Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted December 13, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted December 13, 2018 Poor Tank. Looks all tired and old. What a man, though. Had a liver transplant and has a six strokes during the operation. Amazing he's still alive. Silly fucker still wants to fight, though. Bellator or Golden Boy will book him, sadly. Funny thing was the other day, I was thinking why nobody is booking him on the indies? With the current tend of older guys having these little nostalgia runs in hipster promotions, bringing in Tank as a one punch gimmick worker every few months would be cool, for say, GCW. Especially Joey Janela's Spring Break. Didnt know he was so knackered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted December 13, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted December 13, 2018 Was gonna post this myself. I had no idea Tank was having health problems, nice to see him doing so well though and dropping the weight, good on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted December 13, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted December 13, 2018 I saw a clip of that interview the other day, he was talking about the recent Chuck-Tito 3 farce and I was shocked by how gaunt he looked. I was going to post a screenshot of him on here but didn’t know why he looked so rough so didn’t want to just go ‘Not such a Tank now eh, chaps?’ only to find out he was in a really bad way. Glad I didn’t now. Sounds like he’s been through a right load of shit there. Nice to see that his health problems don’t seem to have taken much of the edge off his cheery demeanour. He was having a pop at the Chuck and Tito thing and claiming he could’ve been a top level heavyweight boxer if he’d fancied it, or something. Got to love Tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted December 13, 2018 Share Posted December 13, 2018 Hard to believe the guy is only 53 years old, but he's obviously been living life for sure. I guess it always catches up with you in the end. I'll be surprised if he sees 60. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pier Six Brawler Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 Tank has to be the worst fighter ever to be a star with the casual crowd. His won/loss record is appalling, even Kimbo Slice knocked him out in seconds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 8 minutes ago, Pier Six Brawler said: Tank has to be the worst fighter ever to be a star with the casual crowd. His won/loss record is appalling, even Kimbo Slice knocked him out in seconds. His record matters not a jot though, does it? he's not climbing any rankings or looking to be classified a pound-for-pound great. He was an original, back in the day when the sport was barely even a sport. He had one-punch knockout power, his fights were mainly entertaining to the casual fan, and he had possibly the most appealing and recognisable look of the early era. The beard, the shaven head, built like a fire hydrant, he had it all. Very much a man of his time of course, but someone who was just as important to the early growth of the sport as virtually any fighter who wasn't called Gracie in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted December 14, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted December 14, 2018 Well said. I’d have thought someone who goes by the name Pier Six Brawler would appreciate the slobberknocking prowess of Tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewster McCloud Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 Adding to David's great post, you have to put him the context of the time. When UFC first became a thing and I got the tapes from Rob Butcher, Tank was the guy I wanted to watch more than anyone else. He was so explosive and unique. He had star power before that was even a consideration in the early days. Him, Shamrock and Gracie were "the guys" in UFC's infancy. Nobody knew much about techniques or whatever back in the mid 90s, you just wanted to see mad shit and Tank supplied it in spades. Even if he doesn't make it to see 60 due to doing too much of things he liked, then his legend is more than secured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 Tank was the MMA guy in Friends. His importance in the growth of the sport cannot be understated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted December 14, 2018 Author Paid Members Share Posted December 14, 2018 Congrats to the Big Man. Got married this week. Heard he beat the fuck out of anyone who even looked at the chicken legs and egg sarnies on the buffet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_mole Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 Hopefully the lads from 3 count were there for the first dance. Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted December 14, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted December 14, 2018 Tank at the reception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewster McCloud Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 Anyone read this? Â There's some great Tank stories. He was an absolute loon. Glad he's settled down at the age of 53! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 I've seen it on Amazon a few times, but assumed it was another generic history of MMA book. If it's decent I'll give it a look though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewster McCloud Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 No, not generic at all. It's the real deal - it's especially great if you're interested in just how the bloody thing managed to get started in the first place, and there's some really interesting historical stuff about the Gracies, early MMA in Brazil in gyms etc. I can't recommend it enough if you're a long time fan. The fact they were seriously considering putting a moat with crocodiles in it around the cage for the first one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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