In the event you handed by Tank Abbott on the road, there’s a fairly good probability you wouldn’t acknowledge him.
As we speak, Abbott lives a largely quiet life, internet hosting his personal podcast referred to as The Proving Floor. However in 1995, he shortly turned one of many UFC’s largest stars courtesy of his balls-to-the-wall type of combating that supplied a plethora of highlight-reel knockouts.
Not too long ago, Abbott made an look on The Joe Rogan Expertise to speak about all issues UFC, going again to a time when even Rogan himself wasn’t a part of the promotion. Throughout their dialog, Abbott spoke about what it was like competing in a time when the game had no guidelines and no cut-off dates, how he ended up getting himself kicked out of the UFC, and his concern with iconic MMA referee ‘Massive’ John McCarthy.
Tank Abbott went from UFC to WCW
After his combating profession started to fizzle out, Abbott discovered a brand new gig by signing a cope with World Championship Wrestling. Initially introduced in to capitalize on his standing as a respectable fighter, Abbott’s character was shortly dwindled right down to a crazed fan following round 3 Depend, a mock boy band secure made up of wrestlers Evan Karagias, Shannon Moore, and Shane Helms—higher identified by WWE followers as The Hurricane.
Abbott continued to struggle on and off below a handful of manufacturers, together with Strikeforce, PRIDE, EliteXC, and King of the Cage earlier than in the end retiring in 2013. He by no means discovered the identical success as he did within the early days of the Octagon, however his cruel method to the struggle recreation will at all times be remembered by the followers who’ve been down since day one.