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Gene LeBell, a legend in the world of combat sports, passed away at the age of 89. When you look at the careers of many of the biggest names in combat sports and looked at the people standing behind them throughout their careers, many times you would h…
Gene LeBell, a legend in the world of combat sports, passed away at the age of 89. When you look at the careers of many of the biggest names in combat sports and looked at the people standing behind them throughout their careers, many times you would have seen Gene LeBell. LeBell was often called…
Continue Reading Legendary MMA Trainer Gene LeBell Has Passed Away At 89 at MMA News.
Reactions from Ronda Rousey and the rest of the mixed martial arts community kept pouring in after the passing of ‘Judo’ Gene LeBell. LeBell is widely regarded as the person who infused judo into the sport. He’s most well-known for mentoring the former UFC champion Rousey throughout her career. But he has more accolades on […]
Reactions from Ronda Rousey and the rest of the mixed martial arts community kept pouring in after the passing of ‘Judo’ Gene LeBell.
LeBell is widely regarded as the person who infused judo into the sport. He’s most well-known for mentoring the former UFC champion Rousey throughout her career. But he has more accolades on his resume that go beyond normal expectations.
Early Wednesday, his close family friends reported the news of his death on social media.
LeBell spent a considerable amount of time exploring his interest in acting and professional wrestling. He has trained with some of the most iconic athletes in combat sports history, including Bruce Lee, Muhammad Ali, and Sugar Ray Robinson.
He is popular for his work as a coach. In his early days, LeBell also had a glittering record as a high-level amateur judoka in the 1950s. He even had a professional MMA bout, where he defeated boxer Milo Savage in a hybrid ruleset back in Dec. 1963. That fight could arguably be the first legitimate MMA competition.
LeBell also served as an MMA judge until 2018. Having touched so many peoples’ lives, his loss was mourned by many in the fight world.
You can check out the reactions from Ronda Rousey and the MMA community below.
Ronda Rousey posted a photo on her Instagram, writing: “Legend.”
Shayna Baszler tweeted: “I won every R-E-A-L fight I ever had & was penniless. I LOST every R-E-E-L fight I ever had and made millions” — Judo Gene trying to convince me to quit fighting and go into Hollywood stunt work. I’m still calling it a double wrist lock, just so you know.”
“I won every R-E-A-L fight I ever had & was penniless. I LOST every R-E-E-L fight I ever had and made millions” — Judo Gene trying to convince me to quit fighting and go into Hollywood stunt work.
I’m still calling it a double wrist lock, just so you know.
pic.twitter.com/VEwNpAxJb8
— Shayna Baszler (@QoSBaszler) August 10, 2022
Alan Jouban tweeted: “RIP to the legend Judo Gene LeBell.”
Big John McCarthy took to Twitter: “With the heaviest of hearts I say goodbye to one of my favorite men in the world. Judo Gene Lebell passed in his sleep, a warrior in every way to the very end. In 1963 Gene took on Milo Savage in a mixed fight. Gene choked him like he did me & everyone else. RIP Gene, I love ya.”
Cris Cyborg wrote: “Judo Gene Lebell impacted so many lives through his kind, caring, and loving soul. It is through those memories his legacy will become legendary and forever remembered. RIP and prayers to all who loved him.”
— Grand Slam Champ CrisCyborg.com (@criscyborg) August 10, 2022
(Dat. Pizza. Dough.)
Though current bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw will not be a playable character in EA Sports UFC when it hits the shelves two weeks from now, Bruce Lee will be. Perhaps equally ridiculous is that Bruce Lee isn’t being treated as a novelty addition to the roster, but rather as “the father of Mixed Martial Arts,” something Dana White has also called him. Giving credit to only one person for the creation of MMA is absurd enough, but painting Bruce Lee as that person is just preposterous.
