There have been many inspirational examples of fighters showing a tremendous amount of heart, exemplifying the oft-referenced "warrior spirit" exuded by such MMA greats as Yuki Nakai, Kazushi Sakuraba, and Javi Vasquez (see Crane vs. Vasquez if curious at the inclusion of the latter).

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Minnesota Mixed Martial Arts fighter Chris Tuchscherer to the list.

You may or may not have read about the unusual circumstances surrounding his fight at UFC 102 against Gabriel Gonzaga, a gorilla-chested BJJ black belt with striking skills sufficient enough to crumble one of MMA's top knockout artists in Mirko CroCop, and the fang-bearing packleader of the proverbial wolves that many speculated Tuchscherer was being thrown to for his Octagon debut.

In the opening moments of the bout, Gonzaga, intending to target the inside of the thigh, swiveled a powerful left kick dead-center into the groin of Tuchscherer; accented by a loud, cracking noise of foot-to-cup that may have shattered any china dinnerware sets within audible range.  Tuchscherer obviously experienced the delay in pain commonly associated with absorbing a blow of large force to the testicles--known well by all males as the gut wrenching "calm before the storm"--as he continued fighting for a moment until the first waves of agony hit him.  He then motioned to the ref with wide eyes and was soon reduced to writhing in pain on the octagon floor, later vomiting into a bucket from the vile trauma.

Goldberg and Rogan had written Tuchscherer off due to the severity of the injury, and were literally astounded when Tuchscherer replaced his mouthpiece with the intent to continue fighting after gritting his teeth through the allotted five-minute respite time.  For reference, I've taken several days off of work for even the slightest graze to this sensitive area, and can admit I've taken much longer than five minutes even for close calls with no contact whatsoever.  Yet Tuchscherer was ready to launch himself back into a full-contact, professional mixed martial arts fight with a top ten heavyweight after only five minutes.

As if this wasn't enough to earn your admiration, Gonzaga treated Tuchscherer to a brutal left high-kick to the face, once again dropping him to the canvas after only a few seconds of action.  This was the same kick (opposite leg) that nearly put CroCop into a coma, and I was surprised that Tuchscherer was not only still conscious, but fighting with all of his might to snare a leg and stand back up.

Gonzaga took advantage of the stunned fighter by peppering him with elbows before attaining mount, where he landed a full-force forearm to the face, which caused Tuchscherer to roll on his back.  Gonzaga began to sink in the choke to cries from Rogan and Goldberg that this time the fight really was about to end, but the dynamic duo ate their words once again as Tuchscherer fought off the choke while taking several left hands in the process.

With blood flowing down a face warped with what can only be described as a look of sheer and utter determination, Tuchscherer once again found himself absorbing heavy leather with Gonzaga first on his back and then back to mount before he bucked Gonzaga off and initiated a scramble with what little energy and straight-sense he had left.  With my jaw dropped firmly on the carpet, I finally called for the ref to think about stopping the fight as Gonzaga hammered another unanswered blow to the turtled Tuchscherer, but Tuchscherer shocked me to the core once again by coming to life and snapping a vicious back-elbow towards the face of Gonzaga.

Feeling frustrated, Gonzaga stood up and walked a few paces away, then charged Tuchscherer and tagged him with a right hand as he attempted to stand.  Finally, Gonzaga unfurled a barrage of punches that caused the ref to intervene.

Tuchscherer never gave up though.  Not after an illegal (albeit unintentional) kick to the groin so severe it caused vomiting.  Not after a high kick connected that might have decapitated a horse.  Not after a 250 pound Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt forced him into the most vulnerable position possible while alternating crushing forearms and choke attempts.

Born from "The Ultimate Fighter", a popular question posed to the fighters by Dana White has become legendary in the sport.  White asked this question when fighters would complain about not getting paid to fight on the show, or when whining because their girlfriend missed them, or they had a sore knee or nagging injury.

White's question was:  "Do you wanna be a fuckin' fighter?"  Let me tell you something, Mr. White:  Chris Tuchscherer wants to be a fuckin' fighter.