MMA Legend Once ‘Choked Out’ Russia’s Special Envoy to the U.S. for a Humbling Experience

MMA is a lot bigger than what it used to be back in the day. While there have been many additions and upgrades to the game and its players, the biggest one is the popularity of the UFC. But two men stand out in helping build this sport into the way it is today. And the fascinating thing is that they never pursued the sport as a career either. The two legends are none other than Muhammad Ali, and Antonio Inoki, but one other legend, who made his impact known was Gene LeBell.

But the two don’t compare to the legend in LeBell. He was not just an amazing wrestler, but also brought Grappling into the sport, along with being a martial artist and a successful stunt actor. For this reason, people dubbed him the ‘Godfather of Grappling’. He has worked in over 1.000 films as a stunt actor. One of his most interesting stories involves another actor who delved into politics and became Russia’s special envoy, Steven Seagal.

Former WWE executive narrates a story about Gene LeBell who helped the MMA industry grow alongside Antonio Inoki and Muhammad Ali

When a fan asked the former WWE VP, Bruce Prichard, to tell a story about the late Gene LeBell, he obliged. He said, “So I met Gene LeBell maybe once or twice in my life. Didn’t know Gene well. Heard plenty of stories from Roddy Piper about Gene LeBell and my brother about Gene LeBell and others that knew Gene. Double tough son of a b**ch. A hell of a character. And I heard from someone that was on the set with the whole Steven Seagal thing that you know, Seagal was just bragging about nobody.”

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“Nobody could take him down. Nobody could choke him out by God with his Aikido crap. Yeah, I met Seagal one time out in LA. And he was an arrogant, arrogant guy. Big guy. But Gene LeBell was like yeah, Nah, man. You know, I think I can pretty much choke you out, take you down, or whatever the hell it was. And he laughed at it. Gene choked him out.”

While Gene redefined the sport of MMA, Ali and Inoki popularized it. The two competed in one of the biggest MMA matches in the history of the sport, which led to its popularity spiking around the world. When LeBell died, earlier this year, people were praising Inoki for his work for the MMA fighters and industry.

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We hope that the great wrestler is resting in peace and our condolences to LeBell’s friends and family.