Power Ranking MMA's Most Awesomely Bad Fighters

Over the years, a number of mixed martial artists have come into the spotlight and gained notoriety. Some of these fighters gained their notoriety for the wrong reasons.

It was through promotions such as PRIDE and the UFC where these fighters were spotlighted, with some continuing their careers after leaving the promotions.

Here is a power ranking of 10 of the most awesomely bad MMA fighters.

Hong-Man Choi

Kicking off the countdown is South Korean giant, Hong-man Choi. Choi stands at 7'2" and weighs in at 305 pounds.

Choi's mixed martial arts record stands at 2-3, despite always being much bigger than his opponents. One of his victories is over baseball washout Jose Canseco, which is nothing to write home about. 

It should be noted that Choi was submitted in the DREAM Super Hulk tournament by Ikuhisa Minowa, a natural middleweight.

It should also be noted that although Choi is nothing much of a mixed martial artist, he does hold a 12-6 professional kickboxing record, which definitely helped him in the rankings.

Tank Abbott

The original Huntington Beach Bad Boy of the UFC, Tank Abbott was nothing more than a tough guy in an underdeveloped sport.

Abbott had 18 fights in the UFC, during the early days when there were barely any rules or competition. Altogether, Tank is 10-14 in his career, finishing nine of his wins. That said, he was also finished 12 times himself.

He was a powerful novelty fighter that helped gain attention to MMA, but ultimately he banked on the "puncher's chance" to win. To Abbott's credit, he was able to knock out the seemingly indestructible Wesley "Cabbage" Correira, which is saying something.

Hey, I guess anything is better than his stint in World Championship Wrestling (see link).

Wesley "Cabbage" Corriera

Speaking of "Cabbage," here is another awesomely bad fighter that developed a cult following. 

Cabbage's legend grew during his bout with Tim Sylvia, when he took hundreds of power punches to the head and did not quit. Since then, Cabbage has been credited one of the best chins of all time.

Other than that, Cabbage was not the greatest mixed martial artist. He did have a couple notable victories, but the doughy, Hawaiian kickboxer holds an average 19-14 record, with most of his wins coming against nobodies.

To add insult to injury, he had a worse kickboxing record at 1-2.

Cabbage will always be known as one of the toughest men to finish, but not the best fighter. 

Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett

Some MMA fighters are known for their out-of-the-cage antics, as well as their fighting ability as mixed martial artists. For Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett, he is only known for the antics.

At 25-24-2, Bennett has had an up-and-down career, which has seen him fight in PRIDE, EliteXC and King of the Cage. Unfortunately, Krazy Horse is notorious for his outside-the-cage problems.

Among said problems include arrests for cocaine possession and assault, his constant disrespect for officials and interviewers and the video you see above.

Backstage at a PRIDE event, things got heated between Krazy Horse and Cristiano Marcello, which led to a scuffle. In the end, Marcello choked out Bennett using a triangle choke, much to Bennett's embarrassment.

The reason he is "awesomely bad" is because when he is in the cage, he goes for broke. He either knocks his opponent's head off or goes down swinging. 

Kimbo Slice

You had to see this one coming. There are so many reasons that Kimbo Slice is awesome, while there are equally as many reasons why he is bad.

Gaining notoriety through his backyard brawls on YouTube, Kimbo Slice made waves in the mixed martial arts community in the EliteXC promotion.

After destroying cans Bo Cantrell, Tank Abbott and James Thompson, Slice was humiliated by a 14-second knockout by Seth Petruzelli.

He then had a stint on The Ultimate Fighter, where he was lain on and beaten by Roy Nelson. He was given another chance in the UFC, where he won a snoozer over an unwilling Houston Alexander. Following his last mixed martial arts fight, a one-sided beating by Matt Mitrione, Slice took his fighting skills to boxing.

From there, he has won all four of his bouts, but not without controversy. 

Either way, Kimbo will always be awesome for his backyard brawls, ripped physique, thick beard, bald head and fighter's mentality.

Eric "Butterbean" Esch

Eric Esch is more of a novelty act than anything, but he still makes this list because he is a mixed martial artist.

The 5'11", 420-pound former boxer holds a professional MMA record of 14-10-1. His physique is incredible for a mixed martial artist, but he has still fallen to smaller fighters such as Genki Sudo (154 pounds) and Ikuhisa Minowa (he beats guys like this often, I guess).

Yes, you read it right: Butterbean lost to a man that is nearly 270 pounds lighter than he is.

Watching Butterbean throw leg kicks is comical, but to be fair, he does have a lot of power in his hands. It doesn't matter if you aren't fighting world-beaters, but when you go 77-8-4 in professional boxing, you obviously have skills. 

All hail Butterbean!

Bob Sapp

You think a man that is 6'5", 340 pounds would be a little tougher than the picture you see here.

Bob Sapp is one of the most imposing figures in mixed martial arts, with his massive frame and intimidating look. But looks can be deceiving, as Bob Sapp is as soft as ice cream.

Sapp's MMA and kickboxing careers started off well, as he bull-rushed opponents and overwhelmed them. That was until his opponents realized that he couldn't take a punch.

Sapp holds less-than-impressive records in kickboxing (11-14) and MMA (11-12), but has fought many big names.

Although it's awesome that he has fought guys such as Mirko Cro Cop and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, any fighter that taps to strikes four times in MMA and was submitted after a takedown is just bad.

Giant Silva

Giant Silva is 7'2", 385 pounds. He is just that, a giant.

As this slideshow may have exemplified, giants aren't necessarily great mixed martial artists. Silva was 2-6 in his professional MMA career, with both of his wins coming over sumo wrestlers (Akebono and Henry Miller). 

Silva has lost to lower-level heavyweights such as James Thompson and Choi Mu Bae, as well as Ikuhisa Minowa (seriously, Minowa is a giant killer).

It is awesome that both of his wins are by kimura though, as the submission does take some strength to pull off.

Silva should just stick to professional wrestling (stints on WWF/E, New Japan Pro Wrestling and HUSTLE), as big men are often toward the upper end of the promotion's ranks.

Emanuel Yarbrough

How awesome is it that Emanuel Yarbrough has actually won a fight by smothering an opponent with his oversized body? In my opinion, that is pretty awesome (seriously, imagine a person tapping out because an 800 pound man is on them).

Emanuel Yarbrough's venture into mixed martial arts was not a long journey, but it was definitely an awesomely bad one. Going 1-2, Yarbrough, a sumo wrestler, lost to much smaller opponents Keith Hackney and Daiju Takase (I'm surprised Ikuhisa Minowa didn't get a chance to fight him).

His loss to Takase was especially embarrassing, as Takase is about 180 pounds (620 pounds less than Yarbrough) and Yarboough tapped to strikes from Takase.

Yarbrough is the epitome of awesomely bad. 

Jose Canseco

I almost didn't include Jose Canseco here, because he is more of a joke than a mixed martial artist, but I will give the devil his due, as he technically has a professional MMA record.

Canseco participated in the DREAM Hulk Tournament, facing Hong-man Choi in the first round. Canseco claims a taekwondo black belt, attempting some signature kicks against Choi. However, Choi is an actual martial artist and put Canseco in his place.

This is probably the most awesomely bad mixed martial arts performance of all time. Canseco tapped to strikes and closed the book on his MMA career.

Congratulations Jose, you are the most awesomely bad mixed martial artist.