Having the chance to fight in the UFC is every MMA fighter’s dream, and many have been willing to endure all kinds of personal struggles and sacrifices in order to make it there. However, the Octagon has a nasty habit of chewing fighters up and spitting them back out, and adjusting back to normal life […]
Having the chance to fight in the UFC is every MMA fighter’s dream, and many have been willing to endure all kinds of personal struggles and sacrifices in order to make it there.
However, the Octagon has a nasty habit of chewing fighters up and spitting them back out, and adjusting back to normal life afterwards can prove to be hard to deal with.
Suddenly out of the limelight, down on their luck, and with the knowledge that their best days in the sport were now behind them, some fighters were simply unable to cope, and that obviously brought out the worst in them.
In this article we’ll investigate 10 of the most dramatic cases of fighters whose lives spiraled completely out of control after leaving the UFC.
Terry Etim
Along with the likes of Michael Bisping, Liverpool’s Terry Etim was one of a small group of fighters who helped put UK MMA on the map in the UFC, compiling a respectable 6-5 record over a six-year period, though he’s most remembered for falling victim to an instant-classic wheel kick KO from Edson Barboza.
The UFC released Etim in early 2013 after a dip in form saw him lose three fights in a row, but he was still only 27-years-old and soon signed for Bellator, claiming a victory in his debut.
However, Etim then suffered an ACL injury, and for the next three years he simply vanished. No social media posts, no interviews, no fights.
Then, in February of 2017, almost exactly four years since his last UFC appearance, the now 31-year-old Etim suddenly burst back into the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
According to multiple witnessed, Etim jumped out of a car one afternoon in Liverpool city centre and deliberately ran into traffic, throwing himself into a series of stationary cars, and even a single-decker bus.
Photo Credit: Liverpool Echo
The blood-soaked Etim broke free from friends who were trying to stop him, but was eventually restrained and taken to hospital suffering from serious internal and facial injuries
Etim was released from hospital several weeks later and has once again vanished from the spotlight, with no explanation being offered for his alarming behavior.
It’s a rare occurrence to see a corner throw in the towel in the modern era of MMA, despite the fact there have been clear cases where it seemed like the right thing to do to save a fighter from an unnecessary beating. However, there’s a stigma attached to a fight being stopping this way, not
It’s a rare occurrence to see a corner throw in the towel in the modern era of MMA, despite the fact there have been clear cases where it seemed like the right thing to do to save a fighter from an unnecessary beating.
However, there’s a stigma attached to a fight being stopping this way, not to mention confusion among some about the legality of throwing in the towel and fears over how the fighter will react to it, which means that it’s generally just left to either the referee or the fighter themselves to make the final decision on when to call it a day.
That being said, there are times when the towel has been thrown in, both in the ‘dark ages’ of the sport when it was actually one of the few ways to legitimately stop a fight, right up to the modern day.
In this article we’ll highlight some of the most memorable examples of the towel being thrown in (both literally and metaphorically) in the two biggest MMA promotions of all time, UFC and PRIDE.
During the fifth round of the bout, Zuniga began to finally crack Arnett’s counterpunch-heavy style, backing Arnett up against the ropes as he unleashed his hardest punches. Sensing his opponent was in trouble, Zuniga was all about trading haymakers, while Arnett was more interested in silly things like defense, counter left hooks and not getting his ass kicked. Clearly frustrated, Zuniga decided that his best option in this situation was to channel his inner Harold Howard, signaling for his opponent to “COME ON!” while he let Arnett off the ropes.
I’m not here to fault Zuniga for attempting a mid-fight Harold Howard tribute. Hell, I don’t think anyone reading this is here to do that. But…if you’re telling your opponent to “come on,” can you at least do it in a stereotypically Canadian accent? And for crying out loud, please don’t immediately get knocked the fuck out, either. Especially if you attempt zero cartwheel kicks in the process.
During the fifth round of the bout, Zuniga began to finally crack Arnett’s counterpunch-heavy style, backing Arnett up against the ropes as he unleashed his hardest punches. Sensing his opponent was in trouble, Zuniga was all about trading haymakers, while Arnett was more interested in silly things like defense, counter left hooks and not getting his ass kicked. Clearly frustrated, Zuniga decided that his best option in this situation was to channel his inner Harold Howard, signaling for his opponent to “COME ON!” while he let Arnett off the ropes.
I’m not here to fault Zuniga for attempting a mid-fight Harold Howard tribute. Hell, I don’t think anyone reading this is here to do that. But…if you’re telling your opponent to “come on,” can you at least do it in a stereotypically Canadian accent? And for crying out loud, please don’t immediately get knocked the fuck out, either. Especially if you attempt zero cartwheel kicks in the process.
We had several entries in what was likely our toughest contest to date. As always, you guys showed that you’re passionate fans of our site and the sport — either that or you just like free stuff.
