Emanuel Yarbrough Passes at Age 51

Sad news surfaced late on December 21 as My MMA News first reported that UFC 3 veteran Emanuel Yarbrough passed away aged 51-years-old. This was later confirmed by the UFC, though what led to his death is still yet to be determined.

Standing at a towering 6-foot-8 and weighing in at around 600 lbs, it's no wonder why he was once coined as the "proverbial immovable object" during his one-fight stint in the UFC. In fact, he only had three MMA fights in total. But, the outpouring of respect following Yarbrough's untimely passing is testament to the gentle giant reputation he had earned.

Before appearing on the fledgling MMA scene in the early-to-mid 90s, Yarbrough had accrued an impressive resume of sporting achievements during and after college.

Size and power were undoubtedly his main attributes. But, during his time at Morgan State University, Yarbrough showed impressive athleticism to be recruited as an offensive tackle for the college football team before joining the college wrestling team as a heavyweight.

Yarbrough earned NCAA All American Div II honours in 1983 and '85 for Morgan State, before becoming a Div I All American for his wrestling endeavors in 1986. He also earned distinction as a football player, as he was named a NCAA Division I-AA All American in 1982 and '83.

After college, Yarbrough took up judo, earning a brown belt under Yoshisada Yonezuka. In 1989, Yarbrough took the silver medal at the U.S. Nationals tournament. This venture would lead him to take a further interest in martial arts, dipping his toes into MMA and sumo wrestling.

Yarbrough's appearance at UFC 3 was so telling of the times and the position the sport found itself in the '90s. Representing the sport of judo, the gentle giant faced off against cult hero Keith Hackney, a 5-foot-11 kempo karate practitioner weighing in a paltry 200lbs compared to Yarbrough's 611lbs on that day. Hackney blitzed Yarbrough, immediately knocking him down with a palm strike. Yarborough recovered, unloading slow-yet-powerful punches before literally shoving his opponent out of the makeshift cage. That led to the fight being restarted, which saw Hackney knock Yarbrough down again before earning the TKO with a series of further strikes with his bare fists.

Following his sole appearance in the UFC, Yarbrough started to compete in sumo wrestling. He ballooned a further 282 lbs, which earned him the dubious honor of being the world's heaviest living athlete at the time at 828 lbs—a Guinness World Record. In 1995, Yarbrough became the World Amateur Sumo Champion, adding to his silver medals earned in the Sumo World Championships in 1992 and 1994 as well as the bronze won in 1993. This led Yarbrough to become one of the most world-renowned sumo wrestlers to not hail from Japan.

Close to four years after his MMA debut, Yarbrough returned to the sport by competing in Japan. Yarbrough earned his sole MMA victory when he infamously defeated Tatsuki Nakano under the Shooto banner. The fight didn't last long, 77 seconds in fact, but the large Yarbrough won the fight by quite literally smothering his opponent. He had Nakano in a spot of bother on the ground before the fight had to be restarted due to Nakano being close to falling out of the ring from under the ropes. However, once the fight got restarted with Yarbrough regaining his position on top of the downed Nakano, the sumo wrestler used his sheer body mass to submit his opponent.

Just two months later, Yarbrough returned to the MMA ring—this time, for legendary fight promotion PRIDE. But, his third and final fight in this discipline ended in defeat after the seemingly immobile Yarbrough tapped to strikes as his youthful Japanese opponent Daiju Takase battered him into submission. Takase was reluctant to engage with Yarbrough for much of the fight, which was probably wise given the size discrepancy involved.

Yarbrough's unique size and personality led to further roles in the limelight, as he appeared in both Bollywood and Hollywood films, commercials and as an inmate on HBO drama 'Oz' as inmate Clarence Seroy.

Talking to the UFC, Yarbrough's manager Beatrice H. Davis said: "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."

While Yarbrough's MMA career wasn't remarkable by any means, what is striking is the impression he left on the sport by only competing three times in this particular discipline. Saying that, Yarbrough took full advantage of his genetics and had an impressive sporting career in his own right. Known among his peers as one of the nicest guys MMA has ever produced, Emanuel Yarbrough will be sorely missed.