The MMA Mental Hall of Fame: Andy Wang
Filed Under (MMA) by admin on 21-01-2009
Tagged Under : Andy Wang, MMA Mental Hall of Fame
He is certainly not a first-ballot MMA Mental Hall of Famer like some of the nefarious characters that have stepped into the octagon. In fact, Andy Wang doesn’t even seem like a particularly bad guy, not even close to the worst human being to appear on The Ultimate Fighter reality show.
But his time on TUF did give “The Yellow Peril” (a nickname that helped cement his induction into this hallowed hall) the opportunity to make a deep and lasting impression with mixed martial arts fans, one that will not be forgotten any time soon.
While appearing on the show’s fifth season, which featured B.J. Penn’s team against Jens Pulver’s, Wang (fighting for Penn’s team) lost in his first match against Gilbert Melendez. Despite being renowned as having arguably the best ground game in the house, and having affirmed a pre-fight plan with B.J. Penn to utilize his jiu jitsu and ground skills in the fight, Wang proceeded to stand and box for the entire match despite a massive reach disadvantage. He was handled easily by his taller opponent and his tournament was over.
Had the antics ended there, we would not be talking about Andy Wang today. But following the loss, he slumped in the corner and sobbed and wailed loudly, being eventually helped out of the octagon with a towel over his head. Again, crying after a loss is not a fatal error. It has happened to some of the greats in MMA. But Andy Wang was unfortunate that B.J. Penn (the future UFC lightweight champion) was able to do a pretty comical impression of his sobs, one that resonates with fans today as one of the funniest moments in Ultimate Fighter history.
Indeed, any time a fighter loses control of his emotions, fans often refer to the fighter as having “Wanged himself.”
The antics continued when B.J. Penn kicked Wang off his team for disregarding their mutually agreed fight strategy. When opposing coach Jens Pulver opened his arms to welcome Wang onto his own team, Wang then hemmed and hawed and refused to put on the new coach’s jersey, drawing the ire of UFC president Dana White. Wang was ultimately pressured into joining the new team, where he finished the remainder of the season without incident.
He lost to Cole Miller in the season finale, and as of 2007, sports a 5-7 career mixed martial arts record.