When the Gracie family introduced no holds barred fighting to the rest of the world in the early ’90s, one of their goals was to prove that proper technique trumps size, strength, and power. Their main man Royce successfully achieved that at UFC 1, while also giving a strong marketing push to their beloved martial art then known as Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.
Then came Manny Yarbrough. This 6’7”, 600-pound behemoth of a man pretty much defied all odds in terms of how big and heavy you can get to compete in the sport. If we’re talking about sheer mass, no other heavyweight came close to rivalling him.