Which fighter had the worst childhood?

[Kell Martin]

This thread would not be complete without an excerpt from Mark Hunt's book, Born to fight:

"Dad would beat us for any little thing, and with any implement. Fists, feet, broom handles, sticks, electrical wires, the hose that went from the washing machine to the tap. That last one really sucked, because it was heavy and it hurt like hell when Dad really got it going, but no matter how hard you got beat with it, it never broke. With that hose, Dad could just whip until he got tired, and he had energy for that work, man. He loved that hose."

"We all thought Dad was soft on Victoria. He used to take her into a room with him, but inside we wouldn’t hear the crashes and thumps of a beating, nor would there be blood or bruises when she came out. That s*** wasn’t fair as far as we knew. We knew something odd was happening in that room, but we didn’t know that something was heinous and sinful."

 

[Jon's Drug Dealer]

I mean, wasn't Rose Namajunas sexually abused by her uncle throughout her childhood and the reason for all her mental health issues?

 

[KID Yamamoto]

Max's mom was a drug addict and he grew up in a pretty shit area of Hawaii. Pretty sure his dad was a no show too.

 

[MMACroatia]

Cro Cop had to live through the war,he wasn't a kid but still young so i don't know if it qualifies the topic.His dad died during those years as well.

 

[JimmyFresno]

Anyone that sticks a gun in their kid's mouth is a first-ballot hall of fame piece of shit. Glad that Jens was able to pull through and become a champ, even if it was for a short while.

*Like*

According to Jens, during the lead up to UFC 35, his Father was making statements like he was going to be in BJ's corner to coach against Jens.

Even as an adult, Jens still had his own Father trying to sabotage his life.

It's a testament to Jens, as well as others like him, who grew up in a living Hell, yet escaped it, and became a better human being because of it.

 

[Buff]

If we’re talking about outside of the UFC, I want to mention Kassim Ouma.

He was kidnapped at a very young age and was forced to be a child soldier.

There’s a story that, when he was 7, he had to kill a friend of his who was also a child soldier, because the kid lost some ammunition.

https://www.espn.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2689218

Jesus...

Amazing how much people cry about their quality of life in the first world...

 

[Buff]

Cro Cop had to live through the war,he wasn't a kid but still young so i don't know if it qualifies the topic.His dad died during those years as well.

I'm sure some of the Chechen fighters and so on have similar stories... Lots of eastern war torn fighters in the UFC these days... I assume Stipe's family left during that time too, although I didn't research this.

 

[2004 account]

Brutal but it's just one event though.

Yea but then Fedor happened lol

 

[gono btw]

Probably Siyar Bahadurzada since he grew up durin´ the Soviet–Afghan War...

 

[Deleted member 571517]

Ngannou. He's a refugee

They always ask “how good is Conor McGregor?” and never “how is Conor McGregor?”

Speaking the truth.

 

[froggyluv]

Definitely helped Couture when he was resurrecting his career...

I love how the lead low kick both closes the distance, and can potentially drop the opponent’s hands.

*edit*

Never noticed this until now, but Couture actually uses his lead hand to pull down Sylvia’s right arm to prevent him from defending/countering with it...

See now this a quality post - shit i can add to my arsenal Monday morning. Good find

 

[Rocco Siffredi]

I know we here it all the time about how some fighter came from nothing (especially on tuf).

But it made me start thinking, who actually had it the worst growing up?

Probably Max Holloway especially in the gym shower....

Ngannou. He's a refugee


Speaking the truth.

immigant!

 

[Tokoloko]

Rose Namajunas

 

[LostMyBlackBelt]

CM Punk

 

[Bangkok ready d1]

Just for environment Ngannou is one of them. Not much food, not a real place to rest, and little hope to get away from such circumstances. He is close with his mother, so at least he received love. There are some that don't even have that. It's common to shut down ambition in places without examples of getting a better life. To convince someone with a dream that it's a waste of time.

Not sure about food though, you usually won't get that big if you have really fucked up nutrition, he at least must have eat well

 

[kfighter]

Damn, any UFC fighter actually had a loving, normal childhood?

Jon Jones

 

[90 50]

Definitely helped Couture when he was resurrecting his career...

I love how the lead low kick both closes the distance, and can potentially drop the opponent’s hands.

*edit*

Never noticed this until now, but Couture actually uses his lead hand to pull down Sylvia’s right arm to prevent him from defending/countering with it...

That technique has been around forever, I learned it at a young age and used it ALOT
Especially in bar/Streetfights

 

[MMACroatia]

I'm sure some of the Chechen fighters and so on have similar stories... Lots of eastern war torn fighters in the UFC these days... I assume Stipe's family left during that time too, although I didn't research this.

Don't know when they left,but his parents divorced actually.His dad is from place around Zadar,and his mother comes from place not too far from mine actually.He lived with his mother in USA and that was long before war.Don't know if she returned back here(or is she even alive,i think she is) but i know his dad lives here.

 

[Buff]

Don't know when they left,but his parents divorced actually.His dad is from place around Zadar,and his mother comes from place not too far from mine actually.He lived with his mother in USA and that was long before war.Don't know if she returned back here(or is she even alive,i think she is) but i know his dad lives here.

Thanks for clearing that up!

I had no idea.

 

[wearetheromans]

Probably a fighter that chose "not" to talk about it. Not everybody has a "poor me" syndrome.

Yeah, repressing your trauma and not dealing with it is a great idea.