Butterbean’s career took a bizarre turn in 2010.
The boxing icon – real name Eric Esch – crossed over to MMA in 2003 and enjoyed some success as he scored a spectacular KO win over a 6ft 5in heavyweight known as ‘The Colossus’.
Butterbean even fought Japan’s legendary promotion PRIDE, but he got drop-kicked and submitted by a man 200lbs lighter than him in 2006.
Four years later, he was looking to redeem himself after recently submitting to strikes just 40 seconds into his fight with Jeff Kugel at Xtreme Cagefighting Championship 46: Beatdown at the Ballroom 9.
Butterbean vs ‘World’s Strongest Man’
Butterbean was booked to face Mariusz Pudzianowski in September 2010.
Pudzianowski had an unremarkable 2-1 MMA record after entering the sport off the back of a legendary strongman career that saw him crowned the ‘World’s Strongest Man’ in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2008.
The Polish heavyweight had an adonis-like physique that made Butterbean look even more out of shape than he was after weighing in at 450lbs.
Butterbean dismissed his opponent’s punching power pre-fight.
“Mariusz Pudzianowski hits like a girl,” he said. “Mariusz must be crazy to have challenged me. I’ve knocked people out all over the world, be it in Australia, China, Korea, England, or anywhere else. Mario, be prepared.”
The fan-favorite American was made to pay for his words almost immediately as he was taken down to the floor and pummelled into submission by Pudzianowski.
Stuck on his back eating punches to the face, Butterbean had no option but to tap to strikes in a second consecutive fight.
75 seconds was all it took for Pudzianowski’s power to make him quit. Still, Butterbean maintained that his opponent ‘hits like a girl’ after the comment spectacularly backfired.
“I never said he fought like a girl. I said he hit like a girl,” he said. “His takedown was good. I can’t complain. He won.”
Where is Butterbean now?
Butterbean called time on his MMA career after going 2-2 in fights following his loss against Mariusz Pudzianowski.
A couple of years later, he retired from all combat sports with 126 fights across boxing, kickboxing, and MMA.
Butterbean’s weight problem became a potentially fatal issue as he ballooned up to 515lbs after retiring.
Thankfully, he’s dropped an extraordinary amount of weight in the past few years and now tips the scale at around 300lbs, which is what he weighed during his peak years.
“It changed my life, it really did,” Butterbean said about his body transformation.
“Honestly, I thought I had a couple of years left to live. I’m not bulls*******.
“I really forgot who I was, and I pretty much gave up on life.
“Now I believe in myself again. Butterbean is back for one more fight.”
In the past, a 58-year-old making a comeback would’ve been almost impossible. However, Mike Tyson is the same age as Butterbean and his recent fight with Jake Paul attracted 60 million people to Netflix.
Now it’s just a matter of finding the right opponent for Butterbean’s last hurrah.