Issue 172

November -0001

Lighter fighters dominate the sport today, but it wasn’t always so. Over the years UFC has been home to some real giants. We salute the sport’s biggest guys



PAULO CÉSAR DA SILVA:


‘Giant Silva’, a 7’2” Brazilian wrestler, played basketball for his country before taking up MMA. Weighing 385lbs, his best assets were his size and his heart, but he was still knocked out and submitted several times in his MMA career.

STEFAN STRUVE:


At 7 foot, the tallest man in the UFC, Struve has 39 fights (28-11) to his name despite being only 30. The Dutchman has fought some of the biggest names in the sport and has overcome a heart problem that sidelined him for a year.

ALEXANDRU LUNGU:


Romanian super-heavyweight, Alexandru Longu is a skilled judoka kickboxer. Although only 5’ 11”, he packs a mighty 364lb behind his punches. His MMA record stands at 16-5 with 69% of his wins coming via knockout.

CHAD ROWAN:


A highly successful Sumo wrestler, Chad ‘Akebono’ Rowan weighed 484lbs and stood 6’ 8” tall. The Hawaiian’s MMA career was short-lived (4 fights, 4 losses). His first loss was at the hands of the original Giant Killer, Royce Gracie.

EMMANUEL YARBROUGH:


A lot of big men competed in the early days of the UFC when there were no weight categories but the late Manny Yarborugh was the biggest of them all, standing at 6’ 8” in his bare feet and weighing a jaw-dropping 600lbs.

BROCK LESNAR:


Brock Lesnar’s size makes him unique within the current UFC heavyweight division and contributes to his huge fan base. Lesnar weighs in at 265lb, the upper limit of the heavyweight division but could compete far heavier.

BOB SAPP:


Weighing over 330lbs and standing 6’ 5” tall, Sapp competed in both K1 and MMA events. But again, size didn’t help as Bob suffered one of the longest losing streaks in the history of combat sports.

CHOI HONG-MAN:


At 7’ 2”, the Korean, Choi Hong-man was a hit with Japanese audiences. But matched with Fedor Emelianenko in only his second MMA bout, the Russian fighter proved that size isn’t everything in MMA.

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