It’s very rare for Butterbean to be outweighed by his opponent.

After all, the rotund heavyweight walked around at 350lbs.

PRIDEButterbean was dwarfed by Zuluzinho when they squared off in 2007[/caption]

But that’s exactly what happened when he squared off against hulking MMA fighter Zuluzinho.

The Brazilian giant stands at 6ft 7in and weighed in at a monstrous 407lbs for his fight with Butterbean – real name Eric Esch – at PRIDE 34 in 2007.

At the time, the sport was at the height of its popularity in Japan where freakshow fights were commonplace.

Both men had been used as sideshow attractions for various Asian MMA promotions and it seemed like an inevitability they would eventually collide.

When they did, Esch – a boxer by trade – proved he had more strings to his bow than simply his booming right hand by scoring a submission win in the opening round.

From the off, both men came flying out the gates, throwing caution to the wind before clinching against the ropes.

Zuluzinho got his underhooks in and dragged Butterbean to the canvas but was reversed by the super heavyweight boxer as they hit the mat.

From side control, Butterbean locked in an Americana and forced the tap from Zuluzinho, who was left writhing in pain after the referee stepped in.

Butterbean made a name for himself in the Toughman boxing circuit during the early to mid-1990s before turning over as a professional under the watchful eye of Bob Arum.

Esch was handed a belt (the now defunct IBA super heavyweight title) on Arum’s request and went up and down the country defending it in four round fights.

PRIDEButterbean swept Zuluzinho and locked in the Americana submission to close the show[/caption]

PRIDEThe hulking Brazilian giant was left writhing in pain after tapping out[/caption]

“I came up with the idea to make him ‘King of the Four-Rounders’ and got (IBA commissioner) Dean Chance to give him a belt as a champion of the nonexistent super heavyweight division,” Arum told the LA Times.

Later in his career, he transitioned to kickboxing and then MMA.

He lost the majority of his kickboxing bouts (3-4) but fared considerably better in MMA where he built up a winning record of 17-10-1.

He eventually hung up his gloves in 2013 after suffering a stoppage loss to Kirk Lawton in boxing.

In retirement, his weight ballooned up to 515lbs leaving Esch unable to move around without the aid of a wheelchair.

However, he has since shed a remarkable 200lbs and is now looking to have one more fight.