Early life

Esch was born in Bay City, Michigan and raised in Jasper, Alabama. He had a difficult childhood; his mother died when he was eight years old, and he was frequently bullied at school for being overweight. While decking floors for manufactured homes at the Southern Energy Homes plant in Addison, Alabama, his colleagues dared him to enter a local Toughman Contest. He went on to win the tournament and begin his career in fight sports.

Career

Boxing career; "King of the 4 Rounders" (1994-2002)

Esch began his fighting career on the Toughman Contest scene in Texarkana, Arkansas in the early 1990s and went on to become a five-time World Toughman Heavyweight Champion with a record of 56-5 with 36 knockouts. He received the nickname "Butterbean" when he was forced to go on a diet (consisting mostly of chicken and butterbeans) in order to meet the Toughman 400 pound (181 kg) weight limit.

He made his professional boxing debut on October 15, 1994, beating Tim Daniels by decision in Birmingham, Alabama. He soon developed a cult following and became known as "King of the 4 Rounders". Speaking of his popularity in a 2008 interview with BoxingInsider, Esch stated:

“

"It took off pretty quick, my second pro fight was on national TV—it don't happen like that, normally you get 15, 20 fights and then you get a TV fight unless you’re very fortunate. Tyson, his second pro fight wasn’t on TV. He probably had five or six, seven fights before he got on TV. Me, my second pro fight was televised, it was on a Jed Hearns undercard. Then a couple more fights and I’m on TV again, and every fight since then was televised. It just don't happen like that. I've probably had more televised fights than any world champion out there."

”

Esch ran up an impressive string of wins, mostly by knockout, before being stopped in two rounds by Mitchell Rose on December 15, 1995. Butterbean took the loss with a shrug of his shoulders and went on the road, barnstorming around the United States and winning fifty-one consecutive matches, with his best win coming against Peter McNeeley. While the majority of his opponents were technically limited club-level fighters early in his career, he did move up the ranks to win the IBA Super Heavyweight Championship on April 12, 1997 with a second round technical knockout of Ed White at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. He made five successful title defences before relinquishing his championship in 2000.

Butterbean appeared twice in World Wrestling Federation professional wrestling events, competing in boxing matches both times. On December 7, 1997 at the D-Generation X: In Your House pay-per-view event, he defeated former Golden Gloves champion Marc Mero via disqualification in a worked match. 15 months later, Butterbean defeated WWF Brawl For All champion Bart Gunn in a legitimate shootfight at WrestleMania XV on March 28, 1999, knocking his opponent out in 34 seconds.

After his five-year winning streak was brought to an end with a majority decision defeat by non-script heavyweight Billy Zumbrun in August 2001, he fought his first ten rounder against fifty-two-year-old former world heavyweight champion Larry Holmes at the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia on July 27, 2002. While Holmes won a unanimous decision, Esch was credited with a controversial knockdown in the final round. Holmes fought a fight on points, playing on his reach advantage, wary of Butterbean's knockout punch. This was one of only three fights in a 109 fight career that was scheduled for more than four rounds.

K-1 (2003-2005)

Butterbean ventured into the sport of kickboxing in 2003 when he was recruited by K-1 and debuted with a first round knockout of Yusuke Fujimoto at K-1 Beast II 2003 in Saitama, Japan on June 29, 2003. K-1 was then keen to match him up with Ernesto Hoost, but he declined to take the fight on the advice of a friend who warned him of the Dutchman's kickboxing prowess. He instead faced Mike Bernardo in a non-tournament bout at the K-1 Survival 2003 Japan Grand Prix Final in Yokohama, Japan on September 21, 2003. He was floored twice with low kicks in the first round before being finished with a high kick in the second.

