for myself Dan Seven vs Royce ( showed a weakness in Royce) Dan Severn vs Oleg Dan vs Ken (2) boring as hell
My hero Gary Goodridge almost winning UFC 8 before getting beaten by that homophobic turd Don Frye. Also Marco Ruas leg kicking Paul Varleans is pretty cool. Everything Paul Varleans really.
Kimo vs Royce - showed Royce was human, plus led to the silly Joe Son + Kimo running into the cage to celebrate Royce quitting the tournament. Hackney vs Joe Son - such poetic justice to see those nuts getting pummeled. Hackney vs Yarbrough - so damn weird to see. Taktarov vs Severn - lots of heart from Oleg. Ruas vs Varelans - skill > size. Tank vs Matua - hur hur, Tank's enemy is like Durrrrr!
A story for you all about the Severn Oleg fight. I had Dan in for a seminar around 10 years ago, we all went out to eat at a Chinese buffet (he can put away some food), he told me that after the fight Oleg came up to him and told him that Dan was lucky the fight was stopped because Oleg had him right where he wanted him lol
Agree with this. The day wrestling entered UFC. Most of the early UFC fights are memorable though - That stuff scars you for life.
It rarely gets mentioned these days, but Fred Ettish vs Johnny Rhodes was one of the most memorable early fights in the UFC. That was the day we all learnt that having a black belt around your waist doesn't necessarily translate into fighting ability.
Tank vs Oleg from UFC VI. Oleg won the fight but literally looked like he was about to die after it was over. Epic old school UFC battle.
Came to say this, but also Don Frye vs Tank Abbott. Watched it early in 97 on a shitty old VHS. Very brief, but awesome, made me a fan of MMA for life, and Don Frye became one of my heroes
Tank was such a bad ass in that tournament. Tries to throw Worsham out of the cage, kills Nelmark, then the fight with Frye is still one of my favorite UFC fights ever, all on the same pay per view.
That was a 17+ minute fight at over 5,000ft elevation. Sea-Level fighters would have quickly wilted. I'd support a rule where a fighter instantly won by throwing his/her opponent out of the cage.
Another fight that I always liked that you never see mentioned was Pat Smith vs Rudyard Moncayo(or however the hell you spell that) from UFC VI. Smith came out and NAILED the dude with a running front push kick from hell. I wish I knew how to make gifs, this would make a great one. Blows my mind that there isn't one already.
