Within the annals of fight sports activities historical past, few bouts stand out just like the tremendous heavyweight spectacle that was Eric “Butterbean” Esch versus Zuluzinho at PRIDE 34. Dubbed “The 750-Pound Fight” (although, in actuality, it was nearer to 800 kilos), this conflict of titans in April 2007 was it was a seismic occasion that physicists would examine for generations.
Butterbean vs. Zuluzinho
On one aspect, you had Butterbean, the 5’11”, 350-pound striker, identified for his no-nonsense knockouts and distinctive look. His signature bald head and immense spherical body made him unattainable to overlook. He seemed like an American Physician Eggman. With 77 wins in skilled boxing, 58 of these by knockout, Butterbean was a strolling wrecking ball.
On the opposite aspect loomed Zuluzinho, a colossus at 6’7″ and tipping the scales at a jaw-dropping 407 kilos. Along with his large measurement, he was an intimidating determine who, a minimum of on paper, appeared like an immovable object. For Japanese audiences of the Kakutogi-boom period, giants resembling Bob Sapp and Hongman Choi had been just too small. They solely whet the urge for food. These audiences begged for one thing greater. And Zuluzinho was the reply to their large struggle cravings.
PRIDE 34
Followers tuned in for one easy purpose: they wished to see what would occur when 800 kilos of human flesh collided. Would the ring survive? Would gravity hand over? Would Butterbean, for the primary time in his profession, look small?
The solutions got here rapidly, which was a shock given the dimensions. Regardless of their reputations for flattening opponents with fists the dimensions of dinner plates, the struggle took an surprising flip. Butterbean, the person as soon as described as “a bowling ball with arms,” determined to skip his knockout energy and go for a takedown. Sure, you learn that proper. Butterbean—identified for sending folks to dreamland with haymakers—took the struggle to the bottom like a seasoned grappler. A Ryan Corridor with some muscle, for those who might think about.
If that wasn’t stunning sufficient, the actual shock got here moments later when Butterbean locked in an Americana submission on Zuluzinho, forcing the Brazilian large to faucet out. The group, and doubtless the planet itself, shook with disbelief. This wasn’t imagined to occur. Butterbean? Grappling? Is there even a black belt lengthy sufficient for his body?
Physicists should still be scratching their heads over the Butterbean-Zuluzinho struggle, a bout that appeared to defy the legal guidelines of nature. When two objects of this magnitude collide the formation of a black gap ought to happen. As a substitute, what we bought was Butterbean, the human wrecking ball, channeling his internal astrophysicist and Gracie through the use of leverage and torque to topple a person who might simply double as a celestial object.
For Zuluzinho, it was a tough evening. Dropping to a person half a foot shorter and greatest identified for punching Johnny Knoxville wasn’t precisely the spotlight of his profession. However for us normal-sized mortals, it was fairly enjoyable.