In his first mixed martial arts bout, Eric Esch took on Genki Sudo in an openweight affair at K-1 PREMIUM 2003 Dynamite!! in Nagoya, Japan on December 31, 2003. Despite having a 110 kg/242 lb weight advantage over his foe, Butterbean was unable to capitalize as Sudo was unwilling to exchange strikes. "The Neo-Samurai" took Butterbean to the mat with a low, single-leg takedown at the end of round one and attempted a leglock only to be halted by the bell signaling the end of the round, which had been a stalemate up until then. Early in round two, the fighters tumbled to the ground after Sudo attempted a dropkick on Esch, and the Japanese grappling ace took full advantage of the American boxer's lack of grappling skill by securing a heel hook submission at the 0:41 mark.

Returning to the kickboxing ring at K-1 Beast 2004 in Niigata on March 14, 2004, Butterbean lost a unanimous decision to Hiromi Amada as Amada peppered him with low kicks while Esch did little more than taunt his opponent throughout the match. He was scheduled to fight Bob Sapp soon afterwards, but claims that Sapp's management withdrew their fighter after discovering that Amada had needed hospital treatment after his bout with Esch. Butterbean lost his third consecutive K-1 match at K-1 Beast 2004 in Shizuoka on June 26, 2004, losing to 225 cm/7'5" giant Montanha Silva by unanimous decision.

Competing in the eight man tournament at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Hawaii in Honolulu on July 29, 2005, Esch put an end to his losing streak when he scored a third round standing eight count en route to a unanimous decision victory over 150 kg/330 lb brawler Marcus Royster in the quarter-finals. Despite the win, Butterbean sustained an injury to his left leg during the fight and could not continue and so Royster was entered back into the tournament in his place.

Pride Fighting Championships (2006-2007)

Having lost his MMA debut to Genki Sudo, Esch stuck with the sport and regrouped, going 6-0-1 in appearances in King of the Cage, Gracie Fightfest, and Rumble on the Rock which included a TKO stoppage of Wesley "Cabbage" Correira at Rumble on the Rock 8 in Honolulu on January 20, 2006 in a fight which took place under special rules, ground fighting being limited to fifteen seconds per instance regardless of the situation. He returned to Japan with the Pride Fighting Championships on August 26, 2006 to compete at Pride Bushido 12 in Nagoya against Ikuhisa Minowa, a shoot wrestler known for his willingness to face much larger opponents, to whom he lost via armbar submission at 4:25 of round one.

Butterbean was set to fight Mark Hunt at the promotion's first North American show, Pride 32 in Las Vegas on October 21, 2006 but the Nevada State Athletic Commission would not allow the match-up as they argued that Hunt's wins over Wanderlei Silva and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović gave him an unfair mat advantage. Pride had stated that "visa issues" were preventing Hunt from competing in the bout, but it was later confirmed that Hunt could not compete due to the NSAC's ruling. Pro wrestler Sean O'Haire stepped in as Hunt's replacement and Eric Esch TKO'd him in under thirty seconds.

Departing Pride briefly to compete in Cage Rage, Eric Esch submitted to strikes from Rob Broughton in the second round of their contest at Cage Rage 19 in London, England on December 9, 2006. He then rebounded with a forty-three second knockout of James Thompson at Cage Rage 20 on February 10, 2007.

Butterbean returned to Pride for the promotion's last ever event, Pride 34 in Saitama on April 8, 2007, where he faced Zuluzinho in a bout where both men weighed in at 184.6/407 lb (although the Brazilian was 20 cm/8 in taller). Both fighters came out swinging before Zuluzinho scored a takedown. Esch reversed him, landing several hammer shots before finally submitting Zuluzinho with a key lock at 2:35 of the opening stanza.

Later career (2007-present)

Butterbean's next fight was on July 14, 2007 against reigning Cage Rage World Heavyweight Champion Tengiz Tedoradze in a non-title bout at Cage Rage 25, losing via TKO. Global Fighting Championships had scheduled a main event bout between Esch and Ruben Villareal for their inaugural event, but the event was canceled when half the scheduled matchups could not take place due to medical issues (Esch vs. Villareal was the only viable main event). He was then set to fight Jimmy Ambriz as the main event of Xcess Fighting's debut card, but was a no show for the weigh-in citing scheduling conflicts.

