Me: I need to sleep. pls.

Brain: Hey who are the biggest Dragon Ball fans in MMA? How many can you name?

Me: ok let's do this

#DBZ #MMA #UFC

#1 Carlos Newton was an early pioneer of MMA. He is the former UFC Welterweight champion & also had an amazing run in Pride FC. Newton was a HUGE DBZ fan and dubbed his fighting style “Dragon Ball Jiujitsu!” He would even do the Kamehameha as his victory celebration!
#DBZ #MMA

Newton gets first billing here because he's the first fighter I remember who referenced DBZ so proudly and directly. DBZ didn't start airing on Toonami until 1998 but by then Newton was already lobbing Ki Blasts in front of packed stadiums of fight fans!

I remember being so blown away that a North American fighter (and a very very good one to boot!) even knew what Dragon Ball was. This was before it was cool to be a nerd in the Anglosphere, so it was especially cool.

Next up is women's MMA superstar Ronda Rousey. She was the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in Judo (bronze, 2008). She was one of the most dominant fighters of her era and was champ in Strikeforce and UFC. At her peak she had a 12 fight unbeaten win streak!

Ronda Rousey is a humongous DBZ fan and used to rush home from school to record the show on VHS so she could watch it over and over. She had a childhood crush on Vegeta and is not shy to admit that she would totally (big) bang him

Ronda Rousey is also a big fan of Pokemon. She's logged hundreds of hours into the games and even moderated a Pokemon forum! Her fav Pokemon is Mew.

Source:
https://www.businessinsider.com/ufc-champ-ronda-rousey-loves-pokmon-2015-8

#MMA #Pokemon

Bonus: here is a photo of Ronda Rousey cosplaying as Sailor Moon.

Next up, former UFC featherweight fighter Marcus Brimage! He credits DBZ as one of his major inspirations for getting into martial arts and would do weigh-ins, interviews and walk outs with a scouter!

Here's a fun interview with Marcus Brimage where he lists his fav fights from Dragon Ball.



#DBZ

You can follow Marcus Brimage on Twitter @Brim205 (look at that awesome profile pic!) and please root for him in his upcoming Bare Knuckle Boxing debut in June!
#DBZ #BareKnuckle

Another notable Dragon Ball fan from the world of MMA is Angela "Overkill" Hill ( @AngieOverkill) one of the coolest fighters in the UFC. Here she is also brandishing a scouter! https://twitter.com/AngieOverkill/status/861688960099024896?s=19

Angela Hill ( @AngieOverkill) was an undefeated pro kickboxer, the Invicta straw weight champion and currently competes in the UFC where she always brandishes some awesome cosplay during her weigh ins!
#MMA #StreetFighter #AfroSamurai

Before becoming a pro fighter Angela Hill received a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Cooper Union (one of the most selective and prestigious colleges in America) and worked as a pro animator! Hey @AngieOverkill can we see your old animations anywhere?