by Butterbean, in his 13th professional MMA appearance, turned off James Thompson’s lights with a great shot.
The rotund heavyweight made a name for himself in boxing in the 1990s, but turned to MMA in 2003.
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After a disastrous debut in which Butterbean – real name Eric Esch – was submitted by a fighter 17.5 stone lighter than him (Genki Sudo), the hardened brawler has had to battle wins and losses with opponents of varying strength admit defeat.
When he faced Thompson at Cage Rage 20 in 2007, he had a record of 8-3-1, while his experienced opponent was 13-5 overall.
Thompson proved he was a decent fighter by scoring a unanimous decision win over UFC Hall of Famer Dan Severn three years earlier.
However, he mostly kept his fights to himself and was known to have a glass jaw – a worrying combination for a Butterbean opponent.
In the end it proved to be his ultimate undoing as he was eliminated within 43 seconds.
A huge overhand right from Butterbean caught Thompson in the opening stanza and dropped him to the floor.
On the way down, the Brit’s head bounced off the cage as the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.
A semi-conscious Thompson, unaware that the fight had been stopped, fired at Esch as the referee desperately tried to wrestle them apart.
Thompson protested that the stoppage came too soon and demanded a rematch, which never came.
In subsequent years, the Rochdale powerhouse recorded victories over five-time World’s Strongest Man winner Mariusz Pudzianowski, WWE superstar Bobby Lashley and MMA legends Don Frye and Bob Sapp.
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The 45-year-old hasn’t technically retired yet, but he also hasn’t competed since being submitted by Phil De Fries at Bellator 191 in 2017.
His record currently stands at 20-17, with 13 of those losses coming via knockout stages.
Butterbean competed in the sport for four years after his victory over Thompson before finally hanging up his 4-ounce gloves with a record of 17-10-1.
His last appearance came in 2011 against Sandy Bowman in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada.
Butterbean was knocked unconscious by a violent headbutt in the first 30 seconds and never competed in MMA again.
In retirement, Esch’s health deteriorated.
His weight skyrocketed, spiraling dangerously out of control and peaking at 515 pounds.
At times Esch had difficulty walking and had to use a wheelchair.
However, with the help of WWE legend Diamond Dallas Page, he has now lost a significant 200 pounds and is aiming for a return to the ring next year.
