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.
Former UFC lightweight Terry Etim is dealing with some serious injuries after purposely running into UK traffic. You may remember Etim from being on the receiving end of one of the most grizzly knockouts in UFC history, when he took a hellacious wheel kick from Edson Barboza back in January of 2012. Etim hasn’t competed
Former UFC lightweight Terry Etim is dealing with some serious injuries after purposely running into UK traffic.
You may remember Etim from being on the receiving end of one of the most grizzly knockouts in UFC history, when he took a hellacious wheel kick from Edson Barboza back in January of 2012. Etim hasn’t competed in mixed martial arts (MMA) since his 2013 unanimous decision win over Patrick Cenoble in Bellator.
UK news-outlet Liverpool Echo reports that Etim is seriously injured after “running in and out of traffic” in Old Swann. It was said that Etim attempted to throw himself in front of four vehicles, which included three single-decker Stagecoach and Arriva buses. Only one was believed to be stationary when Etim flung himself in front of them.
He was soon restrained by police and taken to the hospital where his condition was described as serious. A local hairdresser, Andrea McCullough, had this to say on what she witnessed:
“It was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen. His friends were running after him and trying to restrain him on the floor but he managed to break free and was running in and around all the cars. He wasn’t trying to harm anybody but himself. He was covered from head to toe in blood.”
Photo Credit: Liverpool Echo
Some unconfirmed reports suggest that Etim was traveling in a car with friends before deciding to jump out and begin throwing himself into traffic. A nearby barber who was having lunch, Alan Miles, said he heard “screaming and shouting” from a nearby road and went to help out:
“I went out and helped to restrain the man in a nearby car park, but he wrestled his way out from the people that were holding him down. He had blood all over him and I got a lot of it on my hands as I tried to hold him down. His friends were saying he was a professional cage fighter.”
Etim left many busses’ windscreens shattered and stained with blood, holding up traffic for quite some time while the whole ordeal was being sorted out. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more….
Bellator 109 was the final event in the promotion’s ninth season. Like most other fight cards, it had its ups and downs.
Of note on the prelims, famed wrestler Bubba Jenkins rebounded from his upset loss to Larue Burly at Bellator 100. Blagoi Ivanov, one of the few men to beat Fedor Emelianenko in Sambo and who recently recovered from near-death, extended his unbeaten streak to nine fights. Also, 20-year-old Brazilian prospect Goiti Yamauchi ran over Saul Almeida like a soccer mom in a Ford Excursion runs over a small possum (though the Brazilian was seven pounds overweight for the fight).
In the night’s first bout, Terry Etim faced Patrick Cenoble. This was Etim’s first fight outside of the UFC since the promotion let him go. After watching this match, the UFC is probably patting themselves on the back for that call. Etim won a pedestrian decision. If you like seeing a grappler lounge in dominant positions for 15 minutes, this was your kind of fight.
Fans who didn’t sprint away from Spike TV after Etim-Cenoble were treated to the lightweight tournament semifinal: Will Brooks vs. Alexander “Tiger” Sarnavskiy. The first round was closely contested. Sarnavskiy landed a few crisp combinations, as did Brooks. The American slowed the pace in the second round, employing the grinding style which he’s become known for. “Tiger” became a kitten under Brooks’ pressure. Brooks outclassed Sarnavskiy in the latter 10 minutes of the fight. He was stronger, better conditioned, and a superior grappler. He earned a unanimous decision victory.
Also on the card…
Bellator 109 was the final event in the promotion’s ninth season. Like most other fight cards, it had its ups and downs.
Of note on the prelims, famed wrestler Bubba Jenkins rebounded from his upset loss to Larue Burly at Bellator 100. Blagoi Ivanov, one of the few men to beat Fedor Emelianenko in Sambo and who recently recovered from near-death, extended his unbeaten streak to nine fights. Also, 20-year-old Brazilian prospect Goiti Yamauchi ran over Saul Almeida like a soccer mom in a Ford Excursion runs over a small possum (though the Brazilian was seven pounds overweight for the fight).
In the night’s first bout, Terry Etim faced Patrick Cenoble. This was Etim’s first fight outside of the UFC since the promotion let him go. After watching this match, the UFC is probably patting themselves on the back for that call. Etim won a pedestrian decision. If you like seeing a grappler lounge in dominant positions for 15 minutes, this was your kind of fight.
Fans who didn’t sprint away from Spike TV after Etim-Cenoble were treated to the lightweight tournament semifinal: Will Brooks vs. Alexander “Tiger” Sarnavskiy. The first round was closely contested. Sarnavskiy landed a few crisp combinations, as did Brooks. The American slowed the pace in the second round, employing the grinding style which he’s become known for. “Tiger” became a kitten under Brooks’ pressure. Brooks outclassed Sarnavskiy in the latter 10 minutes of the fight. He was stronger, better conditioned, and a superior grappler. He earned a unanimous decision victory.
