Frye now enjoys a quiet life in Catalina, a rural community 30 miles But, fighting is just one of the However, his fight with Gilbert Yvel that night was controversial and resulted in Frye winning by disqualification in the first round, as Yvel repeatedly gouged his eyes and was eventually disqualified for continuously holding the ropes to stop himself being taken down. overseas. Don continues to inspire fans and fellow professional fighters with his life stories. Ive had like 27 just on my back or related to my back alone. Hes like an animal whisperer or something, he However, he accepts bookings as a keynote speaker for forums and other speaking events. Takayama, God bless him, man, he said. Well, the audience because they witnessed something that they will probably never, ever witness again. different identity in Japan, said Jeff Spencer, one of Fryes close wrestling, Judo and boxing. He's way too young to be having all these problems. Don Frye Obituary. This group included Frye, himself, who confessed his surprise with the invite. Frye will make his way to the UFC Fan Expo once again on July 10, when the formal induction ceremony is set to take place at Las Vegas Convention Center. MMA Veteran Don Frye Punches UFC Fan Who 'Challenged Him To - LADbible How do you top that?. Overall, its a blur, but when you watch it, you think, Oh yeah, I Frye now enjoys a quiet life in Catalina, a rural community 30 miles north of Tucson. the most famous MMA fights of all time. Frye won at the U-Japan event in November 1996, taking a submission victory by forearm choke over Mark Hall in a rematch. Who won? asked Dan Severn, who wrestled and coached at Arizona State, where he met Frye. Im going to miss you all.'. [15] He debuted for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in August 1997, defeating Kazuyuki Fujita in his first match. animals and property. Both men paid a He doesnt know how to go backwards, he just goes straight forward like a bull in a China closet.. He I shouldve retired after the Takayama fight, said Frye, who had a I was in the toilet mentally, he said. Spencer, a retired Battalion chief for the Frye Fire Department (no He got me into the UFC when I asked him to. 175 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the, Ranked No. The juxtaposition of The Predators ferocious persona in the cage with his bond with animals outside is fascinating. experiences in his youth, and it still fuels him to this day. I was a fireman down in Bisbee, Arizona, Frye recalled. Before the UFC got its legs, Japans PRIDE was the top mixed Family: He has two daughters with his wife Mollie Frye. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images), Don Fryes career took a toll on his body, but he still makes sure to care for his horses and property. [1] He boxed under the name J.R. Frye in several matches after being forced to change his name due to a contractual dispute. Frye appeared in an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia entitled "The Gang Wrestles for the Troops", in which he played a professional wrestler that was getting pummeled by Roddy Piper's character, "Da' Maniac". As of date, his daughters' names and other details are unavailable. Youre not a man anymore., Then the kicker was when she says, I dont think you can provide for the family anymore. Ah, OK, theres the truth.. After leaving the UFC, Frye went into professional wrestling and was trained by Brad Rheingans and Curt Hennig. Frye hasnt taken part in active competition since 2011, but, to this day, gets asked questions about the 2002 brawl against Takayama. Don Frye - Age, Family, Bio | Famous Birthdays Proud of the scrap, he doesnt mind answering them but asks that you please do him a favor beforehand. [12], Following his tenure with the IFL and a one-off fight with Texas-based promotion NoLimit Fighting, Don Frye competed in his inaugural fight with the DEEP organization, fighting Japanese fan favorite Ikuhisa Minowa. Frye returned to a professional wrestling ring on March 17, 2013, at an event held by AJPW in Tokyo. Don Frye reflects on a storied MMA career and a memorable fight Kitamura found Frye's tough-guy/good-heart demeanor to be the perfect role for the character of Gordon. Id like to kill those f that did that to me, Frye said. After joining, Frye would spend most of 1999 and early 2000 feuding with Scott Norton over the unofficial title of Gaijin Ace, took part in the G1 Tag League in 1999 with Chono, and make two challenges for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship but was unsuccessful in each attempt. Like I said, the back is a mess., Many fans remember Frye and love to interact with him, like at this UFC International Fight Week Legends Panel in Las Vegas. After a successful wrestling stint at Arizona State University, the now 50-year-old Frye was working as a firefighter when he was first invited to try his luck at the UFC. horses, and some good friends., Zach Yentzer, one of two independent candidates vying to challenge Regina Romero as Tucson's mayor in November, said his campaign was ending after losing a challenge over his petition signatures. If youre a good-looking redhead or a good-looking blonde, come up there and give me a hug, Frye joked. I was never the same after that. If you enjoyed the . kicker was when she says, I dont think you can provide for the family In a fight that many consider to be one of Pride's most exciting matches, Frye and Takayama clinched in a hockey fight pose, each holding the head and hitting, with Takayama finally going to the body after more than a full minute of unrelenting, undefended shots. Before becoming a professional fighter, Don Frye worked as an EMT and firefighter. When he was doing pro wrestling in Japan, he was flying, so I went The fight lasted only 39 seconds; Goodridge scored a vicious high kick to the head, knocking Frye out completely. We're committed to making quality news accessible; we'll never set up a paywall or charge for our site. The one regret Fyre figured the early childhood experience was just life as he Don stopped doing professional fights in 2011 and has since been active in mixed martial arts. Frye was molested three times over the course of his childhood, he Both fighters exchanged He lives a simple life on a quaint 2-acre property backing up to the Catalinas. It will either An apparently intoxicated fan challenged a UFC legend to a fight - MSN his career started to spiral in the wrong direction when he became I thought to myself, You bunch of dumbasses, Dan Severn is already in the UFC Hall of Fame. Frye was molested three times as child, he said. Riding a new wave of popularity, Frye's next outing was a return to MMA at Pride 23 on November 24, 2002 to face Olympic gold medalist judoka Hidehiko Yoshida. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) His voice would get deeper, just everything. Your contribution is tax-deductible. price for that.. 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I already knew he had a bone-headed attitude, Severn said. Hall says that since Tank Abbott had already advanced to the final after two relatively easy wins, Frye who'd logged eleven minutes of cage time already that night wanted to save his energy for the championship match. martial arts promotion in the world, and on June 23, 2002, Frye and Then, he was asking me how much he Don Frye won his final belt in the UFC during Ultimate Ultimate 2 in 1996 before moving on wrestling and MMA in Japan. next to his chair and cowboy hats and reins line the wall beside him. His daughters help care for them and the property when he cant. I have never seen anything like it, Spencer said, recounting a story about Frye. Since he retired in 2011, he has been in and out of hospitals. [5] In the quarter-finals, he set the record (since broken by Duane Ludwig and Jorge Masvidal) for fastest knockout in UFC history when his punches knocked down 410-lb Thomas Ramirez in just eight seconds. Don Frye. It gave me something to stay angry about and motivate me., Don Frye watches a tape of his most iconic bout, with Yoshihiro Takayama in 2002. It's really good to see Don Frye visiting the Hawtness in the hospital after the Hawtness was paralyzed a few years ago Their fight is forever one of the GOAT moments in MMA . Since he competed in Pride FC, he has also appeared in several commercial ads in Japan.
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