Great Redemptions In MMA Part One: Fred Ettish

by TylerTreese on Nov 9, 2010 10:25 PM EST

It's late February, one man gets a phone call from Art Davie, the founder of the UFC. An injury to Ken Shamrock has opened up an alternate spot in the tournament. The brave man on the other side of the phone accepts the offer and will enter UFC 2: No Way Out in less than 2 weeks. This man is Fred Ettish, Karate Master.

Fred Ettish stepped in for an injured Frank Hamaker to fight Johnny Rhodes in the second round of the one night tournament. During the fight Ettish pioneered many tactics such as the butt-scoot and fetal position that would later be used by MMA champions Shinya Aoki and Brock Lesnar respectively. Ettish was truly a pioneer for the sport and even in defeat, Ettish became a legend.

View the epic battle in it's entirety below:

After over a decade of being one of the many punch-lines of the hardcore MMA community, Fred was determined to prove himself in MMA. Sure, he was 53 years old and may have had a little bit of ring rust after not having a fight in over a decade but he was determined to make a comeback. There was only one man worthy of his comeback and that was the highly touted prospect Kyle Fletcher. Ettish made a successful comeback which you can see in it's entirety below. Fletcher never recovered from the loss and is currently 0-9 in his professional MMA career.

Here's to you Fred! Seriously, all jokes aside you're a part of MMA history and a great story at that.

Also Fred has one hell of a life story and has over-come a lot of stuff in his childhood so check out this Sherdog article about him for some insight.

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Comments

oo it's like a Tosh.0 segment

and for that, we thank you

a life: it's the shit that happens while you're waiting for moments that never come -Lester Freamon

by eastcoastatlas on Nov 10, 2010 10:15 AM EST reply actions

Thanks a lot

wanted to try to do some satirical pieces on some figures of early MMA history that some people may have forgotten about or never heard about so I figured what better starting point than Fred Ettish,

@TylerTreese on twitter
check out my site @IWannaPolka

by TylerTreese on Nov 10, 2010 10:23 AM EST up reply actions

Sherdog article...

…thanks for posting that link….I usually avoid Sherdog, just so I don’t accidentally click on the Forums button, but that was an excellent piece by Brian Knapp…..well worth the time to read….

by BrothersGottaAndyHug on Nov 10, 2010 3:15 PM EST reply actions

I might be in the minority but I think Sherdog has the best feature articles of any site

they always seem to have some great in-depth pieces. The forums on the otherhand…. =P

@TylerTreese on twitter
check out my site @IWannaPolka

by TylerTreese on Nov 10, 2010 9:05 PM EST up reply actions

Funny

'cause the heart that betrays itself willingly, Is like a nation that trades freedom for stability, its so seductive to be cold and corrupted and isolated and try to be an independent republic, But liberty to be loved on the surface is worthless, The sacrifice of revolution with no purpose

by ImmortalTechnique92 on Nov 11, 2010 9:52 AM EST reply actions