It's insane how "good" Tank Abbott was

sb413197 said:
Yeah I mean I guess it's possible - maybe equating to a 550 strict paused bench which isn't totally impossible, but it is really REALLY good, particularly at that point in time when there weren't a whole lot of guys benching much over 600 raw. Just seems weird that he would be quite literally one of the strongest benchers in the world, particularly considering that he wasn't all that big compared to the really big benchers.

I don't doubt he was benching, but I doubt it was that much. Maybe 405 with a few fake plates or something.
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possible..but I benched 405 and lifted with 475 benchers and the bar doesn't bend that much. Maybe a fake plate on each side and its still 500lb
 
I really wanted to see him fight Ronda since she and her stupidass fans kept talking shit about her fighting.men.
 
Rvd Slmr said:
The early MMA/Vale Tudo scene was a lot smaller and it was often difficult to find legit opponents, but I still believe that fighters should be judged based on who they beat. Duarte had a big reputation, but the only thing that stuck in my mind was that ludicrous Kerr fight.
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TRYHARD 2001 said:
Avetisyan was a legit fighter if that's what you mean, and he clearly deserved to be DQ'd so... sorta?
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If Avetisyan was indeed legit, Duarte couldnt have been that bad, consequently...
 
E Undead said:
Well let's say he gave him a tough match.

I mean before the fight Oleg spend like 30 seconds in the octagon that evening, given the fact that his manager forced one of his opponents to throw the match (forgot the name)
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TRYHARD 2001 said:
I'm pretty sure Tank and a couple buddies whooped Smith's ass in a hotel lobby way back in the mid-90's. That was Tank telling the story though, so take it with a grain of salt.
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its true cause smith was scheduled to come out to fight and didn’t . Happened backstage .
 
Franklin U. said:
I know the tank ( like for real)- called him this morning ( yes, I have/ cell) and told him to go on sherdog this morning to read this. You know hes planning on going out tonight to " take in " the packer falcon game ........but not to watch game.

You're going to get this guy killed.
Just letting u know as I actually played a role in telling him.
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What are you talking bout ?! Tank getting killed or someone else ? Prob not the thing to discuss in mma forum . Plus ain’t nobody invincible . Nobody’s bulletproof .
 
gono btw said:
If Avetisyan was indeed legit, Duarte couldnt have been that bad, consequently...
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Well, considering all he did in that fight to "win" was score a take down and get eye gouged, I'd say that fight really isn't a good example of his skill level, one way or the other. The ass-whoopings he caught from Tank, Kerr, and Schrijber (none of whom were great) tell me much more about how good he really was than a DQ win.


If you disagree with my assessment of Duarte please give me some examples of him puttin' a Luta Livre-style beatdown on somebody that mattered. Until then...
Tank-being-Tank.gif
 
BluntForceTrama said:
Can't believe I'm reading here that tank went to college

Junior college we talking right?

judging by his body which proportionally unchanged throughout his career It's hard to believe he trained much at all
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Tank could lift tho.
 
TRYHARD 2001 said:
Well, considering all he did in that fight to "win" was score a take down and get eye gouged, I'd say that fight really isn't a good example of his skill level, one way or the other. The ass-whoopings he caught from Tank, Kerr, and Schrijber (none of whom were great) tell me much more about how good he really was than a DQ win.


If you disagree with my assessment of Duarte please give me some examples of him puttin' a Luta Livre-style beatdown on somebody that mattered. Until then...
Tank-being-Tank.gif
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Apart from the fights you mention (1 DQ win - 3 devastating losses), all of Duarte's opponents were either debutants or have only collected losses in pro MMA.

The fact a fighter with inffluence among the vale-tudo community was taking on such caliber of opponents is prove enough that the guy wasn't that good.
 
TRYHARD 2001 said:
Tank was never a good fighter. Ever. To say that he was in any way "good" is just inaccurate. Guy threw sloppy hooks that looked like a bear swatting flies, had no cardio, no subs, no sub defense, and terrible TDD. He was strong and hit hard but he never beat anyone that mattered and in fact lost convincingly to every talented fighter he ever fought. Tank was popular cuz of the persona he put out there when the sport was in its infancy and every other fighter was vanilla as hell.

There are certain myths about the good old days that seem to get perpetuated on here despite so much evidence to the contrary and this idea that Tank was even an okay fighter is one of the big ones.
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I'd say Tank was certainly good by 1996 standards, let alone okay, otherwise he'd not give problems to two of the very best at the time in Taktarov and Frye, or even outclassing Duarte and Anjo who were respected names in JMMA and vale tudo.