Then again, it really isn’t hard to understand why Zuffa would want to make someone like Bruce Lee an ambassador for our sport. Lee was — and still is — an instantly recognizable celebrity. His body was ripped and athletic. He knew how to wrestle, sure, but also understood that most people would rather watch him throw flashy kicks. His affirmations were deep enough to look good on playing cards and posters, but not too profound for the bros curling in the squat rack to comprehend. In other words, he appeals to a much larger audience than Edward William Barton-Wright and Tommy Tanaka do.
Even with all that in mind, there are figures in combat sports history who not only did more to mold modern MMA than Bruce Lee, but can also be worked into the charmingly revisionist Zuffa account of history just as well. The following list will focus on the accomplishments of these individuals, as well as the arguments for why they should be repackaged as the fathers of MMA. Let’s start with the oldest candidate, and work our way towards the modern era…
(Dat. Pizza. Dough.)
Though current bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw will not be a playable character in EA Sports UFC when it hits the shelves two weeks from now, Bruce Lee will be. Perhaps equally ridiculous is that Bruce Lee isn’t being treated as a novelty addition to the roster, but rather as “the father of Mixed Martial Arts,” something Dana White has also called him. Giving credit to only one person for the creation of MMA is absurd enough, but painting Bruce Lee as that person is just preposterous.
Then again, it really isn’t hard to understand why Zuffa would want to make someone like Bruce Lee an ambassador for our sport. Lee was — and still is — an instantly recognizable celebrity. His body was ripped and athletic. He knew how to wrestle, sure, but also understood that most people would rather watch him throw flashy kicks. His affirmations were deep enough to look good on playing cards and posters, but not too profound for the bros curling in the squat rack to comprehend. In other words, he appeals to a much larger audience than Edward William Barton-Wright and Tommy Tanaka do.
Even with all that in mind, there are figures in combat sports history who not only did more to mold modern MMA than Bruce Lee, but can also be worked into the charmingly revisionist Zuffa account of history just as well. The following list will focus on the accomplishments of these individuals, as well as the arguments for why they should be repackaged as the fathers of MMA. Let’s start with the oldest candidate, and work our way towards the modern era…
(Not Dioxippus, but I know how much you all love this thing…)
Martial Art: Pankration, an Ancient Greek combat sport that allowed punches, kicks, takedowns, joint locks and chokeholds (sound familiar?).
Notable Achievements: Dioxippus of Athens was not only the toughest fighter in Ancient Greece, but arguably the toughest fighter to ever live. In his prime, he was so famous for taking out all challengers that he won an Olympic championship by default (akoniti) because nobody was willing to fight him; he’s the only person to ever win an Olympic wreath in pankration this way. He famously defeated one of Alexander the Great’s best soldiers, Coragus, despite the fact that Coragus wore full armor and had several weapons to use against the naked Dioxippus; you read that correctly, he showed up naked to a fight against a guy in full body armor and won. After the bout, Dioxippus was framed for theft, and chose to take his own life rather than be punished for a crime he did not commit.
Why It Makes Sense: Dana White and Joe Rogan like to remind us that “fighting is in our DNA.” Dioxippus is proof of this.
(Again, not Bill “The Butcher” Poole, but rather a character he inspired: Bill “The Butcher” Cutting from Gangs of New York.)
Martial Arts: Bare-knuckle Boxing, Rough & Tumble (aka “Gouging”)
Notable Achievements: Let’s be perfectly clear: Bill “The Butcher” Poole was not an honorable man. The leader of both The Bowery Boys and the Know Nothing political movement, Poole terrorized the streets of New York City while spreading anti-Irish, anti-Catholic hate-speech throughout the mid-nineteenth century. He took part in Rough & Tumble — more accurately called “gouging” due to the fact that eye-gouging was not only allowed, but encouraged — contests as well as bare-knuckle boxing matches. Poole beat up heavyweight boxing champion John Morrissey so badly that The New York Daily Times wrote “[Morrissey] presented a shocking spectacle, and scarcely could any of his friends recognize him.” Though Morrissey’s men would shoot Poole in the chest over the incident, “The Butcher” lived for fourteen days with a bullet lodged in his heart. According to legend, his final words were “Good-bye, boys, I die a true American.”
