In terms of “freak shows,” early MMA takes the cake. Big guys versus little guys, no gloves, raw talent amidst one-gloved boxers. Back then the sport of mixed martial arts was truly a spectacle, a side show. Then Pride came, and kept the freaky soul of no-holds-barred action alive. In recent years, we haven’t had many freak show fights grace the Octagon in the UFC or any other organizations. Maybe James Toney vs. Randy Couture and Herschel Walker being in Strikeforce in general. But this weekend’s UR Fight is the freakiest of freak shows. It’s unprecedented and possibly even irresponsible. Kurt Angle is taking on Rey Mysterio in a pro wrestling match, Roy Jones is fighting a seemingly random man for a $100,000 boxing purse, Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping are in a grappling match, and Tank Abbott is no longer fighting Dan Severn in an MMA fight. Damn.
Dan Severn was originally scheduled to fight Ken Shamrock, but the matchup was scrapped and changed to Tank Abbott when Ken Shamrock backed out after his loss to Royce Gracie. Perhaps his failed drug test had something to do with it?
Anyway, now Abbott is also out against Severn after failing a pre-fight physical.
Is it a surprise to see Tank out of this fight? Nah. This was on short notice and there’s a good chance he hasn’t been working on what could be a successful post-fight career as a badass-father-size model.
But would we have it any other way?
The real shame is not seeing the awesome, Big Boss-style Dan Severn make his way to the cage. What a waste of an awesome beard/hair combo.
(Via CagePotato)
