Early UFC star Emmanuel Yarborough passes away at 51

Emmanuel Yarborough, the massive sumo wrestler who famously took on karate expert Keith Hackney at UFC 3, died Monday at the age of 51.

The promotion announced the former fighter’s death Tuesday after a post on the popular Underground forum from retired MMA fighter Gary Myers. UFC co-creator Art Davie also confirmed Yarborough’s passing on his official Facebook page.

Yarborough passed away in Richmond, Va.; the cause of death was not disclosed. In a statement from his longtime manager, Beatrice H. Davis, said he traveled the world to bring awareness to the issue of obesity.

“Even though it was not an easy task for him, it never stopped him from following his dreams, and bringing smiles to the faces of all he would meet,” she told UFC.com. “He was to be the subject of a new reality show, and would have continued to bring smiles to all those who had the opportunity to be blessed by his infectious, compassionate, loving presence. He will be missed by his millions of fans around the world, friends and family.”

In a recent posting on his official website, Yarborough wrote that he missed out on a TV show appearance when he was prevented from boarding a plane to Rome despite the fact he’d booked three seats. Yet he remained optimistic that he would lose weight and regain his health.

“This incident gave me another push and I am back on my weight loss journey and this time I started on my own and hope to stay on the road to success,” he wrote. “It is not easy and being a prisoner in your own body for sure sets the mood in whatever I am doing. I have to break free from my prison.”

Yarborough, a New Jersey native, was listed at 616 pounds – 618 pounds by announcer Rich “G-Man” Goins – when he stepped into the octagon in 1994 against Hackney; a Guiness world record certified him the world’s biggest sumo wrestler. A second-place finisher at the 1992 World Sumo Championships and a former Division I All-American wrestler at Morgan State University, he was billed as the Goliath to Hackney’s David in a time when the UFC pitted style vs. style in no holds-barred competition.

Hackney infamously chopped down Yarborough before taking blows to the head as the sumo wrestler got to his back. Scrambling to his feet, Hackney was pushed out of the cage, prompting a restart. Hackney evaded Yarborough before dropping him with a punch as he grabbed a leg for a takedown. Hackney then bludgeoned Yarborough with punches, breaking his hand in the process, before the bout was called off by referee “Big” John McCarthy.

Yarborough (1-2) made a brief comeback in 1998, retiring after a loss to Daiju Takase in the now-defunct PRIDE. He also worked in television and film, notably booking a recurring role in HBO’s prison-based series “Oz.”

A GoFundMe page was set up by Davis to pay funeral expenses for Yarborough and assist his mother, Rosie Yarborough. As of this writing, it has raised $7,835 of an $18,000 goal.

MMAjunkie expresses its sincerest condolences to Yarborough’s family.