Fight Throwback #2 - Tank Abbott vs Don Frye UFC 11.5 (Gifception)

[1stRoundMMA]

As requested by @ramair455 in my first Fight Throwback thread from yesterday : http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/f...gh-ufc-3-ive-got-gifs.3699311/#post-137919577

For the Ultimate Ultimate Championship. Tank Abbott and Don Frye square off in the finals for $150,000. Abbott is coming of a win against Steve Nelmark and Don Frye had just beat Gary Goodridge. Keep in mind that this is both guys third fight of the night.. how fucking crazy is that?

Let's check out he Tale of the Tape. Abbott has 50+ pounds on Frye, but other than that they're virtually identical Joe


Tank Abbott, the fan favorite and the original JBG descendant making his way to the cage

Hollly fuuuck! I'd shit if the guy I was fighting was coming down to the ring looking like that holding hands with two guys. Don Frye everyone!

Possibly @wilKO's dad back in 1996

Big John looking cooler than ever. They should get him to ref the UFC 300 main event wearing this exact attire. I have a lot of respect for Big John. I accredit him with being another pioneer of this sport with his excellence in reffing fights. A very professional guy imo.

Tank comes out and instantly drops Frye with a powerful jab. Dude hit like a train.

Frye recovers and decides to go toe -to- toe with Tank. Not great fight IQ, but fuck it, let him bang bro.

Frye was barely standing at this point, Tank was destroying him on the feet. Frye was leaning into him and Tank sort of trips himself and hits the canvas. Uh-oh.

Frye had a pretty decent ground game/grappling experience for this era of the sport and obviously Tank was nothing but a striker so Frye had his way with him here and sunk in an easy rear naked on a half gassed Tank.

Love this gif. Beat but not beaten. A comeback as old as time and another turning point for MMA. It takes a lot more than good striking to beat top level mixed martial artists.

You know this is one of the older Sherdog guys back in his prime attending UFC 11.5, reveal yourself!

Post fight interview with Tank backstage and the interviewer asked him "Do you respect Don Frye?" Tank responded with "No, I don't. I don't respect anyone. I don't even respect you". Had Tank been in his prime 20 years later he could have been one of today's big draws, it's really too bad.

Sidenote : I drank three Miller High Life beers while making this post (shit beer, don't buy it) after getting off work earlier than expected, hope you guys enjoyed it.

 

[wilKO]

Nice find man. My dad trained ultimate fighting before it was cool.

 

[andnowweknow]

bad ass memories brochacho. Thank you.

 

[EOD]

You are making an early case for yourself as sherdogger of the year (even if you are filthy white belt). Well done sir!

 

[Crimson Fury]

Great fight though Frye did grab the fence to get position.

 

[SeattleFightFan]

i notice you left you mentioning Mark Hall

nice TS, thanks.

 

[PubliusVentidius]

Was Tank really 273 lbs at 6 feet tall? lol

 

[Akabignasty]

As requested by @ramair455 in my first Fight Throwback thread from yesterday : http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/f...gh-ufc-3-ive-got-gifs.3699311/#post-137919577

For the Ultimate Ultimate Championship. Tank Abbott and Don Frye square off in the finals for $150,000. Abbott is coming of a win against Steve Nelmark and Don Frye had just beat Gary Goodridge. Keep in mind that this is both guys third fight of the night.. how fucking crazy is that?

Let's check out he Tale of the Tape. Abbott has 50+ pounds on Frye, but other than that they're virtually identical Joe
View attachment 330157

Tank Abbott, the fan favorite and the original JBG descendant making his way to the cage

Hollly fuuuck! I'd shit if the guy I was fighting was coming down to the ring looking like that holding hands with two guys. Don Frye everyone!

Possibly @wilKO's dad back in 1996

Big John looking cooler than ever. They should get him to ref the UFC 300 main event wearing this exact attire. I have a lot of respect for Big John. I accredit him with being another pioneer of this sport with his excellence in reffing fights. A very professional guy imo.

Tank comes out and instantly drops Frye with a powerful jab. Dude hit like a train.

Frye recovers and decides to go toe -to- toe with Tank. Not great fight IQ, but fuck it, let him bang bro.

