Emmanuel Yarbrough
Emmanuel Yarbrough | |
---|---|
Born | Super Heavyweight | September 5, 1964
Style | Sumo |
Rank | Brown Belt in judo |
Wrestling | NCAA Division I Wrestling |
Mixed martial arts record | |
Total | 3 |
Wins | 1 |
By submission | 1 |
Losses | 2 |
By knockout | 1 |
By submission | 1 |
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog |
Emmanuel Yarbrough (September 5, 1964 – December 21, 2015) was an American
Background
Yarbrough started his sports career at
Amateur sumo career
Yarbrough started competing in amateur sumo in 1992. He won silver medals in the Sumo World Championships in 1992 and 1994, as well as a bronze medal in 1993. Two years later, after his appearance in Ultimate Fighting Championship, Yarbrough increased his previous weight by 282 lbs. Eventually, Yarbrough reached 704 lbs, which gave him the Guinness World Record for the heaviest living athlete.[1] He quickly became the World Amateur Sumo Champion, leading him to be one of the most famous sumo wrestlers outside Japan.[3]
In 2007, he intended to drop from 750 to 550 lbs in order to improve his health, still hoping to participate in the next Sumo World Championships and the US Olympic judo tryouts.[2]
Mixed martial arts career
In 1994, Yarbrough applied to mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship and took part in the event UFC 3 representing sumo. He was pitted against the much smaller Keith Hackney, a kempo representative, who opened the match by immediately knocking Yarborough down with a palm strike. Emmanuel recovered, pulled Hackney towards his chest and unloaded strikes on his neck, and then literally pushed him out the cage through the door in spectacular fashion. However, when the match was restarted, Hackney knocked Yarbrough again and followed with hand strikes for the TKO.[4] Keith since took the nickname "The Giant Killer" for this victory.
Emmanuel's second MMA fight would be in Japan for the promotion
Only months later, Emmanuel fought his third and last bout, for the Japanese promotion Pride Fighting Championships, facing his smallest opponent in the form of Japanese grappler Daiju Takase. Takase avoided engaging Yarbrough and earned a yellow card for inactivity in the second round. Eventually, Takase attempted a takedown, which Yarbrough was able to deny and gain dominant position; however, Takase managed to escape and landed numerous punches to Yarbrough’s head and body, forcing him to submit.[5]
Professional wrestling career
From 1996 to 1997, Yarbrough competed in
Acting
He appeared in a 1997
Death
On December 21, 2015, Yarbrough died at the age of 51, from a heart attack.[6] His manager said that he had battled all his life with food addiction and "he always said, 'I am a prisoner in my own body.'"[6] By the age of 14 he already weighed 320 pounds, which he attributed to a poor diet of fried foods.[7] In 2007, he was hospitalized for a week due to heart failure, and after seeing an obesity specialist and changing his diet he reduced his weight from over 800 to around 670 pounds.[7]
Mixed martial arts record
3 matches | 1 win | 2 losses |
By knockout | 0 | 2 |
By submission | 1 | 0 |
By decision | 0 | 0 |
Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 1–2 | Daiju Takase | TKO (submission to punches) | Pride 3
|
June 24, 1998 | 2 | 3:22 | Tokyo, Japan | |
Win | 1–1 | Tatsuo Nakano | Submission (smother) | Shooto - Shoot the Shooto XX | April 26, 1998 | 1 | 1:17 | Yokohama, Japan | |
Loss | 0–1 | Keith Hackney | TKO (punches) | UFC 3 | September 9, 1994 | 1 | 1:59 | Charlotte, North Carolina, United States |
Championships and accomplishments
Sumo
- 1995 World Amateur Sumo Champion
- 1992 1st Sumo World Championships Open Division 2nd Place
- 1993 2nd Sumo World Championships Open Division 3rd Place
- 1994 3rd Sumo World Championships Open Division 2nd Place
- 1996 5th Sumo World Championships Open Division 2nd Place
Collegiate wrestling
- NCAA All American, 1983, 1985 and 1986, Morgan State University
Judo
- Second place, U.S. Nationals 1989
College football
- NCAA Division I-AA All-American offensive tackle, Morgan State University, 1982, 1983
References
- ^ a b "Heaviest living athlete". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 27 December 2014.
- ^ a b "'Disabled' Sumo Wrestler Slimming Down to Improve Health". Fox News. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ^ a b "Emmanuel Yarbrough Passes at Age 51". Vice. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- ^ Scott Newman (2005-06-11). "MMA Review: #52: UFC 3: The American Dream". The Oratory. Archived from the original on 2019-06-29. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
- ^ Scott Newman (2013-10-06). "MMA Review: #412: PRIDE 3". The Oratory. Archived from the original on 2019-06-29. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
- ^ a b "Sumo wrestling champ Emmanuel Yarbrough dies at 51". nj.com. December 23, 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ^ a b "Ex-Sumo wrestler winning battle of the bulge". nj.com. November 24, 2007. Retrieved 30 December 2015.