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UFC pioneer and tournament winner Don Frye is one of the toughest fighters in the history of mixed martial arts. The Arizona native produced great fights in the early years of MMA.
Over the course of his career, Frye won several tournaments and fought against the best fighters the sport could offer. His resume includes wins over the likes of Garry Goodridge, Tank Abbott, Gilbert Yvel, and Ken Shamrock. While Don Frye often registers his presence at UFC events and has grabbed headlines quite a few times, how is his life now and what does he do? Read on to know.
Don Frye is divorced and has two daughters. He now enjoys his retired life in a quiet and peaceful rural community called Catalina. 30 miles north of Tucson, Arizona, it has been The Predator’s home for quite a while now.
Don Frye’s fighting style invited a hellacious amount of damage and he has had several, 45 to 50 according to him, surgeries over the course of his career. The 57-year-old has had to frequently visit hospitals since his retirement in 2011 to address the health issues.
His friend Spencer, whom Frye met during his time as a reserve firefighter, is his close companion. Frye often lives with him in Sierra Vista after being released from the hospital.
Don Frye's ‘biting the mouthpiece and heading straight into a firefight' mentality produced some great fights and Frye did well in the sport of his choice. He was pivotal in pulling fans’ attention to the sport in its formative years due to this. But the stress or the wear and tear of an insanely eventful fighting career is now in the past.
Don Frye’s storied MMA career at a glance
Don Frye’s MMA career started at UFC 8, when the sport was far removed from the mainstream and had no resemblance to the MMA of the modern age. He became UFC 8 tournament winner by defeating Garry Goodridge in the finals.
He marched forth an unstoppable force at the UFC 10 tournament and seemed poised to defend the top spot. But suffered his first professional loss in the finals at the hands of Mark Coleman. The UFC 11.5 event saw Frye reclaim the tournament title.
In spite of the success, 'The Predator' hung up the gloves. He competed as a pro wrestler for nearly half a decade, but eventually returned to MMA and picked up from right where he had left off.
This time, however, Pride Fighting Championships was his home. Frye defeated the likes of Yvel and Shamrock in this chapter of his career, improving his record to 14-1, with the sole loss of his career coming against Colemen nearly six years prior. Some bouts have the potential to change the course of a fighter’s career, and his next fight did just that.
Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, subsequent career
Robbie Lawler vs. Rory Macdonald or Israel Adesanya vs. Kelvin Gastelum occupy a special place in fans' hearts. They are two of the bloodiest and fiercest contests seen inside the Octagon.
But decades before, Don Frye put on a fierce, gritty, and bloody battle with Yoshihiro Takayama that is still fresh in the memories of old-school MMA fans. A true embodiment of David vs Goliath, the fight brought tears to referee Yuji Shimada’s eyes and raised his head with pride for being a part of that fight.
A TKO win over Takayama added a feather to Frye’s cap. But retirement perhaps should have followed, something 'The Predator' feels as he now looks back.
“I should’ve retired after the Takayama fight. He stole my soul. I was never the same after that fight. Took a big chunk out of my spirit,” Don Frye told TucsonSentinel.com in an interview.
Frye never looked the same following this fight and went 5-8-1 after facing Takayama. At the time of his retirement in 2011, Frye was on a two-fight losing skid and wrapped up his career with a record of 20-9-1.
However, this UFC pioneer left behind a lasting legacy in the sport of MMA. Frye is one of the only two fighters, along with Dan Savern, to win the UFC and Ultimate Ultimate tournament.
He ties the record for the second-longest knockout streak in UFC history with Sergei Pavlovich. The UFC inducted Don Frye into the Hall of Fame (Pioneer Wing) in 2016 to honor his contribution to the sport.
