The date was September 24, 2001, less than two weeks after the attacks.

Don Frye was set to fight Gilbert Yvel in Japan, as part of Pride 16, but his heart was with the people of New York and all the other victms.

He entered the arena holding a masted American flag and a t-shirt that read Terrorists Sucks in the front and Air Force in the back.

There were no smiles and he went into the ring and did his job.

The GRACIEMAG team gives a little help with five suggestions:

Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, Pride 21, 2002

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df5Z-3cIMNA

Melvin Manhoef vs. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos, Cage Rage 15, 2006

Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann, UFC on Fuel TV, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hoaa36dvidY

Mauricio Shogun vs. Antonio Rogério Nogeuira, Pride GP, 2005

Artur Mariano vs. Wanderlei Silva, IVC 2, 1997

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsjwqxjpDoo

Fry did take it to Ruben “Warpath” Villareal early on, but 2:30 minutes into the opening round he succumbed to a knockout, making it the 46-year-old’s second loss in a row.

Click here to watch.

Frye até botou uma pressão no começo da luta contra Ruben “Warpath” Villareal, mas aos 2min30s do primeiro round acabou nocauteado. A fera está com 46 anos de idade e sofreu o segundo revés seguido.

Clique aqui e confira.

The champion of UFC 8 and former wrestler now 45 years old fits the bill of burly bandit or policeman perfectly, like in the movie Public Enemies, where he, a black-hat wearing FBI agent, helps catch a bank robber played by Johnny Depp.

Check out an assortment of scenes featuring Frye in the movies.

Campeão do UFC 8, hoje com 45 anos, o ex-wrestler convence na pele de bandidões ou policiais cascas-grossas, como no filme “Inimigos públicos”, onde ele, um veterano do FBI de chapelão e tudo, ajuda a capturar o assaltante de bancos Johnny Depp.

Confira um apanhado das cenas de Frye no cinema.

Don Frye se despediu dos ringues. Foto: divulgação

“Eu estou muito certo para desistir do MMA. Cansei de receber cheques sem fundo, de mentiras de promotores. Estou cheio disso. Apesar de ter vontade de lutar, cansei de ser ludibriado”, anunciou ao MMAWeekly.

O lutador, que vivenciou toda a explosão do MMA pelo mundo, chega ao fim da carreira com um cartel de 20 vitórias, oito derrotas e um empate. A última apresentação foi em setembro deste ano, na derrota para Dave Herman, no Shark Fights.

Ultimamente o bigodudo, que muito lembra o Magnum, personagem interpretado por Tom Selleck, investe na carreira na TV e cinema. Além de participar da campanha publicitária do aparelho blackberry da AT&T, estrelou na telinha em Miami Vice e Public Enemies, numa parceira com o diretor Michael Mann.

(Colaborou, Junior Samurai)

Don Frye has bid farewell to the ring. Photo: Publicity

At 44 years of age, Don Frye announces his retirement from the ring. The fighter who was a major figure during the early days of UFC and Pride, and beat such key players as Amaury Bitetti, Gilbert Yvel and Ken Shamrock, has hung up his gloves definitively.

“I’m pretty much quitting MMA. I’m tired of getting paid with bounced checks, getting lied to by promoters. I’m sick of it,” he told MMAWeekly.

The fighter, who lived through MMA’s worldwide explosion, ends his career with 20 wins, 8 losses and one draw. His last appearance was in his loss to Dave Herman in September of this year, at Shark Fights.

Lately the Tom Selleck look-alike has had a good run in the movies and on tv, recently featuring in the Blackberry advertising campaign and on Miami Vice and Public Enemies on TV, all in partnership with director Michael Mann.

(Collaborator Junior Samurai)