Frye was barely standing at this point, Tank was destroying him on the feet. Frye was leaning into him and Tank sort of trips himself and hits the canvas. Uh-oh.

Frye had a pretty decent ground game/grappling experience for this era of the sport and obviously Tank was nothing but a striker so Frye had his way with him here and sunk in an easy rear naked on a half gassed Tank.

Love this gif. Beat but not beaten. A comeback as old as time and another turning point for MMA. It takes a lot more than good striking to beat top level mixed martial artists.

You know this is one of the older Sherdog guys back in his prime attending UFC 11.5, reveal yourself!

Post fight interview with Tank backstage and the interviewer asked him "Do you respect Don Frye?" Tank responded with "No, I don't. I don't respect anyone. I don't even respect you". Had Tank been in his prime 20 years later he could have been one of today's big draws, it's really too bad.

Sidenote : I drank three Miller High Life beers while making this post (shit beer, don't buy it) after getting off work earlier than expected, hope you guys enjoyed it.

Great job. Miss the old UFCs

 

[GENERAL AZUL]

As requested by @ramair455 in my first Fight Throwback thread from yesterday : http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/f...gh-ufc-3-ive-got-gifs.3699311/#post-137919577

For the Ultimate Ultimate Championship. Tank Abbott and Don Frye square off in the finals for $150,000. Abbott is coming of a win against Steve Nelmark and Don Frye had just beat Gary Goodridge. Keep in mind that this is both guys third fight of the night.. how fucking crazy is that?

Let's check out he Tale of the Tape. Abbott has 50+ pounds on Frye, but other than that they're virtually identical Joe
View attachment 330157

Tank Abbott, the fan favorite and the original JBG descendant making his way to the cage

Hollly fuuuck! I'd shit if the guy I was fighting was coming down to the ring looking like that holding hands with two guys. Don Frye everyone!

Possibly @wilKO's dad back in 1996

Big John looking cooler than ever. They should get him to ref the UFC 300 main event wearing this exact attire. I have a lot of respect for Big John. I accredit him with being another pioneer of this sport with his excellence in reffing fights. A very professional guy imo.

Tank comes out and instantly drops Frye with a powerful jab. Dude hit like a train.

Frye recovers and decides to go toe -to- toe with Tank. Not great fight IQ, but fuck it, let him bang bro.

Frye was barely standing at this point, Tank was destroying him on the feet. Frye was leaning into him and Tank sort of trips himself and hits the canvas. Uh-oh.

Frye had a pretty decent ground game/grappling experience for this era of the sport and obviously Tank was nothing but a striker so Frye had his way with him here and sunk in an easy rear naked on a half gassed Tank.

Love this gif. Beat but not beaten. A comeback as old as time and another turning point for MMA. It takes a lot more than good striking to beat top level mixed martial artists.

You know this is one of the older Sherdog guys back in his prime attending UFC 11.5, reveal yourself!

Post fight interview with Tank backstage and the interviewer asked him "Do you respect Don Frye?" Tank responded with "No, I don't. I don't respect anyone. I don't even respect you". Had Tank been in his prime 20 years later he could have been one of today's big draws, it's really too bad.

Sidenote : I drank three Miller High Life beers while making this post (shit beer, don't buy it) after getting off work earlier than expected, hope you guys enjoyed it.

That poster

 

[mmacasualviewer]

Fire LeBlanc from Top Gear & replace with Tank, the true sitcom star of Friends.

 

[ramair455]

As requested by @ramair455 in my first Fight Throwback thread from yesterday : http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/f...gh-ufc-3-ive-got-gifs.3699311/#post-137919577

For the Ultimate Ultimate Championship. Tank Abbott and Don Frye square off in the finals for $150,000. Abbott is coming of a win against Steve Nelmark and Don Frye had just beat Gary Goodridge. Keep in mind that this is both guys third fight of the night.. how fucking crazy is that?

Let's check out he Tale of the Tape. Abbott has 50+ pounds on Frye, but other than that they're virtually identical Joe
View attachment 330157

Tank Abbott, the fan favorite and the original JBG descendant making his way to the cage

Hollly fuuuck! I'd shit if the guy I was fighting was coming down to the ring looking like that holding hands with two guys. Don Frye everyone!