Why It Makes Sense: Was Bill “The Butcher” Poole a total scumbag? Yes — and that’s the entire point. Since Zuffa history depicts MMA as something that only the most vile, deplorable people took part in until Dana White invented rules (obviously not true, but history is written by the winners), painting Poole as the original MMA fighter actually makes sense.
Martial Art: Catch Wrestling
Notable Achievements: Back when professional wrestling was actually a legitimate competition, Evan “Strangler” Lewis was one of the most feared men to lace up the boots. “Strangler” ran through his competition with frightening ease, masterfully utilizing the stranglehold — a technique you more than likely recognize as the rear-naked choke — to secure victory. His win over Ernest Roeber in a best-of-five match on March 2, 1893 made him the first American to become a world champion wrestler. Lewis would defend the title for two years before losing it to Martin “Farmer” Burns, and was inducted into The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2009. That he wasn’t exactly known for his sportsmanship is another story for another time, as is the way that many wrestling fans confuse him with Ed “Strangler” Lewis.
Why It Makes Sense: He was the blueprint for every freakishly athletic wrestler to ever fight inside the Octagon, from Ken Shamrock to Cain Velasquez and all points in between.
Hit that “Next Page” button for a trio of fighters whose battles against each other made them all legends of the pre-Zuffa era.
(Photo via Susumu Nagao)
By Mark Dorsey
One unfortunate aspect of MMA is that far too many fighters continue to compete long after they should have hung up the gloves. It’s hard to watch once-great athletes tarnish their legacies and put themselves at risk for dementia pugilistica. That’s why it’s so refreshing when fighters decide to retire at the right time. Even rarer are the ones who taste success just once before walking away. Here’s our tribute to a few legendary fighters who were literally one-and-done.
Rulon Gardner has faced more hardship throughout his life than most men could ever survive. As a kid, he was punctured in the abdomen by an arrow during show-and-tell at school. As an adult, Gardner survived crashing into a freezing river in his snowmobile after getting lost; he wasn’t rescued until almost two days later, by which point he had suffered hypothermia that would later cost him a toe. Gardner also survived a motorcycle crash and a small plane crash that plunged him into Lake Powell, Utah, and forced him to swim for an hour in order to reach safety.
Despite these tremendous survival stories which could earn any man a made-for-TV movie, Gardner is best known for wrestling the most dangerous man to ever don a wrestling singlet. In one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history, Gardner defeated Aleksandr Karelin in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. What made the upset so incredible was that Karelin, the three-time defending gold medalist, was undefeated for 13 years going into the match. Hell, Karelin hadn’t even given up a single point in six years. Yet somehow, Gardner, a pudgy farm boy from Wyoming, managed to shut down Karelin’s offense, making him an unlikely Olympic Gold Medalist.
After winning Bronze four years later at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Gardner left his wrestling shoes on the mat in a symbolic gesture of retirement. However, the competitive urge persisted and Gardner was convinced to compete in an MMA match at Pride Shockwave 2004. His opponent in that classic freak-fight was Hidehiko Yoshida, a judoka and a fellow Olympic gold medalist. Yoshida was a serious submission threat who entered the fight coming off a win over Mark Hunt and a draw against Royce Gracie. However, Gardner had been training with Bas Rutten which paid off, as he managed to win a rather boring unanimous decision victory over Yoshida. Gardner controlled the match and showed that he had a promising combination of raw skills and incredible strength. However, despite his potential as an MMA fighter, Gardner never competed in the sport again. In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Gardner admitted that he didn’t have the killer instinct for MMA because he didn’t really enjoy hitting people or getting hit.
(Photo via Susumu Nagao)
By Mark Dorsey
One unfortunate aspect of MMA is that far too many fighters continue to compete long after they should have hung up the gloves. It’s hard to watch once-great athletes tarnish their legacies and put themselves at risk for dementia pugilistica. That’s why it’s so refreshing when fighters decide to retire at the right time. Even rarer are the ones who taste success just once before walking away. Here’s our tribute to a few legendary fighters who were literally one-and-done.
