The careers of mixed martial arts fighters can be littered with triumph and tragedy, heartbreak and heroism. Some MMA fighters see a meteoric rise and stay at the top echelon of combat sports for their entire career, ala George St. Pierre or Jon Jones. While others just never seem to catch the right break at the right time and wallow around in smaller promotions, only getting a whiff of the big time.
Some may blame an MMA training program or fight camp gone wrong, where others may go on a tear and see winning streaks in the double digits, only to never get a shot at the belt due to scheduling problems, injuries or lack of interest from fans.
It’s a tough world and one hell of a way to make a living. In this article we are going to dive into the careers of five mixed martial arts fighters that had interesting careers but – on the surface – fizzled out somewhere along the way and faded off into the night almost unnoticed.
#5 From the Early Days of MMA, Ultimate Fighting Alum Jeremy Horn
Jeremy Horn was an absolute monster in his own right. Nobody, including me, expected this kid to tap out the surging new addition to the UFC in Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell. Liddell was a highly respected kickboxer at the time and had just come off the absolutely mental Vale Tudo bare knuckle win over Jose “Pele” Landi-Jons in Brazil.
The fight started out as you would expect and it looked like Jeremy was dusted – fast forward and Liddell is lying asleep on top of him, the victim of a hard fought inverted arm-triangle choke. Of course the Iceman would avenge the loss and go on to be one of the most storied Light Heavyweight Champions in UFC history – but not before Horn went on a ridiculous 17 fight win streak.
When it comes to mixed martial arts techniques, Horn was arguably the best practitioner of Jiu Jitsu in the sport at the time. He was a holy terror that basically made Chael Sonnen look like a Jiu Jitsu workout dummy rather than a competitor in MMA. Ultimate Fighting Championship was on the rise at the time and he would be a regular fixture until dropping three in a row and disappearing into the ever growing ethos of the mixed martial arts underground.
He now owns Elite Performance Fitness in Utah and provides MMA classes for beginners to experts and kids mixed martial arts. So if you are in the area and are thinking about learning martial arts you should pop by and train with the legend himself.
#4 MMA Fighter or Legendary Facial Hair Model – Uncle Creepy
No MMA fighter that isn’t named Don Frye or Dan Severne has worn a better mustache than Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall. The scrappy kid from Costa Mesa known for his in cage antics, wild fighting style and of course – world class mustache.
He would break onto the scene in the explosive World Extreme Cagefighting promotion with a blasting of Cody Wheeler, but his winning ways were short lived with the company and he would exit on back to back losses, the last to none other than Dominick Cruz.
McCall would go on to fight another day in Tachi Palace Fights – the original home of WEC. Uncle Creepy showed up in dominant fashion for the promotion before making his debut in the UFC.
What an introduction…
The inaugural UFC flyweight championship against Demetrious Johnson was an absolute blockbuster of a fight. Showing his mixed martial arts wrestling was world class against an extremely dangerous Mighty Mouse and fighting to a hard to imagine draw. That fight was nothing short of legendary and an excellent start for the flyweight division.
Ultimately he would part ways with the UFC after a disappointing unanimous decision loss to John Liniker who missed weight by five pounds. After that it was across the pacific to Japan for two unremarkable losses including a 9 second knockout in Rizin.
With that – the man, the myth – the mustache, would all but vanish from the world of competitive mixed martial arts. Fighters, especially those in the men’s 125 pound weight division of the UFC, don’t often catch the following that Mr. McCall was able to command and I believe he is sorely missed. What happened to Uncle Creepy?
“The steps are getting farther and farther away and I’m not in this to be anything but the best in the world.” MMA Fighting interview
Well wild little man, please know that you, your flashy Kung Fu style and world class mustache are sorely missed by this fan. Hopefully you started a mustache wax company – if you’re selling, I’m buying…
#3 How to Meditate for Mixed Martial Arts – Ken and Frank Shamrock
Okay the title there “How to meditate for mixed martial arts” may seem misleading – but stay with me. The sheer anger in the Shamrock family and the way they approached fighting alone makes me want to meditate.
It’s not often you see brothers reach the success these guys did at the time. With a fight any-f**king-one, any-f**king-where attitude these guys were pivotal for the popularity of early to mid era mixed martial arts.
Fighters rarely come with the level of mic work that Ken Shamrock had, it was incredible.
When you looked at the guy it was as if his face was going to take on its own form, jump off and murder you right then and there. The guy is like a real life version of every character Mickey Rourke ever played. I only mention Ken because you can’t mention a Shamrock without his name first, I’m afraid he will read this, fly to the other side of the world and merc me.
This is more about Frank, the younger, more polished – straight out of the Sopranos – Shamrock.
Does anyone remember him throwing Cung Le around the ring in Strikeforce, later getting knocked down with a solid cross and talking s**t as soon as he hit the ground – getting rocked with a perfect shot then smiling and holding up his fingers showing the number of times Le had hit him in the face? Fighting with a broken arm and still putting it on Cung Le to the bell?
The guy was genius, tough as they come and had one hell of a right straight. In the end, it would be the elder of the only other MMA brothers that can be mentioned in the same category, Nick Diaz who would send him off into the sunset.
#2 How to Learn Martial Art Modeling with Yoshihiro Sexyama
Sorry, I couldn’t help myself but how to learn martial art modeling seemed like the perfect title when talking about Yoshihiro Akiyama. When this guy emerged from what casual fans would call the mixed martial arts underground scene, my first question was why? Why in the hell would a guy born that good looking decide to take up a living based almost entirely on getting punched in the face?
When I started training in kickboxing at 12, I was basically ugly kid joe. The thought of transforming myself into a martial artist was based on wanting to be Jean-Claude Van Damme or the way less sexy Steven Seagal. But man oh man am I happy that Akiyama did decide on martial arts.
The guy is an absolute gangster in Judo and transitioned that quite nicely to MMA. Ultimate Fighting Championship was dying to get a face like that into the middleweight division – and holy hell did they throw him at a murderers row full on.
- Belcher
- Leben
- Bisping
- Belfort
- Shields
I mean, the only reason I can see that they never gave this guy a chance was they were flexing. The UFC brass wanted to show just how much better their talent was than anyone else.
But what did that really achieve? They proved their point, but I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if they took the same approach they have with “The Sugar Show”. Either way he still belongs on this list even though he is coming off a KO win in his last appearance at ONE. The guy (or pretty much any of the guys/girls in promotions outside of the big three) never gets any coverage.
#1 Mixed Martial Arts Wrestling with Scott Adams
How many of you remember the man who walked off with an 8-1 record after one of the slickest heel hooks delivered in the famed octagon? That man is Scott Adams and his unfortunate opponent was Ian Freeman at UFC 24 – First Defense.
I often wonder how in the hell our community forgot about Scott Adams, I never did. When you watch a fight in the featherweight division or below in the UFC – you can thank Scott Mother***king Adams. The driving force, creator and matchmaker for the WEC. There are few people that were anywhere near as formative in the world of mixed martial arts that have been so unceremoniously forgotten.
Do you like Carlos Condit? Urijah Faber? Jose Aldo? The Korean Zombie – the list goes on – You have him to thank for that… The man brought some of the best mixed martial arts wrestling specialists to ever grace the cage into the UFC when the WEC was acquired.
Sadly, the sands of time and promotional bureaucracy buried one of the best MMA fighters and certainly one the best fight promoters/matchmakers in the history of the sport. Cheers to Grand Master Scott – the fight world could certainly use you back in it good sir.
sound like some bad mfs