Heavyweight MMA pioneer Tank Abbott’s lone defeat at UFC 6 came in a 17-minute round.
Tank Abbott didn’t achieve many championship-level accolades during his MMA career, but his toughness and endurance was on full display during his UFC debut.
Abbott, who debuted at UFC 6 on the card’s heavyweight tournament, fought three times in one night in July 1995. While he didn’t win the night’s tournament, Abbott left the arena as arguably the biggest storyline from the event.
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Tank Abbott fought almost 20 minutes total in three bouts at UFC 6
Abbott faced 400 lb juggernaut John Matua in his first of three MMA fights at UFC 6. Despite being the lighter man, Abbott didn’t need long to impose his will on his behemoth opponent.
Abbott charged at Matua immediately as the round started, as the two fighters threw wild exchanges in the early seconds. 20 seconds into the first round, Abbott snapped Matua’s head back with a right hook that collapsed his rival, before closing the show by knocking Matua out unconscious with a massive follow-up shot.
Abbott proceeded to mock Matua’s convulsions as referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy attended to his opponent.
In the next round of the UFC 6 tournament, Abbott squared off with another larger opponent, Paul Varelans. Abbott returned to the Octagon to strong cheers from the crowd after his quick knockout of Matua.
While the Varelans fight lasted a bit longer than the Matua showdown, Abbott took a similar approach to their matchup. He quickly charged at Varelans and would eventually finish the fight with brutal ground-and-pound, along with knees, to knock out his rival and advance to the tournament championship.
With the tournament championship on the line, Abbott faced Russian juggernaut Oleg Taktarow in a fight coined as prototypical ‘skill vs. power’ affair. This time around, Abbott had an opponent to challenge his elite wrestling.
Taktarov wasted little time trying to take Abbott down to the canvas, but Abbott held his own and stuffed most of his attempts. But as the continuous championship round proceeded, both men grew increasingly tired due to the elevation and fatigue from their previous fights.
17 minutes into the fight, Taktarov pulled Abbott down to the canvas before locking in a rear-naked choke, forcing Abbott to quickly tap to submission. Taktarov secured the night’s tournament championship, but Abbott became a household name in MMA after his debut performances.
Tank Abbott is etched in the UFC history books
Abbott went on to compete in several UFC tournaments during his career, reaching the semifinals at UFC Japan and UFC 11. He set the UFC record for most career tournament appearances (five) to set himself apart in the promotion’s lore.
Abbott fought the likes of Don Frye, Vitor Belfort, Maurice Smith, and Frank Mir during his illustrious UFC career. He retired from MMA after a comeback attempt in 2013 for the King of the Cage Superfight Championship.
Abbott entered the Georges Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame earlier this year.
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