| David Abbott | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 26, 1965 Huntington Beach, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Tank |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 255 lb (115.7 kg; 18.2 st) |
| Division | Super Heavyweight (no limit) Heavyweight (265 lb) |
| Style | Boxing, Wrestling |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Fighting out of | Huntington Beach, California[1] |
| Years active | 1995 - present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 24 |
| Wins | 10 |
| By knockout | 6 |
| By submission | 3 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 14 |
| By knockout | 6 |
| By submission | 6 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
David Lee Abbott (born April 26, 1965) is an American mixed martial arts fighter and former professional wrestler. He has described his fighting style, which he developed brawling in the bars and streets of Huntington Beach, California, as "street fighting". Abbott was the first fighter to regularly wear what would be known as traditional MMA gloves in the UFC.
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Abbott was a frequent participant in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Abbott made his mixed martial arts debut in 1995 at UFC 6 Clash of the Titans in Casper, Wyoming. In his opening fight, he knocked out John Matua, who weighed 400 lb, in 18 seconds.[2] Later that night he fought Oleg Taktarov for over 17 minutes before succumbing to a rear naked choke.[3] [1] Both men collapsed in exhaustion after the fight, and Taktarov had to be carried out of the cage.[3] In his first 4 UFC tournament appearances, Abbott advanced at least 1 round in all of them. Around the same time the UFC began switching away from the tournament format, his fortunes declined, as he won only 2 of 5 bouts in '97-'98 before retiring from MMA.
In 1997, Abbott appeared as a UFC fighter in the TV show Friends,[4] defeating Jon Favreau's character, the billionaire Pete Becker, who was dating Monica at the time.
Abbott worked as a professional wrestler with World Championship Wrestling (WCW);[5] initially he was brought in as an opponent for Goldberg,[5] on the understanding he was a "legitimate" fighter—who could render any opponent unconscious with a single punch, which became his wrestling finisher, 'The Phantom Right'—and could boost Goldberg's reputation. This feud, however, never developed.
Mere days prior to the Souled Out pay-per-view in 2000, WCW head writer Vince Russo was given the responsibility of booking a match to crown a new WCW World Heavyweight Champion. This came at the news that both WCW Champion Bret Hart and Jeff Jarrett, two of the company's top performers, were injured and could not participate at the event. To the dismay of company officials, Russo suggested having the mid-card Abbott win the Championship albeit only to hold it briefly. The scenario would not take place, and Russo was consequently released from WCW while other bookers composed the Souled Out card. Abbott instead faced Jerry Flynn, a legitimate black belt in taekwondo and defeated him at the pay-per-view.
He was then featured in segments with the boy band parody stable, 3 Count as their "biggest fan".[6] He began feuding with the stable after they would not let him join the band; the feud ended when Abbott was released from WCW.[6]
Abbott waged an unsuccessful UFC comeback in the mid 2000's, losing fights to Frank Mir, Kimo Leopoldo and Wesley "Cabbage" Correira. He later defeated Cabbage by K.O. in a rematch. Abbott would lose several more matches in regional shows.
In February 2008, he had a first round knockout loss to Kimbo Slice at Elite XC's Street Certified event.[1]
His next fight against Mike Bourke on February 13, 2009 at The Selland Arena in Fresno, California—was a part of the Valentine's Eve Massacre Event. Abbott knocked out Bourke in the first round and secured a victory for the first time in nearly four years.
On November 5th, Tank Abbott had a rematch of sorts with Kimo Leopoldo when they participated in a celebrity boxing match that took place at The Avalon in Hollywood, California. It consisted of three one minute rounds and it is unclear who won at the end of the match and currently unknown what decision the judges scoring the bout came to.
Abbott claims his nickname of “Tank” was given to him by UFC officials after the character of “Tank Murdock“ from the 1978 Clint Eastwood movie Every Which Way but Loose.
