Modern UFC — a clear distribution of weight categories. If a fighter did not make weight before the fight, he could lose money or even a championship belt. However, at the dawn of the promotion, there were only two «divisions»: light and heavy. At the same time, the upper limit was not provided for in the second category. Thanks to these rules, viewers could periodically watch unique fights. tells the story of an athlete whose every fight was special.
The debut of the American Emmanuel Yarbrough happened at the UFC 3 tournament in 1994. The opponent was compatriot Keith Hackney. Yarbrough «carried out» 291 kg into the octagon! Hackney's weight then was only 90 kg. Surprisingly, the size advantage did not help Emmanuel. He lost by technical knockout in the second round.
Yarbrough is still the heaviest fighter in UFC history. His name is even listed in the Guinness Book of Records. At one point, he was the heaviest athlete in the world. At the same time, after a career in mixed martial arts, Emmanuel managed to gain weight.
The UFC was considered a freak show
Yarbrough was born in New Jersey and had problems with kilograms since childhood. By the age of 12, he weighed 140 with a height of 180 centimeters.
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"I have always been a big child. At the age of six, I realized that I was much larger than the rest. When we played with friends, I always had to be careful not to accidentally injure them because of my weight,” said Yarbrough.
The American grew up to two meters and weighed a couple of centners at 20 years old. He himself attributed this to two factors: genetics and malnutrition. Almost everyone in the family was large. Fried foods were always served on the table in huge portions. At the same time, Emmanuel could become much more if it were not for constant sports.
When he entered college, he signed up for the local American football team. It was not possible to stay there for a long time. A year later, Yarbrough was already engaged in wrestling, becoming a real star. For its dimensions, it was jokingly called «crumbs». Emmanuel even won silver at the national championship.
Yarbrough became the most popular sumo fighter in the world among non-Japanese athletes. This made the UFC bosses pay attention to him. The promotion was very different from the current format. Then at the tournaments they opposed fighters of different styles, who were allowed almost everything in the octagon.The opponent of the huge American was the representative of jiu-jitsu and taekwondo Keith Hackney. He managed to knock Emmanuel down at the beginning of the fight, but the sumo wrestler quickly got up. At the end of the first round, Yarbrough pushed his opponent out of the cage. Hackney returned and picked up a new tactic.
By the second round, Emmanuel was visibly tired, which Keith took advantage of. He knocked the opponent down and began to beat him non-stop on the back of the head. The rules didn't allow it back then. Hackney kept throwing punches until the sumo wrestler gave up. Yarbrough suffered a crushing defeat.
The bout shocked the local media, who quickly dubbed the UFC a freak show. At the time, this was close to the truth. Despite attracting powerful attention to the promotion, Emmanuel was not invited there again.
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"Weight has never prevented me from exercising. I have always enjoyed competing, and stepping into the octagon is the greatest feeling for me. I got great pleasure from what I did,» Yarbrough admitted.
After the defeat, he briefly returned to amateur sumo, competing again at the World Championships. Then he was invited to Europe, where Emmanuel ended up in an analogue of the American wrestling show WWE. However, at the first opportunity, the athlete returned to martial arts. . One of them took place in the Pride promotion, in which Fedor Emelianenko later performed. There, Yarbrough was again defeated, having missed many blows to the head. However, the main thing in Emmanuel's career was the duel in the Shooto promotion. It was there that he won the only victory.
The rival of the American was a former Japanese wrestler. By that time, Yarbrough had gained more weight, breaking the mark of 300 kg. This time, he himself imposed a fighting style on his opponent, moving the fight to the ground. It all ended when the Japanese was under Emmanuel and simply could not get out.
Performances in martial arts added popularity to the sumo wrestler. After 1998, he retired from professional sports, focusing on two things: a TV career and philanthropy. Yarbrough began to flicker with episodic roles in various shows and series. Emmanuel was the subject of an episode of the NBC Tonight Show where he had a mock duel with Conan O'Brien and shared the stage with Miley Cyrus.
When Yarbrough tied up with constant sports, then began to «swell» even more. Weight increased to 360 kg. Of course, this had a negative impact on health, heart failure developed. With such a weight, it was difficult for him to move around, and on an airplane, the sumo wrestler could barely fit in three chairs.
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“I became a prisoner of my own body. Once I was not allowed on the plane because of the dimensions. It was a real shame. Then I started losing weight. I realized that I need to reduce weight in order to provide a better standard of living in old age,” Yarbrough said. The body simply could not withstand such a load. Emmanuel died of a heart attack at 51. Shortly before his death, he often lectured on the fight against obesity and helped children suffering from it. However, Yarbrough himself could not cope with the extra pounds.