Tank definitely was not elite but given that he was a problem for anyone win or lose even for some of the very best how can you say he was not good at all "not even okay"
 
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Tank was one of the first real fighters in the ufc.....but he was also probably the worst of the best.....compared to the traditional Martial arts guys getting destroyed (usually by guys like tank lol) he was probably the lowest ranked good fighter at his prime
 
TRYHARD 2001 said:
Well, considering all he did in that fight to "win" was score a take down and get eye gouged, I'd say that fight really isn't a good example of his skill level, one way or the other. The ass-whoopings he caught from Tank, Kerr, and Schrijber (none of whom were great) tell me much more about how good he really was than a DQ win.


If you disagree with my assessment of Duarte please give me some examples of him puttin' a Luta Livre-style beatdown on somebody that mattered. Until then...
Tank-being-Tank.gif
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That 'win' he got over Avetisyan is technically the same one that Kerr got over him: both Duarte & Avetisyan basically wanted a way out & quit. But they both quit because they were... overwhelmed.
You cant assess both fights differently.

Those 3 fights you´re talkin´about:
1- like it or not, Kerr was literally the boggeyman & considered a top 2 P4P dude back then, one of the 2 most feared fighters [the other one bein´Igor]
2- he got caught against Tank, who was legit dangerous in the 1st mns of the fight [ask Don]. Well, shit happens...

pankrat said:
Apart from the fights you mention (1 DQ win - 3 devastating losses).
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3- The Dirty Bob fight was his final one, & indeed not a good one [pro fighters rarely end their career on a good note...]...
But... would you consider it a legit loss? What happened in that fight?

Now...since you asked about somebody that 'mattered'... Was Avetisyan, a freestyle wrassler, a legit quality win?
When it was all said & done, Mikhail had arguably 3 other 'high profile' fights in his career:

1- vs Igor in IAFC > Loss
2- vs Assuério Silva in WVC > Win
3- vs Horn [final fight] in IFC > Loss

But... were those Win & Loss really... legit quality ones?

bait.gif
 
TRYHARD 2001 said:
Well, considering all he did in that fight to "win" was score a take down and get eye gouged, I'd say that fight really isn't a good example of his skill level, one way or the other. The ass-whoopings he caught from Tank, Kerr, and Schrijber (none of whom were great) tell me much more about how good he really was than a DQ win.


If you disagree with my assessment of Duarte please give me some examples of him puttin' a Luta Livre-style beatdown on somebody that mattered. Until then...
Tank-being-Tank.gif
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For a bit, Mark Kerr was an absolute killer.

Kerr is one of the reasons knees to the head of a downed opponent was made against the rules. He was a great wrestler, few could stop his takedowns and once he got into side control, it was all over for you. The knees he would send at your head were viscious.

Plus, he was really good at head butting.
 
gono btw said:
That 'win' he got over Avetisyan is technically the same one that Kerr got over him: both Duarte & Avetisyan basically wanted a way out & quit. But they both quit because they were... overwhelmed.
You cant assess both fights differently.

Those 3 fights you´re talkin´about:
1- like it or not, Kerr was literally the boggeyman & considered a top 2 P4P dude back then, one of the 2 most feared fighters [the other one bein´Igor]
2- he got caught against Tank, who was legit dangerous in the 1st mns of the fight [ask Don]. Well, shit happens...



3- The Dirty Bob fight was his final one, & indeed not a good one [pro fighters rarely end their career on a good note...]...
But... would you consider it a legit loss? What happened in that fight?

Now...since you asked about somebody that 'mattered'... Was Avetisyan, a freestyle wrassler, a legit quality win?
When it was all said & done, Mikhail had arguably 3 other 'high profile' fights in his career:

1- vs Igor in IAFC > Loss
2- vs Assuério Silva in WVC > Win
3- vs Horn [final fight] in IFC > Loss

But... were those Win & Loss really... legit quality ones?

View attachment 804317
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I assume a guy mostly known for being Rickson's challenge can fight. Duarte has a flawless record in Vale Tudo. Sherdog fightinder don't give his competition any credit but I dont really know about it, do you?
Regarding Avetisyan, that's not a quality performance by him, regardless of credentials and his motives to cheat,.

It's your point about assessing the quality of Duarte solely based on the performance of a guy who - by your understanding - looked for a way out not even 2 minuts into the fight?
 
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pankrat said:
I assume a guy mostly known for being Rickson's challenge can fight. Duarte has a flawless record in Vale Tudo. Sherdog fightinder don't give his competition any credit but I dont really know about it, do you?
Regarding Avetisyan, that's not a quality performance by him, regardless of credentials and his motives to cheat,.

It's your point about assessing the quality of Duarte solely based on the performance of a guy who - by your understanding - looked for a way out not even 2 minuts into the fight?
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Well, I specifically asked you about the Dirty Bob fight, since you included it inside the equation.
Do you consider that loss a legit one?

The Avetisyan angle... well... that part was for our friend Tryhard... But that part is full of traps...

It iz what it iz.
 
Yeah insanely good losing fights and acting like a jerk, he doesn't have a single win over a good opponent
 
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