Did You See His Cartwheel Kick?

This reads like something from a lame modern cop show drama that everyone likes but me. But the scary or (if you are insensitive and immature) funny thing about it is that it’s real!

On Dec. 9, 2009, Howard showed up at the Toronto Star with a briefcase. He looked like a businessman, but his clothes were worn, and his knuckles were bruised and caked with dried blood. In a hoarse voice, he said there was a plot to ruin his life. He claimed he had been injected with a liquid that hardened his veins and immobilized him. He held out his shaking hands for inspection, his eyes wide in desperation. As he was escorted out of the building, he left nodding to no one but himself. “On to Plan B,” he told an editor before leaving.

What was Plan B?

Almost two weeks later, residents of a Niagara Falls street were awakened by screams. Howard was attacking his sister and nephew with the claw end of a hammer. His 21-year-old nephew fought back before Howard screeched out of the driveway.

It seems that Howard started to “lose his grip” mid 2009 largely due to his long term addiction to pain killers, which, according to the rest of the Toronto Star’s report, was an important factor in his downward spiral.

The importance of this, or at least the interest in this man, is the fact he was part of the UFC’s early history. He earned his shot at Royce Gracie with two wins at UFC 3, but instead Howard ended up facing a replacement and losing.

In early 2009, Sherdog did a piece on Howard. In it he is a little crazy, but a nice, kind, and according to the article, “colorful, memorable and honest.”

“We’ve got a saying back home that if you’re coming on,” he fumed, whipping off the shades, “come on!”

I just hope that he can turn his life around, but after reading at least the Toronto article about him, it seems his family has pretty much given up on him. What is worse is that he also seems to have given up on himself.

Sad.

[via Fightlinker]