Rulon Gardner has faced more hardship throughout his life than most men could ever survive. As a kid, he was punctured in the abdomen by an arrow during show-and-tell at school. As an adult, Gardner survived crashing into a freezing river in his snowmobile after getting lost; he wasn’t rescued until almost two days later, by which point he had suffered hypothermia that would later cost him a toe. Gardner also survived a motorcycle crash and a small plane crash that plunged him into Lake Powell, Utah, and forced him to swim for an hour in order to reach safety.
Despite these tremendous survival stories which could earn any man a made-for-TV movie, Gardner is best known for wrestling the most dangerous man to ever don a wrestling singlet. In one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history, Gardner defeated Aleksandr Karelin in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. What made the upset so incredible was that Karelin, the three-time defending gold medalist, was undefeated for 13 years going into the match. Hell, Karelin hadn’t even given up a single point in six years. Yet somehow, Gardner, a pudgy farm boy from Wyoming, managed to shut down Karelin’s offense, making him an unlikely Olympic Gold Medalist.
After winning Bronze four years later at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Gardner left his wrestling shoes on the mat in a symbolic gesture of retirement. However, the competitive urge persisted and Gardner was convinced to compete in an MMA match at Pride Shockwave 2004. His opponent in that classic freak-fight was Hidehiko Yoshida, a judoka and a fellow Olympic gold medalist. Yoshida was a serious submission threat who entered the fight coming off a win over Mark Hunt and a draw against Royce Gracie. However, Gardner had been training with Bas Rutten which paid off, as he managed to win a rather boring unanimous decision victory over Yoshida. Gardner controlled the match and showed that he had a promising combination of raw skills and incredible strength. However, despite his potential as an MMA fighter, Gardner never competed in the sport again. In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Gardner admitted that he didn’t have the killer instinct for MMA because he didn’t really enjoy hitting people or getting hit.
Pride offered Gardner $1 million to fight Fedor Emelianenko, but Gardner knew he would be outmatched, and the competitor in him refused to enter into anything half-assed. Although it would have been a great payday, it was probably a good decision considering the potential for brain damage.
Time hasn’t been particularly kind to Gardner since his foray into MMA. After ballooning to 474 pounds, Gardner appeared as a contestant on the NBC reality show The Biggest Loser where he quickly became a favorite to win the competition. However, after shedding 174 pounds, Gardner abruptly left the show over his desire to try and earn a third Olympic medal at the London Olympics. He feared that losing too much weight would rid him of too much strength and muscle to wrestle competitively. However, once off the show, Gardner failed to make Olympic weight and that — coupled with his declining abilities — cut short those ambitions. Later in 2012, it was announced that Gardner was in millions of dollars of debt and had filed for bankruptcy. It was an unfortunate development for a man who has given the combat world so much. However, at least he can go to his grave knowing he was an Olympic gold medalist and undefeated MMA fighter. Very few other human beings can make that claim.
Another Olympic wrestling gold medalist to successfully enter MMA for one match is Kenny Monday. At the 1998 Seoul games, Monday won the free-style gold in the 163-pound division against the Soviet Union’s Adlan Varaev. Although Monday was an accomplished wrestler and well-known in American wrestling, he was a newcomer on the world wrestling scene. Varaev was the defending world champion and favorite to win the Olympics. However, the U.S. had a strong legacy of 163-pound champions from which Monday could cull advice and experience; he also possessed the strength, skill and technique to be a serious contender. When Monday met Varaev in the finals, it was an incredibly close match in which Monday came from behind to capture the upset gold in overtime.
Monday continued to have success in international wrestling, winning gold and silver at the World Championships in 1989 and 1991, respectively. He also won a silver medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. When he competed at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic games, he finished sixth. It would be his last international competition.
Less than a year after retiring from wrestling, Monday agreed to fight in an MMA match against John Lewis at Extreme Fighting 4 in Des Moines, Iowa. John Lewis — who later went on to become one of the most high-profile MMA coaches ever and who is credited with first sparking the interest of the Fertitta brothers and Dana White in MMA — was undefeated (2-0-3) at the time he fought Monday. However, Monday handed Lewis his first loss via ground-and-pound near the end of round two after controlling him on the ground for most of the match.
