Emanuel Yarbrough Dies; World's Largest Athlete Was 51

UFC 3 fighter Emanuel Yarbrough has died. Dubbed the world’s largest athlete, he passed away Monday, December 21, at age 51.

"The UFC sends its sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Emanuel Yarbrough," officials from the organization said.

He passed away in Richmond, Virginia, though the cause of death has not been revealed. His manager also said in a statement:

"Emanuel’s passion was to travel. Even though it was not an easy task for him, it never stopped him from following his dreams."

"He was to be the subject of a new reality show," the manager added.

Yarbrough "would have continued to bring smiles to all those who had the opportunity to be blessed by his infectious, compassionate, loving presence."

"He will be missed by his millions of fans around the world, friends and family. Emanuel constantly demonstrated the need to help the obese, particularly children."

"And he traveled the world to bring awareness to obesity."

Yarbrough was named by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest living athlete at 6’8" and over 800 pounds.

Prior to joining the UFC, he dabbled in other sports such as football and ventured into sumo wrestling among other pursuits.

Yarbrough joined UFC in its early days before it was a global juggernaut, losing in the third ever Ultimate Fighting Championship match. 

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