Butterbean had a bizarre 28-fight stint in MMA during the final years of his career.
The boxing legend picked up big wins over ‘The Colossus’ James Thompson and Zuluzinho.
But there were also lots of lows during his 17-10-1 run in a second sport, which often took him out of his comfort zone as a boxer.
Butterbean – real name Eric Esch – suffered a particularly bad loss when he came up against Mariusz Pudzianowski in September 2010.
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When Mariusz Pudzianowski mauled Butterbean
Mariusz Pudzianowski was just three fights into his MMA career when he fought Butterbean.
The five-time World’s Strongest Man winner was fresh off a loss to former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, who made him tap to strikes in the second round of their May 2010 clash.
Butterbean was badly out of shape, weighing 440 lbs before his fight with Pudzianowski at KSW 14.
In contrast, his 261.5lb opponent was still jacked from years of being one of the very best strongmen.
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“Mariusz Pudzianowski hits like a girl,” Butterbean said pre-fight. “Mariusz must be crazy to have challenged me. I’ve knocked people out all over the world, be it in Australia, China, Korea, England, or anywhere else. Mario, be prepared.”
Pudzianowski made him pay for his trash talk when they came face-to-face in Łódź, Poland.
Butterbean was taken down and battered with punches until he tapped out after just 75 seconds.
“I never said he fought like a girl. I said he hit like a girl,” Esch clarified post-fight.
“His takedown was good. I can’t complain. He won.”
Why did Butterbean never fight in the UFC?
Butterbean fought for all the big MMA promotions, except the UFC, before retiring from MMA in 2011.
The 59-year-old says a ‘crazy’ rule prevented him from linking up with MMA’s premier promotion.
“I had almost 50 MMA fights total,” Butterbean said during an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow.
“I fought in Pride, K1, and Cage Rage. I fought in almost all of them except the UFC because they have this crazy rule that you have to be under 265lbs. Come on, guys.
“Now I could get there. I’m at 280lbs right now, and I could get down to 260 if they would let me fight.
“But with my new hips, I can’t fight UFC.”
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