Esch made a brief return to K-1 to fight at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Hawaii on August 9, 2008, rematching Wesley Correira in the quarter-finals and losing via a second round high kick KO.

Esch lost via 1st round KO for the EBF title against Mark Potter at the Syndicte Nightclub in Blackpool, England on the September 14, 2008. This fight has not been recorded on boxrec.com or any other site of the same nature, as Potter was not licensed at the time.

Butterbean made his independent wrestling debut at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham, Alabama on March 28, 2009 at the ImagiCon horror movie, sci-fi movie, and comic book convention and was victorious against rapper/professional wrestler/film maker/actor Anthony "One Man Kru" Sanners via pinfall after smashing him with a vicious 400 lb. elbow drop. Butterbean won the Pro Wrestling Syndicate Heavyweight Championship on May 29, 2009 after defeating Trent Acid. Butterbean lost the belt to Kevin Matthews on May 8, 2010 in White Plains, New York.

In his final kickboxing match at Moosin II in Seoul, South Korea on July 29, 2009, Esch KO'd Moon-Bi Lam forty-six seconds into round one.

On October 3, 2009 Esch lost a four round split decision to Harry Funmaker whom he earlier beat on two occasions. After the bout he announced his retirement. He seemingly changed his mind, however, and soon returned to competition.

On September 18, 2010, Esch was defeated by Mariusz Pudzianowski by submission due to strikes at KSW XIV in Łódź, Poland. After several exchanges of strikes on the feet, Pudzianowski attacked and took Esch down, proceeding to throw numerous punches from side control in a ground-and-pound attack. Esch, unable to get to his feet, submitted at just 1:15 into the first round.

Esch next took on up-and-coming super heavyweight Deon West at the LFC 43: Wild ThangMMA internet pay-per-view on October 12, 2010. After a heated contest, Deon did not rise for the third round. Butterbean humbled Deon West via TKO at 5:00 of round two.

On April 1, 2011, Butterbean returned to pro wrestling and teamed with his Walker County Sheriff Deputy partner Adam Hadder to take on Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake and One Man Kru in a tag-team match at the Battle Against Drugs charity benefit which was taped for Butterbean's reality show Big Law. He appeared in February 2012 at Wrestlerama in Georgetown, Guyana where on entering the ring he told the crowd Guyana is his second home and was booed off because he mispronounced Guyana.

Butterbean defeated Dean Storey at Elite 1 MMA: High Voltage on May 7, 2011 in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada to claim the promotions super heavyweight title. He knocked out Storey 24 seconds into the 2nd round.

Media appearances

Big Law: Deputy Butterbean

Esch is a reserve deputy sheriff in his hometown of Jasper, Alabama, and starred in the reality television documentary entitled Big Law: Deputy Butterbean, which debuted on the Investigation Discovery channel in August 2011. He described the genesis of the show:

"They came to me wanting to do a reality documentary on my restaurant and I was in the process of closing my restaurant down. I said 'If you want something interesting and fun to watch, follow us on our drug busts in the sheriff's department.' They agreed people would be interested in this. "They started following us, filming it and documenting us actually making the busts. You arrest somebody and say 'Look, if you don't want to go to jail you've got to help us bust a bigger guy.' We make a bigger bust from that. The whole goal is to get people on file and lessen the number of criminals on the streets."

Esch hoped the show would help the cause of law enforcement:

"I think this show is going to prove that people really care about the communities they lived in. There's going to be more people calling (the police station) saying 'Hey, this guy is doing this crime. You should look into it.' We want people to step forward and help the police clean up our communities."

The show was not renewed for a second season.

