Was Butterbean Legit?

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I mean he wasn't a world beater, don't get me wrong. But when he entered MMA and got beat by Genki Sudo (who was what, 145 lbs at the time?), that was pretty much what I assumed Butterbean's whole career would look like. Actually, I assumed that was the last we would see of the guy. Instead, he kept at it and ended with a career of 17 - 10 - 1, which even against mostly nobodies ain't terrible. If I had an MMA career, I'd walk away fairly proud with that record.

So obviously, I haven't operationally defined legit and I'm not sure I have that definition as it pertains to MMA. I don't have the operational definition of "Can" either, but I have, like everyone, a hazy understanding of each. A gray line that seperates the greats from the goods from the decents from the not - so - good from the terribles. And I just feel like Butterbean (who by the way ended his career with more submission wins at 8, than KOs at 6), although I think he was brought in to be a freakshow like Giant Silva (2 - 6 - 0) or Akebono (0 - 4 - 0), broke the mold a bit and at least proved he was more than a can with wins over Wesley Correira who was 17 - 8 at the time, James Thompson who was 13 - 5 - 0 at the time and Zuluzinho who was 7 - 2 - 0 at the time.

Thoughts?
 
beankick.gif
 
One wonders why Pat Smith even backed away from that kick...
 
He could beat guys wich had decent mma brawling or boxing and nothing more.

Zuluzhino was a can whose record at the time means nothing, Correira lost to a old Tank Abbot , Thompson gets koed a lot, probably would have beat Kimbo, Tank, etc.

But even guys that added a little to their game (Path Smith) would steam roll over him.
 
He was as legit as anyone who was as dedicated to MMA as he was. I don't think any fighter would want to be on the receiving end of one of his punches. He always had the proverbial "punchers chance." His conditioning, lack of grappling acumen, weight, age, all worked against him.

I was saddened that he was not allowed to fight Mark Hunt at PRIDE's Real Deal in 2006. I guess the NSAC didn't feel he was a worthy opponent for the 'Super Samoan.'
 
Well, he never dedicated himself to MMA at all and was never anything more than a boxer fighting in MMA. But like you said, a 17-10 record is something to be proud of if you're just taking the sport on as a hobby.

Not to mention how much I love reading MMA media back around 2005 when people were honestly convinced that Zulu was legitimate competition for Fedor...then tapped out to The Butterbean.
 
emperor said:
Well, he never dedicated himself to MMA at all and was never anything more than a boxer fighting in MMA. But like you said, a 17-10 record is something to be proud of if you're just taking the sport on as a hobby.

Not to mention how much I love reading MMA media back around 2005 when people were honestly convinced that Zulu was legitimate competition for Fedor...then tapped out to The Butterbean.
Click to expand...

Zulu's dad is a legend and his camp CLAIMED Zulu was like 100 and 0 in vale tudo lol
 
Serious KO power. He's about as good as one could expect.
 
Imagine if he wasn't fat?

I had the chance to meet him as he was just walking around the MMA show he was promoting in my city. He seemed like a good dude, taking pictures with everyone and whatnot. Always been a fan since his Toughman competition days.
 
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Much of his boxing career was very questionable. Quite a few of his opponents admitted taking dives, and he rarely ever fought anyone with a winning record.

His MMA and kickboxing careers seemed less dodgy.

He had geniune power and intimidation factor and he knew how to use both of them. Skilled opponents could take advantage of his obvious weaknesses, but he was always one punch away from victory against pretty much anyone.
 
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