Monday never fought in MMA again because he was too busy as a wrestling coach, but he didn’t completely leave the sport. In early 2013, he accepted a three-year position as wrestling coach for the Blackzilians, the prominent South Florida MMA team that has included such prominent UFC fighters as Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, and Alistair Overeem. Monday had the raw athletic ability and wrestling pedigree to have lasting success in MMA, but he chose to dedicate himself to coaching. At the time when the prospects for monetary gain were few and far between in the sport, it was probably the right choice for his pocketbook and physical health.
(Photo via Susumu Nagao)
By Mark Dorsey
One unfortunate aspect of MMA is that far too many fighters continue to compete long after they should have hung up the gloves. It’s hard to watch once-great athletes tarnish their legacies and put themselves at risk for dementia pugilistica. That’s why it’s so refreshing when fighters decide to retire at the right time. Even rarer are the ones who taste success just once before walking away. Here’s our tribute to a few legendary fighters who were literally one-and-done.
Rulon Gardner has faced more hardship throughout his life than most men could ever survive. As a kid, he was punctured in the abdomen by an arrow during show-and-tell at school. As an adult, Gardner survived crashing into a freezing river in his snowmobile after getting lost; he wasn’t rescued until almost two days later, by which point he had suffered hypothermia that would later cost him a toe. Gardner also survived a motorcycle crash and a small plane crash that plunged him into Lake Powell, Utah, and forced him to swim for an hour in order to reach safety.
Despite these tremendous survival stories which could earn any man a made-for-TV movie, Gardner is best known for wrestling the most dangerous man to ever don a wrestling singlet. In one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history, Gardner defeated Aleksandr Karelin in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. What made the upset so incredible was that Karelin, the three-time defending gold medalist, was undefeated for 13 years going into the match. Hell, Karelin hadn’t even given up a single point in six years. Yet somehow, Gardner, a pudgy farm boy from Wyoming, managed to shut down Karelin’s offense, making him an unlikely Olympic Gold Medalist.
After winning Bronze four years later at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Gardner left his wrestling shoes on the mat in a symbolic gesture of retirement. However, the competitive urge persisted and Gardner was convinced to compete in an MMA match at Pride Shockwave 2004. His opponent in that classic freak-fight was Hidehiko Yoshida, a judoka and a fellow Olympic gold medalist. Yoshida was a serious submission threat who entered the fight coming off a win over Mark Hunt and a draw against Royce Gracie. However, Gardner had been training with Bas Rutten which paid off, as he managed to win a rather boring unanimous decision victory over Yoshida. Gardner controlled the match and showed that he had a promising combination of raw skills and incredible strength. However, despite his potential as an MMA fighter, Gardner never competed in the sport again. In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Gardner admitted that he didn’t have the killer instinct for MMA because he didn’t really enjoy hitting people or getting hit.
(Photo via Susumu Nagao)
By Mark Dorsey
One unfortunate aspect of MMA is that far too many fighters continue to compete long after they should have hung up the gloves. It’s hard to watch once-great athletes tarnish their legacies and put themselves at risk for dementia pugilistica. That’s why it’s so refreshing when fighters decide to retire at the right time. Even rarer are the ones who taste success just once before walking away. Here’s our tribute to a few legendary fighters who were literally one-and-done.
Rulon Gardner has faced more hardship throughout his life than most men could ever survive. As a kid, he was punctured in the abdomen by an arrow during show-and-tell at school. As an adult, Gardner survived crashing into a freezing river in his snowmobile after getting lost; he wasn’t rescued until almost two days later, by which point he had suffered hypothermia that would later cost him a toe. Gardner also survived a motorcycle crash and a small plane crash that plunged him into Lake Powell, Utah, and forced him to swim for an hour in order to reach safety.
