Butterbean suffered vicious headkick KO loss in final MMA fight with local mayor

31/08/2024 12:51

Butterbean didn’t get the fairytale ending to his MMA career he would have hoped for.

The American icon became one of the biggest stars in boxing during the mid to late 1990s with fans flocking from far and wide in the hopes of seeing the rotund heavyweight score one of his famous knockouts.

Towards the back end of his career, Butterbean – real name Eric Esch – tried his hand at a few different fighting disciplines, most notably kickboxing and MMA.

Esch lost the majority of his kickboxing bouts (3-4) but fared considerably better in the cage where he compiled a winning record of 17-10-1.

The last of those MMA contests came in October 2011 when he met Sandy Bowman in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada.

Bowman entered the fight with an undefeated 2-0 record and didn’t waste any time in dispatching Butterbean as he landed a vicious head-kick in the opening 30 seconds before following Esch down to the canvas and finishing him with ground and pound.

At the time, the Canadian MMA fighter was working as a Taekwondo instructor but he has since gone on to become mayor of Wood Buffalo, the regional municipality of the town where Bowman met Butterbean.

Bowman is a bonafide hero in the area and helped local MMA promotion, Prestige Fighting Championship, stay afloat by landing the fight with Butterbean on their bill.

“Win or lose, people would come to the event,” Bowman told CBC News.

Bowman’s win helped breathe new life into the mixed martial arts scene in Fort McMurray.

And two years later, the municipality passed its combative sports commission bylaw, which Bowman helped write.

Although Butterbean’s defeat to Bowman marked the end of his MMA career, he did continue competing in boxing.

Esch had two more bouts in the paid ranks: one against Curtis Allan in 2012, which he lost via unanimous decision, and the other against Kirk Lawton a year later, which was waved off after Butterbean retired on his stool at the end of the second round due to a shoulder injury.

In retirement, Esch’s health deteriorated. 

His weight ballooned and got dangerously out of control, maxing out at 515bs on the scales at his largest.

By this point, Esch struggled to walk and had to move around in a wheelchair.

Realising he was on death’s door, Butterbean decided to make drastic lifestyle changes and with the help of former WWE superstar Diamond Dallas Page, he shed over 200lbs.

Esch is now aiming to get back into the ring and has called out Jake Paul for his comeback fight.

Taking to TikTok in July, he said: “Hey Jake Paul, would you fight me for $2m [£1.5million]? Winner takes all."

Paul is yet to respond at the time of writing.