Emanuel Yarbrough was a big dude. He was lovable and a fierce competitor at the same time. This UFC original passed away in Richmond, Virginia on Dec. 21. He was 51.
He had three mixed martial arts fights under his belt. The 6-foot-8 tall sumo wrestler made his professional fighting debut at UFC 3 in 1994 fighting against Keith Hackney. He tipped the scales at a staggering 616 pounds. In this legendary battle, Hackney, outweighed by 416 pounds, defeated Yarbrough by TKO.
He fought two more times, and defeated Tatsuo Nakano by submission in 1998, and lost to Daiju Takase in June of the same year. He held the Guinness World Record for the heaviest living athlete until his death on Monday.
Yarbrough’s longtime manager, Beatrice H. Davis told UFC.com
Emanuel’s passion was to travel. Even though it was not an easy task for him, it never stopped him from following his dreams, and bringing smiles to the faces of all he would meet. He was to be the subject of a new reality show, and would have continued to bring smiles to all those who had the opportunity to be blessed by his infectious, compassionate, loving presence. He will be missed by his millions of fans around the world, friends and family.
Emanuel constantly traveled the world to bring awareness to obesity.
His fight with Hackney was one of my favorite moments in the early days of the UFC. It was David vs. Goliath, but in some ways you wanted to see the big teddy bear Goliath win this one. Sadly it did not happen and the rest is history.
RIP Emanuael.