David Vs Goliath is a classic tale of an underdog overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds to win the day, but in the sport of mixed martial arts there’s a twist in the tale. If you’ve read our previous article, ’12 Times David Defeated Goliath’, you’ll already be well aware of the fact that more often than
David Vs Goliath is a classic tale of an underdog overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds to win the day, but in the sport of mixed martial arts there’s a twist in the tale.
If you’ve read our previous article, ’12 Times David Defeated Goliath’, you’ll already be well aware of the fact that more often than not it’s actually the apparent underdog ‘David’ that’s favored to win, with their superior speed, skill and conditioning proving too much for the lumbering giants to deal with.
That’s not always the case though, and in this article we’ll take a look at 10 occasions when these veritable man mountains have managed to live up to their fearsome physiques and crushed their smaller opponents underfoot.
The notion that a smaller man could take down a giant has always been an appealing one, tapping into our inherent desire to see the apparent underdog come out on top against the odds. It’s a concept that everyone is familiar with, thanks to the classic bible tale of David and Goliath, and that symbolism
The notion that a smaller man could take down a giant has always been an appealing one, tapping into our inherent desire to see the apparent underdog come out on top against the odds.
It’s a concept that everyone is familiar with, thanks to the classic bible tale of David and Goliath, and that symbolism has been revisited many times over the years.
In the early 1970’s, the legendary Bruce Lee explored the idea in a martial arts concept via his movie ‘Game Of Death’, writing a script that would require him to battle a 7ft 2” giant, portrayed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
It’s not just a spectacle that’s consigned to books and movies though, as there have been many real-life instances of courageous martial artists testing themselves against gigantic opponents dating back to the earliest days of mixed martial arts competition.
Better yet, on many occasions it’s the smaller man who has emerged victorious thanks to superior technique, stamina and fighting spirit, and in this article we’ll pick out 12 of the most memorable examples of David defeating Goliath in MMA history.
(Okay, so here’s my movie idea: A washed-up UFC heavyweight tries to make his way back into the big leagues by posing as a woman. Everything goes according to plan until he falls in love with a tough-talking ring girl played by Jennifer Lawrence. Working title: ‘Holy Crap, Gabi Garcia Is Enormous.’)
Garcia, who walks around well above 200 pounds, told Tatame that she plans to show up to the fight around 205. No matter what number she hits on the scale, she will dwarf Yabushita, a veteran Japanese jobber with a 19-22 record, who has lost to the likes of Rin Nakai, Sarah Kaufman, Shayna Baszler, Tara LaRosa, and Marloes Coenen. Yabushita is on a six-fight losing streak, hasn’t competed in 18 months, and hasn’t won a fight since April 2010. Basically, Gabi Garcia vs. Megumi Yabushita is the female equivalent of Bob Sapp vs Bobby Ologun.
(Okay, so here’s my movie idea: A washed-up UFC heavyweight tries to make his way back into the big leagues by posing as a woman. Everything goes according to plan until he falls in love with a tough-talking ring girl played by Jennifer Lawrence. Working title: ‘Holy Crap, Gabi Garcia Is Enormous.’)
Garcia, who walks around well above 200 pounds, told Tatame that she plans to show up to the fight around 205. No matter what number she hits on the scale, she will dwarf Yabushita, a veteran Japanese jobber with a 19-22 record, who has lost to the likes of Rin Nakai, Sarah Kaufman, Shayna Baszler, Tara LaRosa, and Marloes Coenen. Yabushita is on a six-fight losing streak, hasn’t competed in 18 months, and hasn’t won a fight since April 2010. Basically, Gabi Garcia vs. Megumi Yabushita is the female equivalent of Bob Sapp vs Bobby Ologun.
In March of this year, it was revealed that Garcia failed a drug test for Clomiphene — the same estrogen blocker that Chael Sonnen tested positive for earlier this year — and was stripped of the medals she earned at the 2013 IBJJF World Championships. However, the United States Anti-Doping Agency ruled that Garcia “had not acted negligently and was not at fault for the positive test,” and did not suspend her.
Real 1 will also feature the MMA debut of Kron Gracie, who will compete in a 160-pound main event against an opponent to be named later. At this time, we can not confirm rumors that he will be fighting a nine-year-old child.
* UPDATE: We were wrong. Yabushita is no stranger to the female David vs. Goliath game. Check out her win over 330-pound Russian judoka Svetlana Goundarenko way back in December 2000:
