The Forgotten Fighters of the Past

[pooknicca]

Something that I’ve noted about myself is that I have an affinity for the old school UFC vets, who didn’t necessarily stick out to the average fans of the time. I wanted to take some time to note some of these fighters and would love to hear some that come to mind for you.

1) Joe “The Ghetto Man” Charles (UFC record 2-2)
Big Joe was an early Judo practitioner who did surprisingly well in the UFC for those times. He started out his UFC career by submitting Rosier with an armbar in 14 seconds before being easily defeated by Severn. He was one of those guys who could brawl a bit but preferred to aggressively pursue submissions, however many times it was to his own detriment as he put himself in compromising positions and would be submitted himself.


2) Andre “The Chief” Roberts (UFC record 2-1)
The Chief debuted in the UFC dispatching “Dirty” Harry with an elbow but is probably best known for his comeback win against Waterman where he took an absolute beating for the better part of the round before rocking and eventually finishing him. It’s noted that his rationale for pushing through adversity in that fight was due to his previous loss to Goodrige in which he quickly tapped after his nose was broken in the opening seconds of the fight. The Chief wrestled relatively well and knew how to use his size against his opponents. I remember looking around some forums and one of his previous opponents,( Jim Axtell I believe) stated that the Chief was so strong and squeezed him so hard that he s*** himself lol.


3) Brian “Fury” Johnston (UFC record 2-4)
Johnston is credited with laying the foundation for what AKA is today. I remember when growing up, the UFC would always play the greatest knockouts and one that always stood out to me was Johnston’s win over Nasri. The guy seemed like an absolute monster and I thought he was a world beater. Johnson seemed like he had all the potential to be an early star in the UFC as he had the look, could grapple a bit and could kickbox however, he could never get over the hump against the elites of his time in Coleman, Shamrock, and Frye.

 

[blewgums]

Anyone remember Bill “Loves Anal” Buttowski?

 

[Killer Kadoogan]

Brian Johnston +1 for sure. countless others. Pete Spratt IMO.

 

[rear naked ankle pick]

How can i remember them if they are forgotten, TS?

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

Oh yeah I remember Andre the chief Roberts very well, he had a really good record and was probably one the best SHW fighters ever in MMA. He used to train with Hughes brothers and Miletich and those guys.. he has good hands and very good wrestling and was crazy strong. Its a shame more people don't know about him as he is one of a few Native American MMA fighters.

I remember watching some interview with him in 2001 time and He had a very long bloodline going back a very long time, I can't remember what it was but it was crazy long time ago. He was part of a tribe and also did lots of works on reservations etc etc

He also had 2 brothers, one of them was a fighter too and the other wasn't, but the funny thing is they are tiny compared too him, he was like 400 Ibs or between 360 - 400 depending what fight, but his other brother was a WW/MW and his other brother is tiny.. looks about 5'3'' lol

 

[Cobra 03]

How about 2 greats from the early Lions Den era. Tre Telligman, who was missing one entire pectoral muscle, and little Jerry Bohlander. That guy fought guys that were over 100 lbs. heavier than him! He didn't always win, but he was tough as nails. Finally, the guy who had the same training regiment as Tank Abbott, Scott Ferrozzo. The guy weighed about 350 lbs., and was a bouncer at a night club!

 

[pooknicca]

Oh yeah I remember Andre the chief Roberts very well, he had a really good record and was probably one the best SHW fighters ever in MMA. He used to train with Hughes brothers and Miletich and those guys.. he has good hands and very good wrestling and was crazy strong. Its a shame more people don't know about him as he is one of a few Native American MMA fighters.

I remember watching some interview with him in 2001 time and He had a very long bloodline going back a very long time, I can't remember what it was but it was crazy long time ago. He was part of a tribe and also did lots of works on reservations etc etc

He also had 2 brothers, one of them was a fighter too and the other wasn't, but the funny thing is they are tiny compared too him, he was like 400 Ibs or between 360 - 400 depending what fight, but his other brother was a WW/MW and his other brother is tiny.. looks about 5'3'' lol

Ahh yes, I forgot he was associated with the Miletich camp back then. He was very well rounded, I wish I could find footage of his pro boxing bouts.
And yes, he’s very involved in his culture and currently on the Council for the Meskwaki Nation.
And yes, his brother Tyrone Roberts has a lot of experience (44-12 mma record) and even has a win in the UFC. I heard he has a son that competes but couldn’t find any additional information. Glad to see someone else appreciated The Chief!

 

[pooknicca]

How about 2 greats from the early Lions Den era. Tre Telligman, who was missing one entire pectoral muscle, and little Jerry Bohlander. That guy fought guys that were over 100 lbs. heavier than him! He didn't always win, but he was tough as nails. Finally, the guy who had the same training regiment as Tank Abbott, Scott Ferrozzo. The guy weighed about 350 lbs., and was a bouncer at a night club!

Definitely remember Telligman! It sucks that he was on the wrong end of the highlight when it came to his fight with Big Timmy because he was actually pretty skilled despite what the record shows.
And did you see Scott and Tank’s rematch some years ago in someone’s backyard? It was terrible lol

 

[BOTTICELLI]

Cool Read and Cool Thread TS, Pioneers Man

 

[pooknicca]

How can i remember them if they are forgotten, TS?

Ha, fair point! How about fighters that YOU recall but feel have been overlooked or forgotten by others?

 

[pooknicca]

Brian Johnston +1 for sure. countless others. Pete Spratt IMO.

Spratt is a good one! He had a lot of eyes on him after that Lawler win but the guy unfortunately couldn’t grapple to save his life.

 

[pooknicca]

Cool Read and Cool Thread TS, Pioneers Man

Thanks!

 

[BabyBlue_Bomber]

Gil Castillo
He was one of the OGs of the NorCal Cesar Gracie Camp (along with guys like Shields, and the Diaz brothers). Considered, by me and many others, to be one of the top welterweights during the time where guys like Sherk, Trigg, Charuto, Hughes, Sakurai, etc. were on top. Fought Hughes for the 170 strap, and prior to that he fought Dave Menne for the UFC 185 title (both were losing efforts). Holds a win over a young Nate Marquardt to win the IFC Welterweight Title, which was huge at the time as Marquardt was the reigning Middleweight King of Pancrase when he beat him.


"The Big Frog" Jeff Curran
One of my favorite fighters from back in the day. Curran had very solid boxing, a decent wrestling background, and fought very well from his back. In his prime, his only real flaw was being severely undersized for the bigger promotions. Despite that he was able to get invited to the UFC, Pride FC, and even earned a shot at the 145 belt in the WEC. These outings resulted in losses to Matt Serra, Hatsu Hioki, and Uriah Faber, respectively. While he was never really able to earn that stand-out win in the big promotion, he was able to rack up victories over some notable fighters, including Raphael Assuncao, Charles Bennett. Curran also trained and cornered some notable fighters like his cousin Pat Curran, and Felice Herrig.


Mike Van Arsdale
A highly decorated wrestler that unfortunately ran into 2 of the best grapplers in the UFC in Couture and Sobral. His fight with Couture was a very fun grappling match where Couture could not keep Van Arsdale on the mat but eventually caught him in an anaconda choke. Van Arsdale started his MMA career winning a one night bare-knuckle tournament (back when the sport was still called Vale Tudo or NHB) and stopped future Bellator Champion Emmanuel Newton inside of a round, his only loss coming at the hands of Wanderlei Silva. If that isn't impressive enough, He also holds ADCC grappling wins over Roy Nelson, Sean Alavarez, and Murilo Bustamante.


Rosi "The Surgeon" Sexton
While she never won a fight in the UFC, she was a very fun fighter to watch. Unfortunately for her, she was already well past her best-by-date when the UFC decided they wanted to allow women to fight for their promotion. She got her start in the UK Based Cage Warrior FC, same promotion where Conor McGregor started making his name, and even won a title for them. Her only career losses came at the hands of eventual title holders or title challengers; Frausto (Bellator), Carano (EliteXC), Davis (UFC Title Challenger), Andrade (UFC), and Jedrzejczyk (UFC).

 

[Natural Order]

UFC 2 was hella fun

 

[EndlessCritic]

The forgotten fighters of the past? Most people don't know who the majority of fighters are on most cards today.

These guys who fought in the pioneering events will be in the MMA consciousness for far longer than most current fighters.

 

[Ace70 V2]

My long time sweetheart. Marloes Coenen

 

[pooknicca]

Haha Johnny Rhodes! He really gave Ettish a rough night. Rhodes had some pretty solid boxing and his fight with Pat Smith was a fun striking match while it lasted. Nice throwback!

 

[Natural Order]

Haha Johnny Rhodes! He really gave Ettish a rough night. Rhodes had some pretty solid boxing and his fight with Pat Smith was a fun striking match while it lasted. Nice throwback!

Card blew my mind as a young teenager. That display from Smith on Morris was one of the most violent early beatings. Seared into my psyche, lol. Same with Pardoel/Weit, which was same card....those elbows. I thought Orlando was dead when I first saw it. Scare the shit outta me.

 

[pooknicca]

Gil Castillo
He was one of the OGs of the NorCal Cesar Gracie Camp (along with guys like Shields, and the Diaz brothers). Considered, by me and many others, to be one of the top welterweights during the time where guys like Sherk, Trigg, Charuto, Hughes, Sakurai, etc. were on top. Fought Hughes for the 170 strap, and prior to that he fought Dave Menne for the UFC 185 title (both were losing efforts). Holds a win over a young Nate Marquardt to win the IFC Welterweight Title, which was huge at the time as Marquardt was the reigning Middleweight King of Pancrase when he beat him.


"The Big Frog" Jeff Curran
One of my favorite fighters from back in the day. Curran had very solid boxing, a decent wrestling background, and fought very well from his back. In his prime, his only real flaw was being severely undersized for the bigger promotions. Despite that he was able to get invited to the UFC, Pride FC, and even earned a shot at the 145 belt in the WEC. These outings resulted in losses to Matt Serra, Hatsu Hioki, and Uriah Faber, respectively. While he was never really able to earn that stand-out win in the big promotion, he was able to rack up victories over some notable fighters, including Raphael Assuncao, Charles Bennett. Curran also trained and cornered some notable fighters like his cousin Pat Curran, and Felice Herrig.


Mike Van Arsdale
A highly decorated wrestler that unfortunately ran into 2 of the best grapplers in the UFC in Couture and Sobral. His fight with Couture was a very fun grappling match where Couture could not keep Van Arsdale on the mat but eventually caught him in an anaconda choke. Van Arsdale started his MMA career winning a one night bare-knuckle tournament (back when the sport was still called Vale Tudo or NHB) and stopped future Bellator Champion Emmanuel Newton inside of a round, his only loss coming at the hands of Wanderlei Silva. If that isn't impressive enough, He also holds ADCC grappling wins over Roy Nelson, Sean Alavarez, and Murilo Bustamante.


Rosi "The Surgeon" Sexton
While she never won a fight in the UFC, she was a very fun fighter to watch. Unfortunately for her, she was already well past her best-by-date when the UFC decided they wanted to allow women to fight for their promotion. She got her start in the UK Based Cage Warrior FC, same promotion where Conor McGregor started making his name, and even won a title for them. Her only career losses came at the hands of eventual title holders or title challengers; Frausto (Bellator), Carano (EliteXC), Davis (UFC Title Challenger), Andrade (UFC), and Jedrzejczyk (UFC).

Nice contribution! Sexton kind of reminds me of people such as Baszler who really peaked prior to their time in the UFC. Such a shame.
I’m not familiar with Gil Castillo, I’ll have to look into him, thanks!

 

[Frank Kain]

When I was first learning Jui Jitsu, I enjoyed watching Igor Zinoviev fight and was looking forward to him and Frank Shamrock fight… then Frank almost killed him.




Oh, and for all the conspiracy theorists out there…Igor used to be Jeffery Epstein’s bodyguard