Film

Butterbean appeared in the film Jackass: The Movie (2002), in a public stunt; an arranged fight with Johnny Knoxville in a department store. After the fight began, Knoxville fell, got up, was asked by Butterbean to hit him at least once. Knoxville did so, was easily knocked to the floor by Esch, and received several stitches in his head after the encounter (the camera catches Knoxville snoring). Waking confused, Knoxville asked if butterbean survived the fight. Knoxville stated that Esch is actually quite friendly outside of the ring, despite his fearsome ringside demeanor.

Butterbean also appeared in the film Chairman of the Board (1998) as the Museum Security Guard with the "chia hair", a fact that is pointed out on the DVD commentary by the movie's star Scott "Carrot Top" Thompson.

Television

Butterbean appeared on Adult Swim's Squidbillies, where he sang the national anthem, finally beating up a fan for not taking off his hat.

Butterbean appeared on CMT's Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling television show, on Team Beefcake.

Butterbean was referenced on NBC's Parenthood (2010). The episode, which aired on October 5, 2010, was entitled "Date Night".

In June 2013, Butterbean was interviewed in Australia on Fox Sports programme, Monday Nights with Matty Johns.

Butterbean appeared on TruTV's Friends of the People in a sketch as "Dr. Butterbean", using his sweet science boxing skills as an anesthesiologist. The Season 2 Episode 7 was entitled "Great White Haters".

Radio

On July 16, 2005, Butterbean fought Dominic Dieter of Rover's Morning Glory, in downtown Cleveland, Ohio in a bout billed as "War on the Shore".

Video games

Butterbean was featured on the cover of, and was the final boss character in, the EA Sports game Toughman Contest, released in 1995 for the Sega Genesis and Sega 32X. He also appeared as a playable character in all of the EA Sports boxing video games in the Knockout Kings series, and was featured in Fight Night Champion. In the 2007 PC game The Witcher, the main character can challenge a tavern fistfighter by the name of Butter Bean during the second chapter of the game. Butter Bean has a body structure similar to that of Esch. Butterbean is a playable fighter in EA's fifth installment of the Fight Night series Fight Night Champion.

Personal life

Eric Esch is married and has three children: sons Brandon (born July 16, 1985) and Caleb (born September 3, 1988), who are both mixed martial artists, and daughter Grace.

Championships and awards

Boxing

• International Boxing Association
  • IBA World Super Heavyweight (+95.2 kg/210 lb) Championship (One time)
• World Athletic Association
  • WAA World Heavyweight (+90.7 kg/200 lb) Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts

• Elite-1 MMA
  • Elite-1 MMA Super Heavyweight (+120.2 kg/265 lb) Championship (One time)

Professional wrestling

• Pro Wrestling Syndicate
  • Pro Wrestling Syndicate Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• World Wrestling Federation
  • WWF Brawl For All Finale Winner (knocked out Bart Gunn in 35 seconds as well)