Despite these tremendous survival stories which could earn any man a made-for-TV movie, Gardner is best known for wrestling the most dangerous man to ever don a wrestling singlet. In one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history, Gardner defeated Aleksandr Karelin in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. What made the upset so incredible was that Karelin, the three-time defending gold medalist, was undefeated for 13 years going into the match. Hell, Karelin hadn’t even given up a single point in six years. Yet somehow, Gardner, a pudgy farm boy from Wyoming, managed to shut down Karelin’s offense, making him an unlikely Olympic Gold Medalist.
After winning Bronze four years later at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Gardner left his wrestling shoes on the mat in a symbolic gesture of retirement. However, the competitive urge persisted and Gardner was convinced to compete in an MMA match at Pride Shockwave 2004. His opponent in that classic freak-fight was Hidehiko Yoshida, a judoka and a fellow Olympic gold medalist. Yoshida was a serious submission threat who entered the fight coming off a win over Mark Hunt and a draw against Royce Gracie. However, Gardner had been training with Bas Rutten which paid off, as he managed to win a rather boring unanimous decision victory over Yoshida. Gardner controlled the match and showed that he had a promising combination of raw skills and incredible strength. However, despite his potential as an MMA fighter, Gardner never competed in the sport again. In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Gardner admitted that he didn’t have the killer instinct for MMA because he didn’t really enjoy hitting people or getting hit.
Pride offered Gardner $1 million to fight Fedor Emelianenko, but Gardner knew he would be outmatched, and the competitor in him refused to enter into anything half-assed. Although it would have been a great payday, it was probably a good decision considering the potential for brain damage.
Time hasn’t been particularly kind to Gardner since his foray into MMA. After ballooning to 474 pounds, Gardner appeared as a contestant on the NBC reality show The Biggest Loser where he quickly became a favorite to win the competition. However, after shedding 174 pounds, Gardner abruptly left the show over his desire to try and earn a third Olympic medal at the London Olympics. He feared that losing too much weight would rid him of too much strength and muscle to wrestle competitively. However, once off the show, Gardner failed to make Olympic weight and that — coupled with his declining abilities — cut short those ambitions. Later in 2012, it was announced that Gardner was in millions of dollars of debt and had filed for bankruptcy. It was an unfortunate development for a man who has given the combat world so much. However, at least he can go to his grave knowing he was an Olympic gold medalist and undefeated MMA fighter. Very few other human beings can make that claim.
Another Olympic wrestling gold medalist to successfully enter MMA for one match is Kenny Monday. At the 1998 Seoul games, Monday won the free-style gold in the 163-pound division against the Soviet Union’s Adlan Varaev. Although Monday was an accomplished wrestler and well-known in American wrestling, he was a newcomer on the world wrestling scene. Varaev was the defending world champion and favorite to win the Olympics. However, the U.S. had a strong legacy of 163-pound champions from which Monday could cull advice and experience; he also possessed the strength, skill and technique to be a serious contender. When Monday met Varaev in the finals, it was an incredibly close match in which Monday came from behind to capture the upset gold in overtime.
Monday continued to have success in international wrestling, winning gold and silver at the World Championships in 1989 and 1991, respectively. He also won a silver medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. When he competed at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic games, he finished sixth. It would be his last international competition.
Less than a year after retiring from wrestling, Monday agreed to fight in an MMA match against John Lewis at Extreme Fighting 4 in Des Moines, Iowa. John Lewis — who later went on to become one of the most high-profile MMA coaches ever and who is credited with first sparking the interest of the Fertitta brothers and Dana White in MMA — was undefeated (2-0-3) at the time he fought Monday. However, Monday handed Lewis his first loss via ground-and-pound near the end of round two after controlling him on the ground for most of the match.
Monday never fought in MMA again because he was too busy as a wrestling coach, but he didn’t completely leave the sport. In early 2013, he accepted a three-year position as wrestling coach for the Blackzilians, the prominent South Florida MMA team that has included such prominent UFC fighters as Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, and Alistair Overeem. Monday had the raw athletic ability and wrestling pedigree to have lasting success in MMA, but he chose to dedicate himself to coaching. At the time when the prospects for monetary gain were few and far between in the sport, it was probably the right choice for his pocketbook and physical health.
