Way back in September 1996 two big men by the names of David “Tank” Abbott (4-2) and Scott “The Pit Bull” Ferrozzo (2-1) fought each other in the semifinal round of the “UFC 11: The Proving Ground” eight-man one night tournament at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta, Ga.
Both men had already fought and won once earlier in the night. Ferrozzo was originally an alternate in the tournament but ended up defeating Tank via unanimous decision. Ferrozzo was then supposed to fight Mark Coleman in the finals, but due to fatigue and a cut above his eye, he was unable to continue.
Now, fast-forward 15 years later. Since their first fight, Tank continued on with his MMA career amassing a record of 10-14. Tank’s last official sanctioned MMA fight was in 2009 when he scored a first round knockout of Mike Bourke at War Gods.
Ferrozzo took a different path. He only fought two more times professionally, defeating Jim Mullen via TKO and losing to Vitor Belfort via TKO, both at UFC 12 in February 1997. His final pro MMA record was 4-2. Ferrozzo left MMA and went back to running his successful car dealership.
In the following videos you will see Tank and Ferrozzo pick up where they left off, except this time the fight takes place in a backyard and they are quite a bit older and not quite in as good a shape as they were in ’96. But for two old warriors they can still let the leather fly and they can still take a punch.
After the fight, watch in the second video as Tank and Scott sign some fight memorabilia (which fans can purchase online) and listen in as both men share stories about the “old days” and what the sport has grown into.
Tank Abbott vs. Scott Ferrozzo II – part 1
Tank Abbott vs. Scott Ferrozzo II – part 2
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