Freaks. Everybody loves them.
While MMA has done its best over the past 20 years to move away from its carnival sideshow sensibilities, the truth is the history of this sport lives in spectacle. Deep in their hearts, all promoters are new-age P.T. Barnums, and nothing gets the imagination going like seeing something wondrous and absurd — especially if that something involves a fist fight.
On Saturday, MMA added another glorious freakshow fight to its annals when former World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall demolished fellow World’s Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowski in just 30 seconds at KSW 105. It was the latest in a long run of cartoonish matchups, and it got us thinking: What are the greatest Freakshow fights in MMA history?
Like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s famous “I know it when I see it” definition of obscenity, Freakshow fights are not a hard and fast thing, but more of a vibe. Given that, there is a huge well to draw from when talking about the greatest Freakshow fights in MMA history, so we set some ground rules.
Wonderful promotions like Fight Circus and Dogfight Wild were disqualified from contention, as were (most) super-small promoters putting on fights that felt more exploitative than spectacular. And this is MMA, so no celebrity or influencer boxing stuff. Just real MMA fights involving one or more outlandish characters.
After thorough discussion and debate, we whittled the list down to 10. Here it is (plus a couple of honorable mentions).
Honorable Mentions
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Zuluzinho
One of the great things about Pride was that it wasn’t always the best fighting the best. Sometimes it’s fun for fighters to simply stay active with fun squash matches (take notes, PFL). Fedor Emelianenko had a few of those in Pride, but this one has a special place in my heart because way back in the day, this was the fight I used to show people to show them why MMA was fun.
“See, that small chubby guy is about to fight that monstrously large human. Look at what happens!!!” I guarantee you this fight did more to help build the aura of Fedor than another workmanlike win over Heath Herring would’ve done.
Mirko Cro Cop vs. Dos Caras Jr.
You can’t help but feel a little bad for Dos Caras Jr. (better known as the future Alberto Del Rio in WWE) here. A legitimate amateur wrestler, and a pro wrasslin’ star, he had a good side gig going for a minute with a few MMA wins under his belt. His notoriety resulted in him being matched up with legitimate fighter and kickboxer Mirko Cro Cop, an opportunity he was in no way prepared for.
Due to Mexican wrestling tradition, Del Rio was forbidden from being seen in public without his mask, and the luchador gear couldn’t have helped with scouting those Cro Cop head kicks once they started flying. Seeing him slumped over in the corner after being blessed by one of Mirko’s legs is just such a sad visual.
10. Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki
Lee: This is really the perfect spot for Ali vs. Inoki because historically, it’s essential to not just the history of sideshow acts, but to the fabric of MMA itself. Aesthetically... not so much.
The year was 1976. Ali was in the twilight of his championship years, and Inoki was still using his strong style to build the foundation of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Both men were icons in their respective countries, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that this exhibition bout between the two was a global event.
Unfortunately, the end result was a dreadfully dull contest that saw Inoki lying on his back and kicking away at Ali’s poor legs for FIFTEEN rounds, with Ali unwilling (or unable, depending on who you ask) to battle Inoki on the ground. The heavily hyped contest was contested under special rules that essentially shackled the legends, both of whom spoke poorly of the event in its aftermath.
There’s no denying the fight’s impact, though, as it reportedly drew 54 million viewers on Japanese television, two million U.S. pay-per-view buys, $20 million in closed-circuit theater screenings in the U.S., and an eye-popping 1.4 billion viewers worldwide.
Oh, it might have also been the first mainstream mixing of the martial arts, so you can realistically draw a line from this fight to the beginning of the UFC (and the No. 1 fight on our list, oddly enough).
9. Ray Mercer vs. Tim Sylvia
Meshew: When this fight was booked back in 2009, it was broadly decried as the bad kind of freakshow fight. Tim Sylvia was a former UFC heavyweight champion, and while he was on a two-fight losing streak, those losses were against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fedor Emelianenko, two of the best in the world. Mercer, meanwhile, was a former heavyweight boxing champion who had never competed in MMA and was 48 years old. On paper, this was transparent and grotesque fighter exploitation. And then they fought.
