MMA fighters who had legal trouble

"Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn't"

What truth was Mark Twain alluding to? The truth that the mastery to build the Taj Mahal and bless the world with the polio vaccine, is born in the same place that drove Hitler to want to annihilate an entire race; the human mind? You have to admit, it could be.

We will never fully fathom what could possess a person to take a life. Some troubled minds are more dangerous than others and nowhere is this truer than when it comes to MMA fighters.

MMA is, above all, a sport and it's safe to say that 95% of mixed martial artists are level-headed enough to keep their work from creeping into their personal lives. True fighters know what they're capable of and don't need to puff out their chests to establish that they're alphas.

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A lot of modern day gladiators are humble enough to admit that they were bullied as kids and turned to combat sports to learn to fend off tormentors. They stuck to it for the right reason - the thrill of competition and the ecstasy of triumph.

But there are exceptions to any rule and sadly, in a sport where violence is an instrument, these exceptions could prove deadly. Here are five times when MMA fighters had legal issues.

#5 Anar Alakh Ziranov

This August, it was reported in the Russian city of Khabarovsk that a 25-year-old MMA fighter named Anar Alakh Ziranov had a fatal fight with world champion powerlifter-cum-bodybuilder named Andrey Drachev. According to witnesses, the fatal encounter was sparked off in the silliest way imaginable — an argument over what was more macho, being a bodybuilder or an MMA fighter. Friends of ZIranov stated that Drachev called Ziranov a "piglet"

Ziranov immediately challenged Drachev to a fight, which the latter tried to evade by suggesting they should face each other later, in a ring. What followed is evident in the above video.

A public memorial was held and more than a hundred local powerlifters signed a petition demanding Ziranov to be brought to justice, but the culprit is still at large.

#4 Dan McGuane

Attending the annual Independence Day fireworks display must have been routine for Ayer, Massachusetts native Kelly Proctor. But as he walked home from the event with his girlfriend, Jayme Rotondi, on July 2, 2005, in no way could he have known that he wouldn't live to see next year's celebration.

The two left early to avoid the crowd that would inevitably gather and crossed paths with a group heading toward the revelry. Amongst the 6 member group were the McGuane twins, Dan and Peter. The 21-year-old, 6'3", 200-pounders were standout soccer players and had a reputation for being hotheads.

On hearing someone from the larger group laugh, Proctor asked his girlfriend what it was for. Peter McGuane heard this and turned aggressive towards Proctor. Mary Papalucas, part of the larger group, tried to pacify him but he struck Proctor.

After this, Dan McGuane joined his brother and shoved the much smaller Proctor against an SUV before both started beating him. Rotondi bravely jumped on Dan McGuane's back and scratched his face, but it did little to staunch the assault.

Proctor was under the SUV when the attack ceased and the McGuanes left the scene. Papalucas called out to Proctor to tell him it was safe, but there was no response. She joined bystanders in pulling the now unconscious Proctor out from under the SUV.

His breathing had stopped when police officers finally arrived on the scene and attempts to restart his heart were in vain. Proctor was declared dead when he reached the hospital.

The McGuane twins were charged with first-degree murder, later reduced to manslaughter because of conflicting autopsy findings. Dan McGuane served five years and was released in 2010. In 2012, he was on the verge of making his Bellator debut when there was a public outcry about his signing. He was dropped from the promotion shortly after.

#3 Joe Son

Joe Son's MMA career remains in memory for all the wrong reasons - his groin being steak-hammered by Keith Hackney at UFC 4, losing via terror to Joe Moreira at Xtreme Pankration 2 and seared into our minds is the leopard print thong he wore in his PRIDE bout against Yusuke Imamura.

There was one person who was haunted by his face for over 20 — a young woman he and at least one friend sexually assaulted on Christmas Eve 1990. For years, Son thought he had gotten away with the monstrosity; but in 2011, a DNA sample of his that was retained by authorities following a parole violation was linked to the still open case.

Son was sentenced to 7 years in prison; but barely a month behind bars, it was discovered that he had beaten his cellmate to death. Tried and convicted, Son's sentence now carries an additional 27 years.

#2 Joaquin Balassa

When Joaquin Balassa was convinced of beating Jose Antonio Fajardo and Guy Richard Koukal to death, he said he acted in self-defence after the married couple raped him at his apartment after a few drinks.

The incident took place in Balassa's apartment in Tehachapi, California, in September 2014. But this was after he initially said that he woke up to find them dead and denied any knowledge of what happened.

What was more damning was the fact that Balassa didn't bear any serious injuries, and his behaviour when the police showed up at his door was rather suspicious. He threatened them and had to be pepper sprayed so he wouldn't escape.

Balassa was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. His lone professional MMA fight ended by him losing via submission.

#1 Jared Wyatt

Any activity performed under the influence of mind-altering substances could prove dire. Imagine sparring after downing psilocybin mushrooms. That's what 29-year-old Jared Wyatt and his 21-year-old sparring partner Taylor Powell did in March 2010.

The mushrooms took effect and turned the sparring session into a battle between god and the devil, according to ESPN. When police officers arrived at the location, they walked into a scene straight out of a Wes Craven movie.

A blood-soaked Wyatt told the officers that he had a fight with Powell, but that wouldn't even begin to describe what had transpired. They found Powell with his chest cut open and his heart, tongue and face removed. The heart was found in a stove and the investigation revealed that his tongue and face had been cut out while he was still alive.

Jared Wyatt was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison, with the earliest possibility of a parole hearing in 2062. Wyatt had two fights — one amateur and one professional. He won both by TKO.

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Edited by anirudh.b