Gene LeBell, a man who is widely credited for making grappling a popular discipline in combat sports, died at age 89.
Lebell was a beloved figure in the martial arts world, and his reach extended to multiple arenas, including judo, mixed martial arts, professional wrestling and as a Hollywood stuntman. He won won the heavyweight and overall Amateur Athletic Union National Judo Championships in 1954 and 1955 before eventually transitioning to professional wrestling.
In more recent years, he become known for being in the corner of former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. However, the list of people he has trained with includes luminaries from multiple walks of life, such as Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and Roddy Piper, to name a few. Other notables who trained under Lebell include Gokor Chivichyan, Karo Parisyan and Manny Gamburyan.
Lebell appeared in more than 1,000 movies and authored 12 books. He also served as the inspiration for the Cliff Booth character played by Brad Pitt in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
Former UFC champion and Pancrase star Bas Rutten paid tribute to Lebell on Facebook while referencing an incident in which “The Godfather of Grappling” allegedly choked out Steven Seagal on the set of a movie.
“The great Gene LeBell, toughest man I know, has passed away and left us at the age of 89,” Rutten wrote.
“…We all heard the crazy stories, about Seagal, and that he was the first guy to fight MMA in a match against the Boxer Milo Savage in 1963 (I wasn't even born), still pulling wheelies on his motor cycle when he was like 84 years old and if you go online, you find thousand more stories. I have always loved Gene, every single person I know loves Gene, and I am proud to say that we always had fun when we met, always cracking jokes.”
The aforementioned bout with Savage is the lone bout listed on Lebell’s MMA resume, when he defeated the professional boxer with a choke in the fourth round of their fight on Dec. 2, 1963. It is believed to be the first true mixed martial arts bout.
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