MMA/Boxing RIP Thread

[Egg Shen]

Tragic

I dont know a lot about the Lee family but I do know they are a pretty big deal over in One. Awful news.

and yes agreed, 2023 can get in the bin.

 

[Carbomb]

That's horrendous. 18 years old?! Poor woman. That's when life should have really begun for her.

2023, this is not a good start. Better shape up.

[wandshogun09]

This is awful. Ex UFC fighter Felipe Colares has died at just 29 years old. Hit by a bus apparently. He had an unsuccessful run in the UFC but won his last fight in Ares FC in France in February. 29, man. Fuck. 

[Egg Shen]

awful 😔

[Egg Shen]

Just seen Akebono has passed away.

I know Akebono was as far as I can tell about as legit a Sumo Wrestler as you can get, but it's his foray into the MMA/K-1 game I know him from.

Always have fond memories of watching the big man fight because he came in at the height of the Japanese freakshow/crossover scene and its something that always fascinated me. Mixed feelings though, there was element of sadness and exploitation to the whole thing with Akebono, he was clearly out of his depth and ending up fighting some of the best kickboxers in the fight. He ended up with a complete fight record of 1-14. Sure I remember scenes of his wife and kids being filmed front row whilst he was getting battered too.

RIP Akebono, you had a go.

[Carbomb]

Damn, he was only 54 as well. One of the few sumo tori to get recognition by casuals outside the sport while he was still in it. RIP.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, I was more familiar with his stints in MMA and K-1 than his Sumo career. Definitely agree with Egg that there did seem to be an element of exploitation to it where they’d routinely roll him out there in fights they knew he had pretty much no hope in. But that was the way they did things over there at the time. I’ll never forget Yuji Nagata basically being used as a human sacrifice and getting fed to Cro Cop and Fedor in his first 2 (and last 2) MMA fights. 

Akebono had quite a mad career when you think about it though. Huge success in Sumo obviously but even beyond that, he fought the likes of Royce Gracie and Don Frye in MMA, he fought in K-1, he competed at a WrestleMania, he wrestled Brock Lesnar in Japan etc. That led me to look up more of Akebono’s pro wrestling section on his Wikipedia page and he did more than I thought in wrestling. He wrestled everywhere from All Japan to New Japan to NOAH to Hustle to Dragon Gate. 

[Carbomb]

1 minute ago, wandshogun09 said:

Yeah, I was more familiar with his stints in MMA and K-1 than his Sumo career. Definitely agree with Egg that there did seem to be an element of exploitation to it where they’d routinely roll him out there in fights they knew he had pretty much no hope in. But that was the way they did things over there at the time. I’ll never forget Yuji Nagata basically being used as a human sacrifice and getting fed to Cro Cop and Fedor in his first 2 (and last 2) MMA fights. 

Akebono had quite a mad career when you think about it though. Huge success in Sumo obviously but even beyond that, he fought the likes of Royce Gracie and Don Frye in MMA, he fought in K-1, he competed at a WrestleMania, he wrestled Brock Lesnar in Japan etc. That led me to look up more of Akebono’s pro wrestling section on his Wikipedia page and he did more than I thought in wrestling. He wrestled everywhere from All Japan to New Japan to NOAH to Hustle to Dragon Gate. 

Then this belongs in the On Topic forum as well. Will post.