(This guy getting punched out by Jacob Volkmann has a Wikipedia page, yet Ilir Latifi does not. I *dare* you to identify him without using Google.)
By Seth Falvo
Much to my surprise, UFC light-heavyweight Ilir Latifi still does not have a Wikipedia page. Despite earning a first-round submission victory at UFC Fight Night 37 and headlining an event — never mind how random that match felt — Latifi still has to settle for being a footnote on the pages of the cards he has fought on. That’s pretty ridiculous, considering that Wikipedia doesn’t exactly have high standards for page-worthy topics. (See: Chess-related deaths, uncombable hair syndrome.) CagePotato.com has its own page. John Morgan of MMA Junkie has his own page as well. Oh yeah, and so do these 13 MMA fighters, arranged in alphabetical order:
Zak Bucia
(Image courtesy of Sherdog)
Notable Achievements: Jobbed to James Terry on two different Strikeforce undercards. Almost worthy of a spot in MMA’s Weird-Stomach-Tattoo Hall of Fame. Almost.
According to Wikipedia: “He is the current WSCA (Wyoming Sports Combat Association) Welterweight Champion.”
Frank Caraballo
(A Google Image search for Frank Caraballo will result in this picture, which I have deemed far more interesting than any pictures of the actual fighter.)
Notable Achievements: Won a fight on the Bellator prelims by flying knee against Donny Walker, a recently-released UFC veteran who went 0-2 in the promotion (and narrowly avoided a spot on this list).
According to Wikipedia: “At Bellator LXVI, Frank defeated Donny Walker via flying knee KO in the fourth round and in doing so unified his NAAFS interim featherweight title with the real title to become the undisputed NAAFS featherweight champion.” You know a title is legitimate when it’s awarded to the winner of a bout taking place on the preliminary card of a different promotion’s show.
Notable Achievements: Was once married to Randy Couture, and currently has a 3-8 MMA record; those three victories come over ladies with a combined MMA record of 0-5. Not only lost a fight to a professional wrestling stall-hold, but almost died in said maneuver.
According to Wikipedia: “Couture grew up on a ranch with her brother. She has played basketball, volleyball and track throughout her life.” Cool story, Wikipedia.
Rosen Dimitrov
(He’s the guy on the bottom; photo courtesy of Sherdog)
Notable Achievements: Apparently the baddest man in Bulgaria; possibly the author of his own Wikipedia page.
According to Wikipedia: “With his twin brother Rumen Dimitrov they founded the organization TWINS MMA and they have enormous success by producing live events and by giving chance for all young fighters to participate and to show what they can.”
Brian Gassaway
(Gassaway, between Shonie Carter and Diego Sanchez. Props to Primetimefighters.net)
Notable Achievements: An honorable mention for our 50 Worst Fighters in UFC History tribute, making him the rare combination of talented enough to fight in the UFC, incompetent enough to be a UFC one-and-done, and completely, utterly unremarkable all at once.
According to Wikipedia: “Brian Gassaway (born August 7, 1972) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division.” This is the only sentence in the entire entry, proving that even Brian Gassaway’s Wikipedia page knows next to nothing about Brian Gassaway.
See Also: Neto, Mario.
Herbert Goodman
(Two of these three men would go on to have semi-relevant NFL careers.)
Notable Achievements: The anti-Herschel Walker, so to speak. Was a downright bad NFL running back with the Green Bay Packers before becoming a decent regional-level MMA fighter. Signed by Bellator to job to Hector Lombard, and was knocked out in well under one minute.
According to Wikipedia: “In his two seasons in the NFL he ran the ball four times for -3 yards and fumbled twice.”
Mark Hughes
(This will make more sense in a second. Promise.)
Notable Achievements: Does being the brother of Matt Hughes count? Holds a victory in the UFC against Alex “The Fighting Al Bundy” Steibling; of course we aren’t making Steibling’s nickname up.
According to Wikipedia: “Soon after fighting in the UFC, Mark decided that it just wasn’t for him and he went back to his family, the farm and his construction company (Hughes Construction).” This may be the Hughesiest sentence ever composed.