(Props: FilmDrunk)
Legendary ’70s rocker Steven Seagal was recently a guest on MMAFighting‘s “The MMA Hour,” and after firing off some dependably insane nonsense about how Jon Jones doesn’t punch or kick well, and how Anderson Silva “either fears me pretends to fear me,” Seagal got into the only topic that we really care to hear him address at this point: Whether or not “Judo” Gene LeBell literally choked the shit out of him circa 1990. As you can imagine, Seagal is on the “no, I didn’t shit my pants” side of the argument. Here’s what he said, as transcribed by our buds at FilmDrunk:
“I don’t even know if he is still alive. Is he still alive? I never knew this about him – either he is a pathological liar or he had somebody making up these stories. He came over to my trailer and I was with a guy called Conrad Palmisano who is still a legend, one of the greatest stunt co-ordinators in the history of Hollywood. [LeBell and I] were standing there talking about moves and stuff like that and we were just doing some stretching and he was showing me how you can stretch…he wanted to stretch my back and then I kind of flipped over the top of him and said ‘thank you for that.’
There was never any confrontation with him ever. In any way, shape or form. And I swear to god on my children – and they are the most precious thing in my life – if he is saying that he is a pathological scumbag liar. I keep answering that [question]. Either he made up this lie or someone made it up…Gene Le Bell has never even said anything impolite to me. When he has seen me he has been extremely polite to me and just acted like a friend. I think you know the truth here and everyone else knows the truth and if Gene is saying sh*t like that he should be ashamed of himself.
(Props: FilmDrunk)
Legendary ’70s rocker Steven Seagal was recently a guest on MMAFighting‘s “The MMA Hour,” and after firing off some dependably insane nonsense about how Jon Jones doesn’t punch or kick well, and how Anderson Silva “either fears me pretends to fear me,” Seagal got into the only topic that we really care to hear him address at this point: Whether or not “Judo” Gene LeBell literally choked the shit out of him circa 1990. As you can imagine, Seagal is on the “no, I didn’t shit my pants” side of the argument. Here’s what he said, as transcribed by our buds at FilmDrunk:
“I don’t even know if he is still alive. Is he still alive? I never knew this about him – either he is a pathological liar or he had somebody making up these stories. He came over to my trailer and I was with a guy called Conrad Palmisano who is still a legend, one of the greatest stunt co-ordinators in the history of Hollywood. [LeBell and I] were standing there talking about moves and stuff like that and we were just doing some stretching and he was showing me how you can stretch…he wanted to stretch my back and then I kind of flipped over the top of him and said ‘thank you for that.’
There was never any confrontation with him ever. In any way, shape or form. And I swear to god on my children – and they are the most precious thing in my life – if he is saying that he is a pathological scumbag liar. I keep answering that [question]. Either he made up this lie or someone made it up…Gene Le Bell has never even said anything impolite to me. When he has seen me he has been extremely polite to me and just acted like a friend. I think you know the truth here and everyone else knows the truth and if Gene is saying sh*t like that he should be ashamed of himself.
And after I heard this I did start to think of some other things he had said, like he said to me he had beat the shit out of Bruce Lee and I started to think well maybe this guy is a pathological liar. He should never make up these kind of sick…you know…It just makes him look like a total asshole. It makes him look like a demented child.”
There’s a little-known corollary to Occam’s razor called “Buster’s pickle-slicer,” which states the following: When two famous people tell conflicting stories of an alleged altercation, the more entertaining story is the usually the more accurate one, especially when it involves something humiliating happening to Steven Seagal. Considering that Seagal has a well-documented reputation for starting trouble on movie sets, shouldn’t we be more apt to believe LeBell’s version? And more importantly, isn’t that the version you want to believe?
Judo Gene Lebell impacted so many lives through his kind, caring, and loving soul. It is through those memories his legacy will become legendary and forever remembered. 
RIP and prayers to all who loved him 
