Tank Abbott Fighting in the 90’s episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 9, 2026 · 2H 43M

Tank Abbott Fighting in the 90’s

from MMA History Podcast · host MMA Detective Mike Davis, Joey Venti

Send a textEp 315 Tank Abbott Fighting in the 90’s  The Original UFC bad boy, David "Tank" Abbott, joins us for an unfiltered deep dive into the wild early days of MMA.From his explosive knockouts at UFC 6, legendary clashes in the tournament, street-fighting roots, and raw takes on the politics, "works," and personalities that shaped the sport - Tank holds nothing back.Now retired in the desert, this powerhouse legend (natural 625-Ib bench, no-BS 0:00 MMA history podcast intro  0:32 Joey Venti’s guest introduction 0:51 interview start 6:58 packaged by Dave Thomas for the UFC 11:02 meeting with Art Davie 16:44 17:30 receiving letter of intent to fight in the UFC 21:44 attending UFC 5 24:19 interactions with Joe Son 29:19 issues with Jim Brown 43:42 Ken Shamrock vs Royce Gracie “rematch”44:58 Ultimate Tank ppv 45:50 cornering Vanilla ice for a fight 46:31 thoughts on Tito Ortiz 50:48 technique vs being tough 52:02 Tank Abbott vs John Matua 58:02 making the UFC entertaining 59:05 Tank Abbott vs Paul Varelans1:03:03 Tank Abbott vs Oleg Taktarov1:07:17 Pat Smith altercation backstage 1:09:46 attack on Pat Smith in elevator 1:14:30 Ken Sharock calling the cops 1:15:29 writing apology letter to John McCarthy 1:16:59 becoming a paint artist 1:17:44 training with Mark Schultz 1:19:38 wrestling Chael Sonnan 1:21:46 first fixed fight in the UFC 1:23:09 Ken Shamrock not being pushed in UFC1:24:58 Tank Abbott vs Dan Severn 1:30:17 Altercation with Allan Goes 1:40:55 sucker punched by Wallid Ismail1:46:04 Bas Rutten vs Kevin Randleman 1:47:05 Allan Goes incident in Puerto Rico1:49:28 thoughts on John Perretti 1:52:38 meeting Tito Ortiz 1:55:32 Tito Ortiz stealing check from car 2:02:12 Tank Abbott vs Scott Ferrozzo 2:09:13 Tank Abbott vs Cal Worsham 2:11:25 Direct wave TV sponsor 2:11:44 Canceled bout with Ken Shamrock 2:14:39 fighters taking steroids 2:17:07 Don Frye worked fight with Mark Hall 2:18:04 Big Al throwing burger at Frank Shamrock 2:19:55 thoughts on the UFC hall of fame 2:25:00 Ken Shamrock calling out Tank Abbott 2:27:35 Pride Fc using Tank Abbott for promotional material 2:32:05 Tank Abbott vs Maurice Smith 2:34:26 Dan Severn pulling out of Maurice Smith fight 2:38:37 interview wrap up/ outroPlease follow our channels on Follow the MMA History Team on Instagram: MMA Detective Mike Davis @mikedavis632 Co Host Joey Venti @aj_ventitreRecords Keeper-  Andrew Mendoza @ambidexstressSocial Media Manager Andy Campbell  @martial_mindset_Thumbnails Julio Macedo  @juliosemacentoInstagram https://www.instagram.com/mmahistorypodcast?igsh=aHVweHdncXQycHBy&utm_source=qrSpotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3q8KsfqrSQSjkdPLkdtNWb?si=aL3D5Y3aTDi-PQZdweWL8gApple Podcast MMA History PodcastYouTube https://youtube.com/@MMAHistoryPodcast?si=bj1RBXTZ2X82tv_JOutro song: Power - https://tunetank.com/t/2gji/1458-powerMike - The MMA Detective - @mikedavis632 Cash App - $mikedavis1231Venmo - Mike-Davis-63ZELLE: [email protected] / ph#: 773-491-5052 #MMA #UFC #NHB #MixedMartialArts #MMADetective #MikeDavis #MMAHistory #OldSchoolMMA #MMAPodcast #fightpodcast Thank You for your supportSupport the show

