Before UFC had weight classes and large athletic committees with a view of health and safety, MMA was a much different sport than what we know now.
Open weight attacks were the norm, because the Ultimate Fighting Championship seemed to prove which discipline the supreme would rule in a no holds forbidden match. Legends such as Royce Gracie were the emerging stars of the first generation, in which there were a number of Freak Show fighting.
A man with a unique place in the history of UFC is Emmanuel Yarbrough. The American Sumo wrestler, nicknamed 'Manny' and 'Tiny' on different points, threw the scales more than 600 pounds, but still managed to compete three times in professional MMA, with a 1-2 record.
Emmanuel Yarbrough won his only MMA fight by 'nipping' opponent
After it had made his MMA debut at UFC 3 against Keith Hackney in 1994, it took four years to star Emmanuel Yarbrough before it returned to a barred fight. He was stopped by Hackney within two minutes, even though he generated him with nearly 400 pounds.
As with many Americans of a considerably larger shape, such as Bob Sapp and later Brock Lesnar, Yarbrough became a fascination in Japan. Shoot Boxing signed him for their first event in Yokohama and booked him with Tatsuaki Nakano for an open weight.
Yarbrough bundled over the ring before it is extended and used his size to get the Japanese hunter on the floor. From there he almost pushed his rival out of the ring before the referee once again set them up in the ropes.
The American was put back in the top position and was simply on top of his opponent, causing him to breathe until the fight was called action after just over a minute. The official time of the interruption was 1:17.
Emmanuel Yarbrough had a difficult life in and out of the cage
Yarbrough was a record breaker for his athletic efforts and earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the world's toughest living athlete. It has been reported that he weighed more than 320 pounds by just 14 years, which played a major role in his early football success.
His fighting with food addiction, however, eventually saw him balloon to more than 600 pounds and made movement very difficult as he got older. He participated in Sumo and professionally struggling around the world, and was seen with great celebrities such as Matthew Perry and even Miley Cyrus.
In 2007 he managed to lose 130 pounds after dealing with a therapist for obesity. Heart problems, however, came to him his life and he died at the age of 55 in December 2015 after a heart attack.