Over the years in MMA we’ve seen a lot of great fighters pass through the cage. Some we’re quick stars, only to fade out as quickly as they emerged. Others we saw start to build a legitimate name in the sport, only to find themselves in the bad graces of a promotion and disappear.

I’ve picked out a few names within the sport that I think we’re really interesting and disappeared only to never heard from again…

David Lee “Tank” Abbott: Everyone knows “Tank” Abbott for his brutal brawling style of fighting, that was so indicative of the early days of the UFC. While “Tank” won some pretty brutal match-ups, he was also well known for losing an equal number, before retiring from the UFC in 1998. Something that most people don’t know is that Abbott never left the world of fighting altogether. From 1999-2000, Abbott fought in the pro-wrestling organization, WCW – which was incidentally right around the peak of that promotion. After that point, Abbott returned to professional MMA and has actually never left, going an impressive 2-9 since his return. He’s slated to return to the cage against Ruben Villareal at King of the Cage: Fighting Legends on April 13th, 2013.

Ken “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” Shamrock: No one can forget Ken Shamrock’s debut at UFC 1, and deny his position as one of the sport’s legends. His fights with Royce Gracie, Tito Ortiz and Kimo Leopoldo are some that we will never be forgotten. While his decline in the world of MMA was a sad tale to watch, and his retirement was something that we were all sad to see, many of us were left wondering what “The World’s Dangerous Man” is doing today. Well, in 2002 Shamrock helped usher in the pro-wrestling promotion TNA wrestling, but that would not be where his sad story would end. In 2012 Ken started a hotline called “Call a Champ” – for $11.99 a minute you can ask Ken anything you would like. Ohhhh, how the mighty have fallen!

Royce Gracie: Probably one of the biggest names ever to enter the cage. In the time that he was in the octagon he seemed almost unbeatable, using a form of martial arts called “Brazilian Jiu Jitsu” that many had never been exposed to. Winning three of the first four UFC tournaments, Gracie is a legend in his own right. However, his fall from grace has been equally impressive in some ways. In June 2007, shortly after his already controversial win against Kazushi Sakuraba, Gracie tested positive for steroids – Gracie always disputed the allegations. Today, Gracie still trains in the sport that he helped to trail blaze, helping to teach the new entrants in the sport the martial art that his family made so important to today’s world of MMA. Currently, at the ripe age of 46, Gracie is in negotiations to return to the UFC and is in the process of “active negotiations” – I’d be surprised if anything is worked out before he reaches the old folks home.

Dan “The Beast” Severn: A legend in the sport, and often considered the greatest human being in the universe if you’ve ever listened to one his interviews. However, Dan Severn’s impact on the world of MMA cannot be outright denied, with 127 (101-26) matches to his credit, there are very few fighters who have been so prolific. Severn, like many fighters, could never really walk away from the sport. As with many other vintage MMA fighters, he did some pro-wrestling for a number of years in the WWE, WXO and even found Price of Glory Wrestling in 2004. MMA, being the place that he built his name, he never really left the sport through everything. In fact, in 2011 at the age of 53 he claimed the heavyweight title at Elite-1 MMA. Up until recently he had expressed an interest in fighting Royce Gracie or Tim Sylvia – but, ended up officially retiring on January 1st, 2013.

Mark “The Hammer” Coleman: Better known as the “Godfather of Ground and Pound”, Mark Coleman was best known in the MMA world for his early days in the early days of the UFC when he won the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournaments and then going on to unifying the super-heavyweight and heavyweight titles and become the first real UFC heavyweight champion. His fights in PRIDE FC were legendary, reaching their apex when he defeated Igor Vovchanchyn for the 2000 PRIDE Openweight championship. Mark Coleman officially retired from MMA in 2013, after discovering that he needed a total hip replacement. Today Coleman has no firm plans for the future, but is posing with the hottest pieces of tail this side of whatever border he’s over. Given that Coleman has just retired no immediate plans have been made public for the future.

Don “The Predator” Frye: Best known for his ability to finish a fight wherever it landed, and for putting on epic battles. His MMA career highlight came when he won the UFC 8 tournament. Since his time in the UFC, Frye has fought in a number of other fight promotions, including: PRIDE FC, IFL and K-1 to name a few. Frye has never really retired for MMA, and for a price any joe off the street could face off in the ring against him. Outside of hocking change for in-person appearances, Frye has dipped his toes in acting in classics such as, “Ant Bully”, “Miami Vice” and “Public Enemies”. He’s also set to appear in future Oscar contenders: “Apparitions: The Darkness” and “Big Stan”. I have no doubt that we’ll also see him doing more commercial work in the not too distant future (Frye was a commercial rock star in Japan).

There are a lot of other fighters, that could be considered “pioneers” that also could have made this list, however, I chose these fighters on the merit of their names and my personal interest in them. Some have fallen and some have just quietly faded into the background, but one trend is glaringly evident across all of these fighters – once a fighter, always a fighter!

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