Sylvia came into the fight in a way that can charitably be described as “heavier than usual,” and was promptly floored by the first punch Mercer threw—a clean right hand that sent Sylvia crashing to the canvas. Suddenly, what was supposed to be a squash match turned into the low point of a UFC champion’s career.
8. Gabi Garcia vs. Yumiko Hotta
Lee: For all of her considerable accomplishments in the world of jiu-jitsu, Gabi Garcia was made for MMA. A hulking figure billed at over 200 pounds, the real tragedy is there was never going to be any reasonable opponent to face her once she committed to mixing the martial arts.
RIZIN matchmakers did their best, finding completely inexperienced fighters to square off with Garcia, eventually landing on joshi pro wrestling legend Yumika Hotta for her fourth fight. The 49-year-old Hotta (replacing 52-year-old wrestling legend Shinobu Kandori!) didn’t last long, eventually being grounded and pounded out in a farcical 49 seconds. Garcia would fight again, but this bout just about sums up this misbegotten experiment.
7. Mariusz Pudzianowski vs. Bob Sapp
Meshew: Shout out to Mariusz Pudzianowski, who, when he shifted his focus to MMA, could have become exclusively a freakshow fighter, and nobody would have batted an eye. But instead, the five-time World’s Strongest Man winner took MMA seriously and became more than a sideshow attraction. That being said, “Pudz” was still one of the biggest freakshows competing in the sport for the past 15 years, and he took that moniker in earnest when he beat Bob Sapp at KSW 19 in 2012.
While Sapp was a legitimate fighter at one point, by this time, he had leaned fully into the freakshow gimmick and was on a six-fight losing streak (eventually extended to 14). This fight went exactly how you’d expect, with Pudzianowski running over Sapp (in oddly similar fashion to how Eddie Hall ran over Pudzianowski) and officially passing the torch of “Goliath” to the World’s Strongest Man legend.
6. Randy Couture vs. James Toney
Lee: Maybe the most honest fight ever, Randy Couture made no illusions about what he planned to do to former boxing champion James Toney: He was going to shoot in, take him down, and show him why Toney was making a big mistake playing UFC fighter.
This was an amusing and mostly harmless spectacle that co-headlined UFC 118 in 2010. It was so silly that Dana White put in even less effort than usual to market it, letting everyone know Couture was going to win. Still, the MMA vs. boxing angle sold itself even though the result told us literally nothing about which combat sport is superior.
5. Daiju Takase vs. Emmanuel Yarbrough
Meshew: Some things in life don’t need much explanation, and this is one of them. Daiju Takase was a kickboxer making his MMA debut back at Pride 3, where he faced former sumo wrestler Emmanuel Yarbrough. Takase weighed 169 pounds for the fight; Yarbrough weighed over 600 pounds. We can’t say it definitively, but this is probably the biggest weight gap in a fight in MMA history.
And the fight itself is just so silly. Takase, rightfully, recognizes that Yarbrough is not fleet of foot enough to catch him, so he simply darts around the ring, leaping in for a punch or kick and then running off to avoid the big fella; the truest “stick and move” strategy of all time. Before too long, Yarbrough gasses out from simply walking around, and it looks like this will be the dumbest fight ever.
Or perhaps he was playing possum! Takase sees Yarbrough fading and gets too confident, shooting for a takedown. Yarbrough sprawls, and suddenly he’s on top with his massive weight advantage. Things look dangerous, but Yarbrough is simply too gassed, and Takase slithers out from under and then promptly finishes Yarbrough, as much from exhaustion as from the punches.
4. Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Giant Silva/Butterbean
Lee: This list could have been just Minowaman fights, and not a soul would have complained.