Ron Keslar and Rick Hawn faced off in the welterweight tournament semifinal. Keslar controlled the first round and even floored Hawn with a brutal knee to the body. But Hawn turned things around in the second, using a stiff jab to dictate the pace and range of the striking. Hawn built off this success in the third round, scoring a beautiful walk-off KO less than a minute in. Words can’t really describe how brutal the third round was. Let’s say that Keslar started it as a fighter, but ended it as a punching bag.
Then it was time for the main event, a middleweight title bout between champion Alexander “Storm” Shlemenko and Doug “Rhino” Marshall. The fight didn’t last long. Shlemenko made Marshall worry about takedowns before unleashing a liver shot that would’ve made Bas Rutten’s tear up with pride. Marshall’s face grimaced and contorted as he fled from the pocket. The champ smelled blood (or the secretions of a wounded liver) and finished the fight with another body shot a few moments later.
Overall though, the televised card displayed the same banality that’s plagued both Bellator and the UFC throughout 2013. Each amazing knockout was balanced out by a lackluster, grinding decision that scared the casuals off and made even the most hardcore fan consider tuning out for a little bit.
Here are the complete results:
Main Card:
Alexander Shlemenko def. Doug Marshall via TKO (punch to the body), 4:28 of Round 1
Rick Hawn def. Ron Keslar via KO (punch), 0:55 of Round 3
Will Brooks def. Alexander Sarnavskiy via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Terry Etim def. Patrick Cenoble via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-26)
Preliminary Card:
Mike Bannon def. Ahsan Abdulla via technical submission (arm triangle), 1:51 of Round 1
Blagoi Ivanov def. Keith Bell via submission (rear naked choke), 3:59 of Round 1
Goiti Yamauchi def. Saul Almeida via KO (punches), 2:04 of Round 1
Bubba Jenkins def. Ian Rammel via TKO (punches), 2:38 of Round 3
Brent Primus def. Brett Glass via submission (rear naked choke), 3:20 of Round 1
Lester Caslow def. Jay Haas via submission (guillotine), 2:44 of round 3
(The many faces of Terry Etim. / Photos via Getty)
There was a brief moment in time when Terry Etim was considered a future title contender in the UFC lightweight division. After a shaky 1-2 start in the Octagon, the Liverpool native went on a 4-0 run in 2008-2009 where he was just smoking people. Notably, Etim picked up back-to-back Submission of the Night bonuses for his choke-outs of Justin Buchholz and Shannon Gugerty, which led to horribly premature Anderson Silva comparisons being thrown around.
But these days, most UFC fans associate the name “Terry Etim” with one of the most incredible knockouts in UFC history — a KO that he was on the losing end of, unfortunately. His spectaular loss to Edson Barboza at UFC 142 defined him, and after a follow-up decision loss to Renee Forte in February, Etim was released from the UFC.
Etim vs. Cenoble will be featured on the Spike TV prelims leading up to the 11/2 PPV card. The current lineup is after the jump…
(The many faces of Terry Etim. / Photos via Getty)
There was a brief moment in time when Terry Etim was considered a future title contender in the UFC lightweight division. After a shaky 1-2 start in the Octagon, the Liverpool native went on a 4-0 run in 2008-2009 where he was just smoking people. Notably, Etim picked up back-to-back Submission of the Night bonuses for his choke-outs of Justin Buchholz and Shannon Gugerty, which led to horribly premature Anderson Silva comparisons being thrown around.
But these days, most UFC fans associate the name “Terry Etim” with one of the most incredible knockouts in UFC history — a KO that he was on the losing end of, unfortunately. His spectaular loss to Edson Barboza at UFC 142 defined him, and after a follow-up decision loss to Renee Forte in February, Etim was released from the UFC.
Etim vs. Cenoble will be featured on the Spike TV prelims leading up to the 11/2 PPV card. The current lineup is after the jump…
Pay-Per-View Main Card
Light Heavyweight: Rampage Jackson (32-11) vs. Tito Ortiz (16-11-1)
Lightweight Title: Michael Chandler (12-0) vs. Eddie Alvarez (24-3)
Light Heavyweight Interim Title: King Mo Lawal (11-2) vs. Emanuel Newton (21-7-1)
Featherweight Title: Pat Curran (19-4) vs. Daniel Straus (21-4)
Spike TV Preliminary Fights
Fight Master Finals: Joe Riggs (39-14) vs. Mike Bronzoulis (15-5)
Lightweight: Terry Etim (15-5) vs. Patrick Cenoble (9-2)
Spike.com Preliminary Fights
Welterweight: Joe Williams (10-3) vs. Jesse Juarez (20-8)
Light Heavyweight: Brandon Halsey (4-0) vs. Hector Ramirez (9-5-1)
Lightweight: Mike Guymon (14-6-1) vs. Aaron Miller (14-8)
Featherweight: Joe Camacho (13-18-3) vs. Cleber Luciano (8-5)
Lightweight: Darren Smith (4-3) vs. Josh Smith (8-5)
(The many faces of Terry Etim. / Photos via Getty)
There was a brief moment in time when Terry Etim was considered a future title contender in the UFC lightweight division. After a shaky 1-2 start in the Octagon, the Liverpool native went on a 4-0 run in 2008-2009 where he was just smoking people. Notably, Etim picked up back-to-back Submission of the Night bonuses for his choke-outs of Justin Buchholz and Shannon Gugerty, which led to horribly premature Anderson Silva comparisons being thrown around.