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 24 matches | 10 wins | 14 losses |
| By knockout | 6 | 6 |
| By submission | 3 | 6 |
| By decision | 1 | 2 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 10–14 | Mike Bourke | KO (punch) | War Gods/Ken Shamrock: Valentine's Eve Massacre | February 13, 2009 | 1 | 0:29 | Fresno, California, United States | |
| Loss | 9–14 | Kimbo Slice | KO (punches) | EliteXC: Street Certified | February 16, 2008 | 1 | 0:43 | Miami, Florida, United States | |
| Loss | 9–13 | Gary Turner | TKO (punches) | Cage Rage 21 | April 21, 2007 | 1 | 2:27 | London, England | |
| Loss | 9-12 | Paul Buentello | KO (punch) | Strikeforce: Tank vs. Buentello | October 7, 2006 | 1 | 0:43 | Fresno, California, United States | |
| Loss | 9–11 | Hidehiko Yoshida | Submission (gi choke) | PRIDE Final Conflict 2005 | August 28, 2005 | 1 | 7:40 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 9–10 | Wesley Correira | KO (punch) | Rumble on the Rock 7 | May 5, 2005 | 1 | 1:23 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| Loss | 8–10 | Wesley Correira | TKO (cut) | UFC 45 | November 21, 2003 | 1 | 2:14 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |
| Loss | 8–9 | Kimo Leopoldo | Submission (arm triangle choke) | UFC 43 | June 6, 2003 | 1 | 1:59 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 8–8 | Frank Mir | Submission (toe hold) | UFC 41 | February 28, 2003 | 1 | 0:46 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Loss | 8–7 | Pedro Rizzo | KO (punch) | UFC Brazil | October 16, 1998 | 1 | 8:07 | São Paulo, Brazil | |
| Win | 8–6 | Hugo Duarte | TKO (punches) | UFC 17 | May 15, 1998 | 1 | 0:43 | Mobile, Alabama, United States | |
| Win | 7–6 | Yoji Anjo | Decision | UFC Japan | December 21, 1997 | 1 | 15:00 | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Loss | 6–6 | Maurice Smith | Submission (punches) | UFC 15 | October 17, 1997 | 1 | 8:08 | Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, United States | For UFC Heavyweight Championship. |
| Loss | 6–5 | Vitor Belfort | Submission (punches) | UFC 13 | May 30, 1997 | 1 | 0:52 | Augusta, Georgia, United States | |
| Loss | 6–4 | Don Frye | Submission (rear naked choke) | UU 96 | December 12, 1996 | 1 | 1:22 | Birmingham, Alabama, United States | |
| Win | 6–3 | Steve Nelmark | KO | UU 96 | December 12, 1996 | 1 | 1:03 | Birmingham, Alabama, United States | |
| Win | 5–3 | Cal Worsham | Submission (punches) | UU 96 | December 12, 1996 | 1 | 2:51 | Birmingham, Alabama, United States | |
| Loss | 4–3 | Scott Ferrozzo | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 11 | September 20, 1996 | 1 | 15:00 | Augusta, Georgia, United States | |
| Win | 4–2 | Sam Adkins | Submission (forearm choke) | UFC 11 | September 20, 1996 | 1 | 2:06 | Augusta, Georgia, United States | |
| Loss | 3–2 | Dan Severn | Decision (unanimous) | UU 95 | December 16, 1995 | 1 | 18:00 | Denver, Colorado, United States | |
| Win | 3–1 | Steve Jennum | Submission (neck crank) | UU 95 | December 16, 1995 | 1 | 1:14 | Denver, Colorado, United States | |
| Loss | 2–1 | Oleg Taktarov | Submission (rear naked choke) | UFC 6 | July 14, 1995 | 1 | 17:47 | Casper, Wyoming, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Paul Varelans | TKO (punches) | UFC 6 | July 14, 1995 | 1 | 1:53 | Casper, Wyoming, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | John Matua | KO (punches) | UFC 6 | July 14, 1995 | 1 | 0:18 | Casper, Wyoming, United States |