Send a textEp 315 Tank Abbott Fighting in the 90’s  The Original UFC bad boy, David "Tank" Abbott, joins us for an unfiltered deep dive into the wild early days of MMA.From his explosive knockouts at UFC 6, legendary clashes in the tournament, street-fighting roots, and raw takes on the politics, "works," and personalities that shaped the sport - Tank holds nothing back.Now retired in the desert, this powerhouse legend (natural 625-Ib bench, no-BS 0:00 MMA history podcast intro  0:32 Joey Venti’s guest introduction 0:51 interview start 6:58 packaged by Dave Thomas for the UFC 11:02 meeting with Art Davie 16:44 17:30 receiving letter of intent to fight in the UFC 21:44 attending UFC 5 24:19 interactions with Joe Son 29:19 issues with Jim Brown 43:42 Ken Shamrock vs Royce Gracie “rematch”44:58 Ultimate Tank ppv 45:50 cornering Vanilla ice for a fight 46:31 thoughts on Tito Ortiz 50:48 technique vs being tough 52:02 Tank Abbott vs John Matua 58:02 making the UFC entertaining 59:05 Tank Abbott vs Paul Varelans1:03:03 Tank Abbott vs Oleg Taktarov1:07:17 Pat Smith altercation backstage 1:09:46 attack on Pat Smith in elevator 1:14:30 Ken Sharock calling the cops 1:15:29 writing apology letter to John McCarthy 1:16:59 becoming a paint artist 1:17:44 training with Mark Schultz 1:19:38 wrestling Chael Sonnan 1:21:46 first fixed fight in the UFC 1:23:09 Ken Shamrock not being pushed in UFC1:24:58 Tank Abbott vs Dan Severn 1:30:17 Altercation with Allan Goes 1:40:55 sucker punched by Wallid Ismail1:46:04 Bas Rutten vs Kevin Randleman 1:47:05 Allan Goes incident in Puerto Rico1:49:28 thoughts on John Perretti 1:52:38 meeting Tito Ortiz 1:55:32 Tito Ortiz stealing check from car 2:02:12 Tank Abbott vs Scott Ferrozzo 2:09:13 Tank Abbott vs Cal Worsham 2:11:25 Direct wave TV sponsor 2:11:44 Canceled bout with Ken Shamrock 2:14:39 fighters taking steroids 2:17:07 Don Frye worked fight with Mark Hall 2:18:04 Big Al throwing burger at Frank Shamrock 2:19:55 thoughts on the UFC hall of fame 2:25:00 Ken Shamrock calling out Tank Abbott 2:27:35 Pride Fc using Tank Abbott for promotional material 2:32:05 Tank Abbott vs Maurice Smith 2:34:26 Dan Severn pulling out of Maurice Smith fight 2:38:37 interview wrap up/ outroPlease follow our channels on Follow the MMA History Team on Instagram: MMA Detective Mike Davis @mikedavis632 Co Host Joey Venti @aj_ventitreRecords Keeper-  Andrew Mendoza @ambidexstressSocial Media Manager Andy Campbell  @martial_mindset_Thumbnails Julio Macedo  @juliosemacentoInstagram https://www.instagram.com/mmahistorypodcast?igsh=aHVweHdncXQycHBy&utm_source=qrSpotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3q8KsfqrSQSjkdPLkdtNWb?si=aL3D5Y3aTDi-PQZdweWL8gApple Podcast MMA History PodcastYouTube https://youtube.com/@MMAHistoryPodcast?si=bj1RBXTZ2X82tv_JOutro song: Power - https://tunetank.com/t/2gji/1458-powerMike - The MMA Detective - @mikedavis632 Cash App - $mikedavis1231Venmo - Mike-Davis-63ZELLE: [email protected] / ph#: 773-491-5052 #MMA #UFC #NHB #MixedMartialArts #MMADetective #MikeDavis #MMAHistory #OldSchoolMMA #MMAPodcast #fightpodcast Thank You for your supportSupport the show

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Tank Abbott Fighting in the 90’s

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This episode was published on February 9, 2026.

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Send a textEp 315 Tank Abbott Fighting in the 90’s  The Original UFC bad boy, David "Tank" Abbott, joins us for an unfiltered deep dive into the wild early days of MMA.From his explosive knockouts at UFC 6, legendary clashes in the tournament,...

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