The Man With the Most Famous Neck on the Internet is Set to Make His Professional MMA Debut…
When we think of fighters using their image to get famous, we naturally think of female competitors like Paige VanZant and Michelle Waterson. While these women are absolutely vicious in the octagon, they’re also not afraid to use their image outside of it to help get a promotional push and gain fans.
Charles Dion McDowell has become famous for a part of his body – but in a very unexpected way. Known as the ‘Wide Neck Guy’ on the internet, McDowell’s mugshot went viral after he was arrested. Basically, he has a neck that would make a rhinoceros envious. That’s no disrespect, it’s the truth.
Now it looks like he’s set to make his MMA debut for Island Fights, after announcing that he is set to fight for the promotion. Check out some of his training below. What do you think?
https://twitter.com/DamnWideNeck/status/1068774854759989248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1068774854759989248&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fritely.com%2Fwide-neck-mma-debut%2F
Smoke
The footage above comes with the caption ‘Who want the smoke’. McDowell is practising a right, hook, right combination, and appears to be tagging the pads with venom. They aren’t the fastest punches we’ve ever seen, but you wouldn’t want to get hit by him either.
We’ve got no idea what weight he’ll be fighting at when he eventually does make his debut, but it will be very interesting to watch his burgeoning MMA career. Island Fights is one of the biggest promotions in Florida. They host hybrid MMA and boxing events with a mixture of professional and amateur bouts on their cards. This hybrid model could become the norm as MMA becomes increasingly mainstream and boxing declines.
Confirmed
McDowell confirmed that he had signed for the promotion by posting the Instagram image that you can see above, where he is holding one of Island Fights’ belts. CEO Dean Toole is allowing him to train at their flagship facility in Pensacola to allow him to develop his MMA skills. McDowell wrote:
“For all you people that didn’t know, I’ve been training MMA and will be making my Debut real soon!”
It’s unknown who he’ll be fighting, but you can see how regional promotions, like KSW in Poland, are trying to make ‘marquee’ signings to draw in audiences from around the world. The Poles signed former bodybuilder Martyn Ford to draw in fans looking for a freakshow fight, and now Island Fights are doing something similar.
https://twitter.com/DamnWideNeck/status/1069660557899415552
Necktastic
After his mugshot went viral, McDowell’s mugshot was used for many memes like the one above. He was initially wanted by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office on drug-related charges and for evading arrest. Now he’s been offered an opportunity to change his life. A promoter for Island Fights said:
“He hasn’t made some of the best choices in life in his past so maybe something like this will be a good step in the right direction toward something positive. Even if he doesn’t compete maybe this will all work out for the better for him and he won’t make those same choices again.”
At least he won’t have to worry about getting rear-naked choked.