Anyway, before we get into announcing who the winner is, here are the official correct answers:
2. Acclaimed coach Shawn Tompkins (hitting the bag), Frank “Johnny Cage” Colcher and Trevor “Hollywood” Harris (both sparring in ring) in “Sons of Anarchy” (2010)
3. UFC 3 tooth loser Teila Tuli AKA Taylor Wily in “Forgetting “Sarah Marshall” (2008)
4. Maurice Smith (the fatherless bastard) in “Miami Connection” (1987)
6. UFC founder Rorian Gracie (Mexican restaurant maitre d’) in “Hart to Hart” 1983
7. Cunning linguist Tito Ortiz in “The Crow: Wicked Prayer” (2005)
8. Rapist and murderer Joe Son (fighting Bolo Yeung) and Mike Bernardo (cornerman shouting encouragement to Yeung) in Shootfighter 2 (1996)
9. MMA legend and all around good guy (unless you accost his wife in a bar) Bas Rutten in Zookeeper (2011)
10. MMA trainer extraordinaire Steven Seagal, Randy Couture (answers door and gets KO’d by Seagal) and Karo Parisyan (thug number two that Seagal KOs) in “Today You Die” (2005)
11. UFC Hall-of-Famer Ken Shamrock in “That 70’s Show” (1999)
12. Raving lunatic Harold Howard (wild-eyed murderous gladiator) in “Gladiator Cop” (1995)
We had several entries in what was likely our toughest contest to date. As always, you guys showed that you’re passionate fans of our site and the sport — either that or you just like free stuff.
Anyway, before we get into announcing who the winner is, here are the official correct answers:
2. Acclaimed coach Shawn Tompkins (hitting the bag), Frank “Johnny Cage” Colcher and Trevor “Hollywood” Harris (both sparring in ring) in “Sons of Anarchy” (2010)
3. UFC 3 tooth loser Teila Tuli AKA Taylor Wily in “Forgetting “Sarah Marshall” (2008)
4. Maurice Smith (the fatherless bastard) in “Miami Connection” (1987)
6. UFC founder Rorian Gracie (Mexican restaurant maitre d’) in “Hart to Hart” 1983
7. Cunning linguist Tito Ortiz in “The Crow: Wicked Prayer” (2005)
8. Rapist and murderer Joe Son (fighting Bolo Yeung) and Mike Bernardo (cornerman shouting encouragement to Yeung) in Shootfighter 2 (1996)
9. MMA legend and all around good guy (unless you accost his wife in a bar) Bas Rutten in Zookeeper (2011)
10. MMA trainer extraordinaire Steven Seagal, Randy Couture (answers door and gets KO’d by Seagal) and Karo Parisyan (thug number two that Seagal KOs) in “Today You Die” (2005)
11. UFC Hall-of-Famer Ken Shamrock in “That 70′s Show” (1999)
12. Raving lunatic Harold Howard (wild-eyed murderous gladiator) in “Gladiator Cop” (1995)
14.Stephen Quadros (dude with the animated facial expressions) in “Demon Wind” (1990)
15. Patrick Smith’s first UFC 2 victim Ray Wizard (gang leader) in “The Master” AKA “Long Xing Tian Xia” (1992)
16. Joe Rogan in “Zookeeper” (2011
17. Chuck Liddell (Boy Scout catching orange) in “The Postman Always Rings Twice” (1981)
If you got all of the answers you would have gotten 22 right. Worth noting is that not one person got all 22 and most (who were frontrunners up until we received the winning entry last night) topped out at 17. Many forgot to mention Sensei Seagal since most don’t consider him an MMA personality and the majority didn’t catch the background “bonus” characters in the Sons of Anarchy and Shootfighter 2 clips. A few, who are likely kicking themselves today, incorrectly stated that the clip with Joe Son was from Shootfighter, NOT Shootfighter 2.
We’d like to say thanks to Hayabusa for offering us such a great prize and to everyone for entering. Unfortunately there can only be one grand prize winner.
As a consolation prize we will be sending the runners up one of our coveted Cage Potato “Devil Horns” or “Hall of Fame” shirts. If your name is called, send us your shipping info and shirt size at [email protected]: Blakethoria, John Hernandez, Noah Kalkstein, Miles Ravitz, Chris Reid and Justin Williams.
And the big winner, and a true expert of Googling obscure MMA cameos is…. Michael Jones. Shoot us your shipping address and size and we’ll get your prize out to you.
By Cage Potato contributor Chris Colemon(Actually, make that the "9 MMA Fights That Were Over Before They Started.")
Your average Mixed Martial Artist devotes three months of his life to preparing for a fight. That’s ninety days …
By Cage Potato contributor Chris Colemon (Actually, make that the "9 MMA Fights That Were Over Before They Started.")
Your average Mixed Martial Artist devotes three months of his life to preparing for a fight. That’s ninety days of rigorous training and dieting; ninety days of mental preparation and time spent away from friends and family. That great sacrifice becomes worthwhile the moment the bell rings and he gets to show the world what ninety days of commitment can bring. There are few better ways of displaying your hard work than to shut down your opponent in theblink of an eye. After months of speculation, hype, and anticipation, you could say that such fights were over before they even began. You could say that, but you’d be wrong. That ignoble distinction belongs to a whole other category of fights. Fights that didn’t end with a winner and a loser. Fights that didn’t make the sacrifice of training worthwhile. Fights that were truly over before they began.