But these days, most UFC fans associate the name “Terry Etim” with one of the most incredible knockouts in UFC history — a KO that he was on the losing end of, unfortunately. His spectaular loss to Edson Barboza at UFC 142 defined him, and after a follow-up decision loss to Renee Forte in February, Etim was released from the UFC.
Etim vs. Cenoble will be featured on the Spike TV prelims leading up to the 11/2 PPV card. The current lineup is after the jump…
(The many faces of Terry Etim. / Photos via Getty)
There was a brief moment in time when Terry Etim was considered a future title contender in the UFC lightweight division. After a shaky 1-2 start in the Octagon, the Liverpool native went on a 4-0 run in 2008-2009 where he was just smoking people. Notably, Etim picked up back-to-back Submission of the Night bonuses for his choke-outs of Justin Buchholz and Shannon Gugerty, which led to horribly premature Anderson Silva comparisons being thrown around.
But these days, most UFC fans associate the name “Terry Etim” with one of the most incredible knockouts in UFC history — a KO that he was on the losing end of, unfortunately. His spectaular loss to Edson Barboza at UFC 142 defined him, and after a follow-up decision loss to Renee Forte in February, Etim was released from the UFC.
Etim vs. Cenoble will be featured on the Spike TV prelims leading up to the 11/2 PPV card. The current lineup is after the jump…
Pay-Per-View Main Card
Light Heavyweight: Rampage Jackson (32-11) vs. Tito Ortiz (16-11-1)
Lightweight Title: Michael Chandler (12-0) vs. Eddie Alvarez (24-3)
Light Heavyweight Interim Title: King Mo Lawal (11-2) vs. Emanuel Newton (21-7-1)
Featherweight Title: Pat Curran (19-4) vs. Daniel Straus (21-4)
Spike TV Preliminary Fights
Fight Master Finals: Joe Riggs (39-14) vs. Mike Bronzoulis (15-5)
Lightweight: Terry Etim (15-5) vs. Patrick Cenoble (9-2)
Spike.com Preliminary Fights
Welterweight: Joe Williams (10-3) vs. Jesse Juarez (20-8)
Light Heavyweight: Brandon Halsey (4-0) vs. Hector Ramirez (9-5-1)
Lightweight: Mike Guymon (14-6-1) vs. Aaron Miller (14-8)
Featherweight: Joe Camacho (13-18-3) vs. Cleber Luciano (8-5)
Lightweight: Darren Smith (4-3) vs. Josh Smith (8-5)
Renan ‘Barao’ Pegado vs Michael ‘Mayday’ McDonald McDonald. Such a great fight, but I think McDonald will win. Cub Swanson vs Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier Swanson has a ton of confidence right now knocking out the last 3 opponents and did VERY well at avoiding the takedown attempts from Ross Pearson. Poirier is similar, but [&hellip
Renan ‘Barao’ Pegado vs Michael ‘Mayday’ McDonald
McDonald. Such a great fight, but I think McDonald will win.
Cub Swanson vs Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier
Swanson has a ton of confidence right now knocking out the last 3 opponents and did VERY well at avoiding the takedown attempts from Ross Pearson. Poirier is similar, but he is not grindy like Pearson. Poirer is crafty. I think Dustin will get the submission at some point and survive Swanson’s devastating punching power. Swanson will be pissed.
Jimi ‘Poster Boy’ Manuwa vs Cyrille ‘Snake’ Diabate
Diabate will annihilate.
Gunnar ‘Gunni’ Nelson vs Jorge ‘The Sandman’ Santiago
I’m thinking the man from Iceland will beat the veteran Santiago who is usually very inconsistent. Nelson.
James Te Huna vs Ryan ‘Big Deal’ Jimmo
Te Huna is a beast, but I think Jimmo will prevail. The guy is smart and crafty and has heavy hands as well.
Matt ‘Deep Waters’ Riddle vs Che ‘Beautiful’ Mills
Riddle is a dangerous and will win.
Terry Etim vs Renee Forte
Etim needs a comeback victory after turning into a highlight reel where he was KO’d by a vicious kick.
Paul ‘Sassangle’ Sass vs Danny ‘Last Call’ Castillo
Pass
Josh ‘The Fluke’ Grispi vs Andy ‘The Little Axe’ Ogle
Grispi needs this.
Stanislav Nedkov vs Tom ‘Kong’ Watson
Nedkov. I’ve slept on this guy in the past. He’s a power puncher and I expect him to connect.