Ikuhisa Minowa was a sight to see with his fit 5-foot-9 frame stuffed into a pair of red trunks, but the real show started whenever he was thrown into a ring with an opponent at least a foot taller than him or 300 pounds heavier (or both!). With pro wrestling flair, Minowaman typically took the fight to his larger opponents, whether it was with a well-timed takedown or a completely gratuitous dropkick. Anything for the fans.
We highlighted the Giant Silva and Butterbean fights here, but this doesn’t even include his Super Hulk Grand Prix run in 2009 that saw him finish Bob Sapp, Hong Man Choi, and Sokoudjou. Legend.
3. Genki Sudo vs. Butterbean
Meshew: Butterbean may be “King of the Four Rounders,” but he also had a surprisingly robust MMA career, and it all began right here.
Unlike Minowaman, Genki Sudo didn’t take a whole bunch of Freakshow fights, but he more than made up for it in this one as he ran around the ring, potshotting and showboating against the powerful puncher. At one point, Sudo even runs the ropes before launching a flying sidekick at Butterbean, who catches him and lands on top. This ends up being a bad decision as Sudo promptly rolls for a heel hook and taps Butterbean, showing once again that David conquers Goliath.
2. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Hong Man Choi
Lee: Arguably the greatest fighter of all time, Fedor Emelianenko, also blessed us with some of the best freak fights ever. Stipe Miocic could never.
As enjoyable as his lightning-fast bludgeoning of Zuluzinho was, it’s hard to beat the truly bizarre duel he had with the 7-foot-2 Choi. This was a weird chapter in “The Last Emperor” lore as he was past his legendary feuds with Mirko Cro Cop and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and transitioning to his UFC champ-killing phase. So what else to do but slay some giants?
Emelianenko vs. Choi gave us one of the enduring images in a career full of memorable ones Fedor, the best heavyweight on the planet, looked like a child hanging off of Choi’s arm at one point. Put it in The Louvre.
1. Dada 5000 vs. Kimbo Slice
Meshew: I’m on record that this is one of my five favorite fights of all-time, and so it was an easy choice for greatest freakshow bout ever. While Kimbo Slice was certainly a real mixed martial artist, Dada was not remotely one, and that was kind of the point. These two “street fighting legends” were showmen first and pugilists second, and their legendary press conference remains one of the most absurd and incredible bits of theater the sport has ever produced.
Then there’s the matter of Dada’s infamous media day workout, where Harris was clearly woefully ill-prepared to engage in a sanctioned fight, but hand-waved it all away as a 3D chess maneuver to hide his skills.
Of course, when the first round started, it was revealed Dada wasn’t playing possum at all, but that hardly mattered as both men gassed almost immediately. What follows is perhaps the most ludicrous and enjoyable 11 minutes of fighting you will ever watch. To their credit, both men continued to fight to the best of their ability, but that ability was nearly non-existent once the cardio took a nose dive. Ultimately, the fight ended when Slice landed 15 unanswered punches with all the power of a butterfly's flapping wings, and Dada simply stumbled away and collapsed from exhaustion.
Later, we would find out that Dada “died” during the fight, and we were all witnesses to what could have been one of the most macabre and awful scenes in MMA history. But close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and since that didn’t happen, we can look fondly back on the most outlandish spectacle MMA has ever produced.
“YOU FOOL!” There could be no other choice for No. 1.
Lee: When I used to work at theScore office in Toronto, we would occasionally throw fights up on a big screen and there were only two that caused everyone working to get out of their seats and gather around to watch: Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 1 and, yes, Kimbo vs. Dada.
The collective reaction was definitely more of a “my god, what is happening is this legal” than a “wow, what a spectacular display of skill and athleticism I am witnessing,” but the effect was the same. Imaginations were captured. And every single person knew that after witnessing this clash of titans, they would forever be changed.
When I think of words like “fun,” “silly,” “absurd,” “magical,” “uncomfortable,” all the things that MMA is supposed to be, this is and will always be the first fight I think of.
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