Jeremy Couball – MMA’s greatest memorabilia collector?
If you are a fan of MMA, you probably have at least one TapouT shirt that you wear proudly, and…
If you are a fan of MMA, you probably have at least one TapouT shirt that you wear proudly, and maybe you wore it to an autograph signing and it has some great memories. Others might have some autographed gloves or event posters, but just about 95% of the MMA fan base can not hold a candle to this man.
Jeremy Couball has one of the largest, if not the largest, and most complete collections of MMA merchandise and memorabilia in the world. His house in Southern California is the closest thing MMA fans have to a Smithsonian Institute for fighting with some items dating as far back as the very original UFC event. I had a chance to talk with Jeremy to learn more about this obsession and get an up close look at this enormous collection.
FN What got you hooked on MMA?
JC: UFC 3. I saw the first one with my dad after hearing about it and seeing an ad for the pay per view. When i saw it, I was shocked to see this raw fighting really televised. It was ufc 3 and the plans for ufc 4 were in the mix already. I thought that this was something I want to see them all. So I followed this sport from then on. I did not start collecting until later on around ufc 20 something.
FN: Any funny stories of having a fighter sign something for you?
JC: I’m not really into the signing stuff that much, but lately with the passing of carlson and helio gracie, I have looked to have certain things signed. certian guys are impossible to get a autograph from. I once took a seminar just to get the sig from one of the teachers. Bas Rutten signed a ufc 18 poster on the hood of my car and burned his hands it was so hot. He then told me to burn my hands on the car like he did for me. I burned them and we both had burned hands.