How UFC Got Started (Yahoo)

[Lucas]

If I am fighting a guy, and he claims to be able to beat me anytime anywhere, yet i get in the ring and draw out a stale mate....well then he couldnt beat me any time anywhere.

If you severely outclass your opponent to the point you can beat him any time anywhere, he wouldnt be able to draw out a fight for 30+ minutes. Now on the other hand if you were relying on a skillset, and your opponent found a weakness in your game and exploited it, then that is exactly what happened.

Your weakness was exploited, regardless of what that weakness may be.

Shamrok exploited a weakness of Gracies personal game.

Happens all the time, especially if you have any amount of time to study your opponents fighting habbits.

[Shaolin Wookie]

The first couple of UFC's were garbage, concerning content and contestants (for the most part--there were some exceptions; legends like Sham/Gracie). Somewhere around UFC 7, I think serious fighters started to consider the UFC worthwhile. IF you listen to accounts of the guys that booked the first UFC's, they were going on rep's and stereotypes of what most people consider "tough guys". But then some serious competitors stepped up to the challenge and took the UFC to another level. Plus, the UFC organizers actually had trouble finding people who would enter into a full contact, NHB tourney back then. So, despite the fact we might laugh at how bad some of the early fights were--they at least had the guts to step up into something hardcore with no knowledge of it, and take the challenge. Maybe it wasn't guts....maybe just nuts.....who knows?

I rag on ULTIMATE FIGHTER, mostly b/c I hate reality shows, but the show took the UFC to the mainstream, on basic cable, and into American living rooms. That was one of the more important revolutions in the steady growth of UFC over the past 15 years. Now I can watch recaps of fights I won't buy on SPIKE before I go to bed....LOL.....with at least 5 leagues on different channels. It's pretty sweet. But I still think ULTIMATE FIGHTER is trash, as a show.

[Knifefighter]

When did Walid take out Royce ?? can't remember...

Royce may not have been the top or even the middle of the pack in the GJJ or BJJ, but neither was anyone else there.

Wallid chocked Royce unconscious in a superfight in Brazil about 7 or 8 years ago

[Knifefighter]

The fight didn't end in a stalemate because Royce didn't have offense, the fight ended in a stalemate because Shamrock was actively working to slow the fight down.

If the fight had not been stopped and the competitors made to stand up, Ken would not have landed that shot on Royce. The chances are he would have eventually lost because his grappling was not that good and he eventually would have gotten tired and made a mistake.

Royce and the Gracies had always claimed that a BJJ fighter would need to wait until the opponent got tired and/or made a mistake if he was significantly bigger and stronger and also knew how to stay out of submissions. It was always a badge of honor among them that Helio had a match that went three hours.

[lkfmdc]

It was always a badge of honor among them that Helio had a match that went three hours.

from a self defense perspective, a 143 lb guy going 3 hours with a 200 lb guy is impressive

from a spectator perspective, I'm glad I didn't pay for front row seats (though I'd have had time to go to the bathroom, buy a hot dog and still not miss the ending LOL)