearly broke out inside the RIZIN ring, before Gabi’s close friend and ex-Strikeforce and current Invicta FC Featherweight champion, Cris Cyborg many others got involved, stopping the already chaotic situation from getting further out of hand.
Give it time folks. You’ll eventually fall in love with the freaky side of MMA, and that more often than not includes JMMA. Keep up with our combat tradition and write in to me about freaky fights that you feel could’ve made the list.
Keep training and remember the saying- Pride Never Die!!!
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