Butterbean couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start to his MMA career.

The rotund heavyweight rose to prominence in the early 1990s on the Toughman Contest scene and quickly became one of American boxing’s biggest stars after turning over as a professional in 1994.

K-1Butterbean was 245lbs (17.5stone) heavier than Sudo but still lost[/caption]

After nine years and 73 pro bouts, Butterbean – real name Eric Esch – decided to turn his hand to MMA in 2003.

At the time, the sport was at the height of its popularity in Japan, where so-called ‘freakshow fights’ were commonplace.

Alongside match-ups between world-class fighters, companies like PRIDE FC, Dream and Hero’s staged sideshow attractions where the two competitors were vastly mismatched either in skill or size.

The most popular of these was the ‘David vs Goliath’ showdowns where hulking figures like Zuluzinho and Giant Silva took on much smaller athletes.

Butterbean made his MMA debut in this form of fight against Genki Sudo at K-1 PREMIUM 2003 DYNAMITE!!!

While Butterbean tipped the scales at 400lbs (28.5stone), Sudo weighed just 155lbs (11stone) – a staggering 245lbs (17.5stone) disparity.

It looked as though Esch was in for a quick night’s work as he dwarfed his adversary in their pre-fight staredown.

But Sudo, boasted an 8-3-1 record in MMA by this point and held a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Sudo spent the majority of the first round running away from Butterbean while peppering him with leg kicks.

At one point, he received a glancing blow to his arm and had to shake it out before getting back to work.

K-1Sudo attempted a dropkick at one point[/caption]

K-1And then finished the fight with a heel hook submission in the second round[/caption]

Butterbean forced the action but his footwork was too slow, with Sudo easily evading every one of his clubbing punches.

Towards the end of the opening stanza, Sudo shot in for a takedown and managed to sweep Esch off his feet.

On the ground, Butterbean looked completely clueless as Sudo rained down punches from full guard before locking in a heel hook.

Luckily for the American, the submission came in the final ten seconds of the frame meaning he was saved by the bell.

In the second round, Sudo – who briefly dipped his toe in professional wrestling – bounced off the ropes before attempting a dropkick.

Butterbean caught him in mid-air and slammed him down to the canvas.

But as he did, Sudo managed to latch onto his ankle and lock in another heel hook.

This time, Butterbean was forced to tap out – capping off a disastrous start to his MMA career.

In the years that followed, Esch continued to compete in the sport and showed some marked improvements in his grappling skills during the course of his 28-fight run (17-10-1).

Amazingly, 9 of Butterbean’s 17 MMA wins came by way of submission while only eight were as a result of a knockout.

He would eventually hang up his 4oz gloves in 2011 after suffering a brutal head-kick KO against Sandy Bowman in Canada but he beat several experienced foes along the way.