Edgar vs Maynard, even though he was the champ in their last 2 Frankie was considerably undersized. Not a freak show fight either, both guys showed good skill
Keith "The Giant Killer" Hackneyvs. Emmanuel Yarbrough @ UFC 3
Keith was 5'11", 200 lbs. 4th Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. 2nd Degree Black Belt in Tang Soo Do. 2nd Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo. Dabbled in boxing. Wrestled for one year in high school as a 98 lbs. sophomore and became a state qualifier with a record of 21-6-1, but got eliminated in his first match at the Illinois state tournament.
As an adult he continued to train in martial arts until he was offered a slot at UFC 3, where he was matched up against 6'8", 616 lb. Emmanuel Yarbrough. Yarbrough was billed as an accomplished amateur sumo wrestler, having won silver and bronze medals at the Sumo World Championships in 1992 and 1993, respectively. However, he was also a Brown Belt in Judo and had previously earned a silver medal at the US Nationals. Furthermore, he had a background as a NCAA D2 All-American collegiate wrestler at Morgan State University in the 1980s and was also an All-American offensive tackle on their Division I-AA football team.
Despite his opponent outweighing him literally three times over and having legitimate grappling credentials, Keith used his footwork and vastly superior striking to evade Emmanuel's attempts to manhandle him, thus forcing Yarbrough to chase Hackney around the Octagon. This drained the big man's gas tank while leaving him open to attack. Keith ultimately wore Emmanuel down through fatigue and strikes -- including side kicks to the midsection -- before finally TKO'ing him.
During the course of the bout Keith had his shirt partially torn off as Yarbrough tried to clinch with him. At another point, Hackney was literally thrown out of the cage like a sack of potatoes... only to return even more pissed off. He started off by landing a traditional karate overhand palm strike that shattered the sumo wrestler's nose and knocked him down (seen in pic #1 below, as well as the gif). The finishing sequence consisted of Yarbrough catching Hackney's leg on a kick and attempting a single-leg. Keith used his excellent balance to stuff the attempt (pic #2 below) while remaining on one leg and delivering brutal uppercuts to Emmanuel's head until the giant fell backwards (pic #3), rolling over onto all fours at which point Keith leapt onto him and poured on the GnP until Big John stopped the fight. However, Hackney had injured his wrist punching him in the head and had to back out of the tournament.
Deron Winn vs. Antonio Arroyo at a Catchweight of 195 pounds. Arroyo is 6'3" with a 73.5" reach. Deron Winn is 5'6" with a 70" reach. Deron Winn made Arroyo look like he had never wrestled a day in his life and exhausted him over the course of three rounds with a relentless, grinding pace.
Couture was already an MMA old man at 44 and had just been violently knocked out of the LHW division by Chuck Liddell. Then he moves up to fight the reigning HW champ and immediately drops him, then dominates him for the next 25 minutes.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.