5 cameo appearances from UFC fighters that you might've missed

#5 Tank Abbott, Bruce Buffer and Big John McCarthy – Friends (1997)

Friends was one of the world’s most enduring and popular sitcoms; centred around the lives of six friends – played by David Schwimmer, Courtney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matt Le Blanc and Matthew Perry – the show ran from 1994 to 2004 with ten seasons, and was a massive part of pop culture throughout the decade.

The UFC on the other hand was hardly a popular entity during the same time period. Sure, the initial shows in the early 1990’s drew well on pay-per-view, but by the late 90’s, the sport of MMA had been damned as ‘human cockfighting’ by the likes of Senator John McCain.

That’s why it’s so surprising to look back and find that the third season of Friends actually had an episode practically centered on the UFC. Titled The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion, the episode follows Monica’s rich boyfriend Pete – played by Jon Favreau – and his “dream” of fighting in the Octagon.

The episode goes on to show Pete stepping into the Octagon at a UFC event – announced by Bruce Buffer – to face none other than Tank Abbott, a massive star in the promotion’s early days, in a fight refereed by ‘Big’ John McCarthy. Of course, Favreau’s character goes onto be destroyed – ending up in a full body cast.

Quite how the writers of Friends ended up running with an episode centered around what was at the time an obscure sport is anyone’s guess – but looking back over two decades later, it might be the first mainstream mention of the UFC!