Boxing record

77 Wins (58 knockouts, 19 decisions), 10 Losses (2 knockouts, 8 decisions), 4 Draws
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss		Kirk Lawton
Loss		Curt Allan
Loss		Harry Funmaker
Win		Joe Siciliano
Win		Joaquin Garcia
Win		Ed White
Win		Daniel White
Loss		Baden Oui
Loss		George Linberger
Loss		Kenny Craven
Win		Rick Zufall
Loss		Kenny Craven
Win		Kenny Craven
Win		Brian McIntyre
Win		Richie Goosehead
Win		Salvador Farnetti
Win		Marcelo Aravena
Win		Rodney Phillips
Win		Troy Roberts
Draw		Lewis Gilbert
Loss		Larry Holmes
Win		Craig Wolfley
Win		Kevin Tallon
Loss		Billy Zumbrun
Win		Shane Woollas
Win		Tyrone Muex
Draw		Abdul Muhaymin
Win		Harry Funmaker
Win		Marcus Rhode
Win		Dan Kosmicki
Win		Kerry Biles
Win		Bill Johnson
Win		Dan Kosmicki
Win		George Linberger
Win		Kevin Tallon
Win		Tim Ray
Win		Allen Smith
Win		Melvin Lumzy
Win		George Chamberlain
Win		Kenny Craven
Draw		Jason Farley
Win		Tim Burgoon
Win		Peter McNeeley
Win		Russell Chasteen
Win		Jason Hurley
Win		Roy Bedwell
Win		Kevin Tallon
Win		Patrick Graham
Win		Troy Roberts
Win		Tim Pollard
Win		Billy Eaton
Win		Warrant Williams
Win		Harry Funmaker
Win		Doug Phillips
Win		Ken Woods
Draw		Billy Eaton
Win		Enrique Ruiz
Win		Scott Lindecker
Win		Jason Farley
Win		Bill Duncan
Win		Ed White
Win		Sean Jegen
Win		Ken Woods
Win		Nick Phillips
Win		Curt Allan
Win		Sean Jegen
Win		William Harris
Win		George Clarke
Win		Jonathan Whitfield
Win		Richard Davis
Win		Jack Ramsey
Win		James Baker
Win		Billy McDonald
Win		Joe Wiggins
Win		Tim Ray
Loss		Mitchell Rose
Win		Louis Monaco
Win		Pat Jackson
Win		Kenneth Myers
Win		Anthony Hunt
Win		Adam Sutton
Win		Paul Springer
Win		Doug Norris
Win		Rogelio Ramirez
Win		James Robinson
Win		Jerry Michelson
Win		Alvin Ellis
Win		Juan Ramon Perez
Win		Ed Barry
Win		Doug Norris
Win		Tim Daniels

Kickboxing record

Kickboxing record

3 wins (2 KOs), 4 losses, 0 draws Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time Record 2009-07-29 Win Moon Bo-Lam Moosin II Seoul, South Korea KO (right hook) 1 0:46 3-4 2008-08-09 Loss Wesley Correira K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Hawaii, Quarter Finals Honolulu, Hawaii, USA KO (left high kick) 2 0:53 2-4 2005-07-29 Win Marcus Royster K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Hawaii, Quarter Finals Honolulu, Hawaii, USA Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00 2-3 2004-06-26 Loss Montanha Silva K-1 Beast 2004 in Shizuoka Shizuoka, Japan Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00 1-3 2004-03-14 Loss Hiromi Amada K-1 Beast 2004 in Niigata Niigata, Japan Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00 1-2 2003-09-21 Loss Mike Bernardo K-1 Survival 2003 Japan Grand Prix Final Yokohama, Japan KO (right high kick) 2 1:01 1-1 2003-06-29 Win Yusuke Fujimoto K-1 Beast II 2003 Saitama, Japan KO (left hook) 1 1:02 1-0 Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest Notes

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
28 matches	17 wins	10 losses
By knockout	7	1
By submission	10	9
Draws	1

