10 Interesting Facts You Need to Know About Your Favorite Fighters

Most followers of MMA have a specific fighter that they take a liking to, maybe it was due to their combative style, personality or something out of the ordinary that got them hooked, nonetheless, from that day onwards, the fighter in question became their favorite combatant above all others.

And for said fans, being privy to certain facts about their much-loved fighter is not only a need, but sometimes a necessity, however, some of those facts can be either inaccessible or may have gone straight off the MMA radar altogether.

Still, it’s even harder to keep up with all the information flying around especially if you have several or more fighters on your list of favorites.

That said, here’s a look at some of those facts.

10. Travis Fulton

Having featured in 307 fights, Travis “The Ironman” Fulton has one of the most impressive records in MMA history.

He was victorious in 247 of those outings—91 by way of stoppages and 150 via submission, which included 31 rear-naked chokes and 34 armbar submissions.

9. Randy Couture

Former two-division UFC champion and Hall of Famer Randy Couture wasn’t only a great exponent in the field of MMA, he was also something of a linguist—“The Natural” can speak fluent German, a language he learned whilst stationed there with the U.S. Army.

8. Anderson Silva

The current MMA No. 1 pound-for-pound linchpin and middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva has registered knockouts in four different ways—by punch, elbow, knee and kick.

Curtis Stout, James Irwin and Forrest Griffin were all knocked out via punches.

Tony Fryklund was KO’ed by way of elbow, Chris Leben and Rich Franklin via knee and Vitor Belfort by way of front kick.

7. Fedor Emelianenko

The career of the once-revered heavyweight kingpin of the MMA realm almost imploded during his short tenure at the San Jose-based promotion Strikeforce; however, in his day, he reigned supreme.

“The Emperor” defeated five former or future UFC heavyweight titlists—Antonio “Big Nog” Rodrigo Nogueira (interim heavyweight champion, twice), Mark “The Hammer” Coleman (twice), Kevin “The Monster” Randleman, Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia and Andre “The Pitbull” Arlovski.

6. Tim Sylvia

During his amateur days, the hulking 6‘8" and former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia was on the receiving end of a unanimous-decision loss to none other than the now-retired  MMA fighter and recipient of Michael “The Count” Bisping’s spittle—Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera.

That defeat happened in 1999; however, less than four years later, “The Maine-iac” would go on to capture the UFC heavyweight title by defeating Ricco Rodriguez.

5. Ikuhisa Minowa

In 2009, the 5’9" mixed martial artist and professional wrestler Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa competed in the Dream Super Hulk Grand Prix.

In the quarterfinals he took on the 6’4" Bob “The Beast” Sapp, winning via Achilles lock; he then moved on to the semi-finals where he would meet 7’2" gigantean Choi Hong-Man whom he submitted by way heel lock.

The finals of the tournament saw Minowa square off against the 6’0" Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou—he defeated “The African Assassin" via TKO to claim the Dream Super Hulk tourney.

Regardless of the calibre of his opponents, it was still an incredible feat by “The Giant Killer.”

4. Frank Mir

Former UFC and interim heavyweight champion Frank Mir has nine submission wins in the Octagon, the second highest number of submissions after Royce Gracie, who holds the record of 11.

Seven of Mir’s nine submission wins were executed in a variety of ways—triangle choke, armbar (twice), inside shoulder lock, toe hold, kimura (twice), kneebar and guillotine choke.

3. Chris Weidman

Did you know that former two-time All-American NCAA Division I wrestler and MMA’s brightest prospect Chris Weidman once fought former Penn State standout Phil “Mr Wonderful” Davis and Ryan “Darth” Bader whilst wrestling at Hofstra University?

And guess what? He beat them both.

2. Chuck Liddell

Remember The Postman Always Rings Twice—the 1981 remake starring Hollywood giant Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange?

Well, “The IceMan” made a brief appearance in the movie. It’s safe to say that Liddell could’ve been rubbing shoulders with the likes of Brat Pitt and Co. if he hadn’t chosen MMA as his first vocation.

Watch the clip and see what you think, and don’t pay any attention to the follow up, it’s just bad editing.

1. Stephan Bonnar

UFC 205-pounder “The American Psycho,” had a brief stint as the drummer for American alternative rock band The Breeders.

And judging by the video, Bonnar was definitely born to rock.

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