To be successful in mixed martial arts nowadays, you need an all-around game. But 30 years ago, when the Ultimate Fighting Championship started, there weren’t many well-rounded fighters. The earliest competitors were grapplers or strikers but almost never both. Then came Guy Mezger.
Having gone to college on a wrestling scholarship and competed in judo, Mezger certainly could grapple. But he was also a pro kickboxer who was ranked as high as No. 1 by some organizations when he stepped into the cage for the first time as an alternate back at UFC 4. It was the beginning of a life-changing experience for someone who said he never really liked to fight but was just good at it.
Mezger came from a difficult background: He grew up poor with an often-abusive father. “We weren’t