Possibly @wilKO's dad back in 1996

Big John looking cooler than ever. They should get him to ref the UFC 300 main event wearing this exact attire. I have a lot of respect for Big John. I accredit him with being another pioneer of this sport with his excellence in reffing fights. A very professional guy imo.

Tank comes out and instantly drops Frye with a powerful jab. Dude hit like a train.

Frye recovers and decides to go toe -to- toe with Tank. Not great fight IQ, but fuck it, let him bang bro.

Frye was barely standing at this point, Tank was destroying him on the feet. Frye was leaning into him and Tank sort of trips himself and hits the canvas. Uh-oh.

Frye had a pretty decent ground game/grappling experience for this era of the sport and obviously Tank was nothing but a striker so Frye had his way with him here and sunk in an easy rear naked on a half gassed Tank.

Love this gif. Beat but not beaten. A comeback as old as time and another turning point for MMA. It takes a lot more than good striking to beat top level mixed martial artists.

You know this is one of the older Sherdog guys back in his prime attending UFC 11.5, reveal yourself!

Post fight interview with Tank backstage and the interviewer asked him "Do you respect Don Frye?" Tank responded with "No, I don't. I don't respect anyone. I don't even respect you". Had Tank been in his prime 20 years later he could have been one of today's big draws, it's really too bad.

Sidenote : I drank three Miller High Life beers while making this post (shit beer, don't buy it) after getting off work earlier than expected, hope you guys enjoyed it.

OUTSTANDING! Thanks Sherbro! I remember that fight and watched on PPV. I thought Frye was done when that jab dropped him. Frye was the pre-proto-type (Frank Shamrock was the proto-type) of well rounded MMA fighter.

Awesome post and great editorial comments!

 

[RicardinhoPT]

Tank was truly terrible!

 

[ramair455]

Tank was truly terrible!

But he made for a great antagonist/bad guy. The UFC would do good to have a character like Tank.

 

[Typrune Goatley]

Great post, TS. I laughed my ass off. I like these threads you are making.

Here is the video of the fight if anyone wants to see:

 

[1stRoundMMA]

Great fight though Frye did grab the fence to get position.

True, but fence grabbing was allowed back then so a lot of guys would use it to get/maintain position.

Tank was truly terrible!

To todays standards yes, but back then he was far from terrible. You wouldn't say Frye was a terrible fighter, and Tank was very competitive with him here. Tank also beat Steve Jennum (sp?) in an earlier tournament who was a prior tournament winner (UFC 2) and was a pretty well rounded guy for the time... Ninjitsu specalist lol

 

[Crimson Fury]

True, but fence grabbing was allowed back then so a lot of guys would use it to get/maintain position.



To todays standards yes, but back then he was far from terrible. You wouldn't say Frye was a terrible fighter, and Tank was very competitive with him here. Tank also beat Steve Jennum (sp?) in an earlier tournament who was a prior tournament winner (UFC 2) and was a pretty well rounded guy for the time... Ninjitsu specalist lol

Actually, no. That was the first event where they banned fence grabbing. Shamrock was doing it against Bryan Fury in the opening bout and Big John was screaming at Ken to let go of the fence. Still, I believe Frye would have won anyway.

 

[Crimson Fury]

Tank was truly terrible!

Honestly, if it wasn't for some fishy fights in UFC 6/UU96, he might have won.

 

[ramair455]

Honestly, if it wasn't for some fishy fights in UFC 6/UU96, he might have won.

But he could hitt!

 

[HunterAcosta]

Takes balls of steel to stand toe to toe with tank like that. Frye has enormous cajones made of steel.

 

[1stRoundMMA]

Actually, no. That was the first event where they banned fence grabbing. Shamrock was doing it against Bryan Fury in the opening bout and Big John was screaming at Ken to let go of the fence. Still, I believe Frye would have won anyway.

That's interesting man. It is such a blatant fence grab that if it was indeed illegal I thought Big John would have caught it. I know they changed a lot of rules in the UFC around 96 from outside political pressure, but I didn't know it was actually illegal during UU96. Thanks for the info.