Butterbean has looked back at what could’ve been for his 28-fight MMA career.
The heavyweight boxing legend – real name Eric Esch – made his name inside the squared circle.
However, Butterbean also fought some big names from the world of MMA before his run in the sport was ended by a head kick KO loss to a taekwondo instructor who became a politician in October 2011.
The 58-year-old fought for all the big MMA promotions, except the UFC, due to a rule he calls ‘crazy’.
Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty ImagesButterbean explains why he never fought for the UFC
The UFC heavyweight weight limit is 266lbs for a non-title fight, while those competing for MMA’s ultimate prize have to come in 1lb lighter.
During his peak years, Butterbean weighed between 350lbs and 400lbs, making him ineligible for a UFC call-up.
Now he’s capable of making the UFC heavyweight limit after completing a remarkable 220lb body transformation after ballooning up to 500lbs after retiring in 2013.
“I had almost 50 MMA fights total,” Butterbean said during an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow.
“I fought in Pride, K1, and Cage Rage. I fought in almost all of them except the UFC because they have this crazy rule that you have to be under 265lbs. Come on, guys.
“Now I could get there. I’m at 280lbs right now, and I could get down to 260 if they would let me fight.
“But with my new hips, I can’t fight UFC.”
Butterbean didn’t train for famous MMA win
Butterbean proved himself in MMA with a 43-second KO against a 6ft 5in ‘Colossus’ in 2007.
James Thompson retired in 2017, with a 39-fight record, which includes wins over renowned referee Marc Goddard, UFC legend Dan Severn, WWE superstar Bobby Lashley, and five-time ‘World’s Strongest Man’ Mariusz Pudzianowski.
The Englishman was known for keeping his fights standing, but that didn’t always work out well for him.
Butterbean knocked him out in a shocking upset when they fought at Cage Rage 20 in London, England.
18 years later, the American KO machine has confessed he didn’t even train for his fight with Thompson.
“James Thompson was a really tough dude,” Butterbean said. It was a really tough challenge for me.
“The crazy thing is, at that point in my life, I had almost started not believing in myself, and I wasn’t training like I should’ve. I never even stepped in the gym before my fight with James Thompson.
“If I had trained for that fight, it would’ve been quicker than the first round.”