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	17-10-1	Sandy Bowman	Submission (punches)	Prestige Fighting Championship 3	000000002011-10-21-0000October 21, 2011	1	0:54	Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada
Loss	17-9-1	Eric Barrak	Submission (guillotine choke)	Instinct MMA 1	000000002011-10-07-0000October 7, 2011	3	2:56	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Win	17-8-1	Dean Storey	TKO (punches)	Elite-1 MMA: Moncton	000000002011-05-07-0000May 7, 2011	2	0:20	Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
Win	16-8-1	Deon West	TKO (punches)	LFC 43: Wild Thang	000000002010-12-10-0000December 10, 2010	2	5:00	Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Loss	15-8-1	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Submission (punches)	KSW 14: Judgment Day	000000002010-09-18-0000September 18, 2010	1	1:15	Lódz, Poland
Loss	15-7-1	Jeff Kugel	Submission (punches)	Xtreme Cagefighting Championship 46: Beatdown at the Ballroom 9	000000002010-03-06-0000March 6, 2010	1	0:40	Mount Clemens, Michigan, United States
Win	15-6-1	Chris Cruit	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Moosin: God of Martial Arts	000000002009-12-11-0000December 11, 2009	1	1:38	Birmingham, Alabama, United States
Win	14-6-1	Tom Howard	Submission (neck crank)	Extreme Cage Fighting	000000002009-09-09-0000September 9, 2009	1	1:40	Laredo, Texas, United States
Win	13-6-1	Jefferson Hook	TKO (punches)	Lockdown in Lowell	000000002009-06-26-0000June 26, 2009	1	?:??	Lowell, Massachusetts, United States
Loss	12-6-1	Pat Smith	Submission (punches)	YAMMA Pit Fighting	000000002008-04-11-0000April 11, 2008	1	3:17	Atlantic City, New Jersey. United States
Loss	12-5-1	Nick Penner	Submission (kimura)	The Fight Club: First Blood	000000002007-12-28-0000December 28, 2007	1	2:28	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Win	12-4-1	Tom Howard	Submission (armlock)	The Final Chapter MMA	000000002007-12-01-0000December 1, 2007	1	4:47	Jasper, Alabama, United States
Win	11-4-1	Pete Sischo	Submission (americana)	Combat Warfare X	000000002007-10-13-0000October 13, 2007	3	2:35	United States
Loss	10-4-1	Tengiz Tedoradze	TKO (punches)	Cage Rage 22	000000002007-07-14-0000July 14, 2007	1	4:26	London, England
Win	10-3-1	Zuluzinho	Submission (americana)	Pride 34	000000002007-04-08-0000April 8, 2007	1	2:35	Saitama, Japan
Win	9-3-1	James Thompson	KO (punches)	Cage Rage 20	000000002007-02-10-0000February 10, 2007	1	0:43	London, England
Win	8-3-1	Charles Hodges	KO (punch)	Palace Fighting Championship: King of the Ring	000000002007-01-18-0000January 18, 2007	1	0:45	Lemoore, California, United States
Loss	7-3-1	Rob Broughton	Submission (punches)	Cage Rage 19	000000002006-12-09-0000December 9, 2006	2	3:43	London, England
Win	7-2-1	Sean O'Haire	KO (punches)	Pride 32 - The Real Deal	000000002006-10-21-0000October 21, 2006	1	0:29	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss	6-2-1	Ikuhisa Minowa	Submission (armbar)	Pride - Bushido 12	000000002006-08-26-0000August 26, 2006	1	4:25	Nagoya, Japan
Win	6-1-1	Rich Weeks	Submission (choke)	Fightfest 5: Korea vs. USA	000000002006-07-15-0000July 15, 2006	1	1:29	McAllen, Texas, United States
Win	5-1-1	Matt Eckerle	Submission (punches)	Fightfest 4	000000002006-05-20-0000May 20, 2006	1	0:56	Corpus Christi, Texas, United States
Win	4-1-1	Aaron Aguilera	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Rumble on the Rock 9	000000002006-04-21-0000April 21, 2006	2	1:15	Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Win	3-1-1	Leo Sylvest	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Fightfest 2: Global Domination	000000002006-04-14-0000April 14, 2006	1	0:35	Canton, Ohio, United States
Win	2-1-1	Wesley Correira	TKO (doctor stoppage)	Rumble on the Rock 8	000000002006-01-20-0000January 20, 2006	2	5:00	Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Win	1-1-1	Walley Keenboom	Submission	Fightfest 1: Royce Gracie Fightfest	000000002005-12-09-0000December 9, 2005	1	2:37	Evansville, Indiana, United States
Draw	0-1-1	Michael Buchkovich	Draw	KOTC 48: Payback	000000002005-02-25-0000February 25, 2005	2	5:00	Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Loss	0-1	Genki Sudo	Submission (heel hook)	K-1 PREMIUM 2003 Dynamite!!	000000002003-12-31-0000December 31, 2003	2	0:41	Nagoya, Japan

[ Source: Wikipedia ]