UFC 1993 - Rewriting History

[Acidburned]

Preview UFC 1 - The Beginning

On Saturday week 2 of November the American public will be treated to the debut of Mixed Martial Arts. Eight men will be randomly drawn in a tournament to crown the first UFC tournament champion. Highly fancied to win is Royce Gracie the Brazilian Ju-Jitsu expert whose family have fought mixed martial arts bouts for decades to showcase and prove their style of fighting is second to none.

Another favourite is Ken Shamrock the American shoot fighter is the only man in the tournament with an official mixed martial arts record of three fights and three wins, he will be confident he has the ability to win the tournament.

The rest of the field is made up of unknowns specialising in their own selected fields they will be trying to make sure the UFC starts off with a shock. Ron Van Clief is 50 years old and is a student of Chinese Goju. The heaviest man is Teila Tuli who tips the scales at 430 pound the Hawaiian sumo will be looking to use his pure size to win the competition. Pat Smith is an American Tae Kwon Do fighter who has some vicious striking ability with his kicks another competitor who should have good feet is kick boxer Kevin Rosier. The tallest man in the tournament is Gerard Gordeau who is a Dutch 6 foot 5 Karate fighter. The last fighter is Boxer Art Jimmerson who will want to keep his fights standing and try to KO his opponents.

So can anyone stop any of the two hot favourites Shamrock or Gracie from winning this first UFC tournament?

Quick Picks

1. Royce Gracie Vs Rob Van Clief
2. Pat Smith Vs Kevin Rosier
3. Ken Shamrock Vs Teila Tuli
4. Gerard Gordeau Vs Art Jimmerson

Semi-Final 1 winner of 1 Vs 2
Semi-Final 2 winner of 3 Vs 4

Overall Tournament Winner

Royce Gracie
Ron Van Clief
Pat Smith
Kevin Rosier
Ken Shamrock
Teila Tuli
Gerard Gordeau
Art Jimmerson

[Acidburned]

I will not be able to post any rankings until UFC 30 as I am way ahead so hopefully that will help to keep this going as long as possible. Any questions, suggestions and general conversation along with predictions are more than welcome. This is my first diary so it may take me awhile to get into the swing of things. Will post up the results of UFC 1 tomorrow night or Saturday morning, hopefully there will be some predictions by then hopefully lol.

[smokey al]

1. Royce Gracie Vs Rob Van Clief
2. Pat Smith Vs Kevin Rosier
3. Ken Shamrock Vs Teila Tuli
4. Gerard Gordeau Vs Art Jimmerson

Royce Gracie
Ron Van Clief
Pat Smith
Kevin Rosier
Ken Shamrock
Teila Tuli
Gerard Gordeau
Art Jimmerson

[damonster]

Quick Picks

1. Royce Gracie Vs Rob Van Clief
2. Pat Smith Vs Kevin Rosier
3. Ken Shamrock Vs Teila Tuli
4. Gerard Gordeau Vs Art Jimmerson

Semi-Final 1 Royce Gracie
Semi-Final 2 Ken Shamrock

Overall Tournament Winner

Royce Gracie
Ron Van Clief
Pat Smith
Kevin Rosier
Ken Shamrock
Teila Tuli
Gerard Gordeau
Art Jimmerson

[dakydaky]

1. Royce Gracie Vs Rob Van Clief
2. Pat Smith Vs Kevin Rosier
3. Ken Shamrock Vs Teila Tuli
4. Gerard Gordeau Vs Art Jimmerson

SEMI-FINAL 1: Gracie vs Smith
SEMI-FINAL 2: Shamrock vs Gordeau

WINNER:

Royce Gracie
Ron Van Clief
Pat Smith
Kevin Rosier
Ken Shamrock
Teila Tuli
Gerard Gordeau
Art Jimmerson

btw you could later post fighter W/L ratio next to name, just a suggestion..

[Acidburned]

UFC 1 - The Beginning

Tournament Quarter-Finals

Royce Gracie Vs Ron Van Clief

The Match - Royce Gracie controlled much of this match as you expect and Van Clief never really stood a chance. Despite throwing several punch he was taken down at will and eventually submitted by arm bar in 7.13 of the fight

Result - Royce Gracie wins via armbar in 7.13
Match Rating - Great

Pat Smith Vs Kevin Rosier

The Match - Mostly a stand up war and dragged on for awhile until Smiths superior striking ability began to show. After 16 minutes of little action Smith nailed Rosier with a hard right hand swing that KO'd Rosier.

Result - Pat Smith wins via KO punch in 16.55
Match Rating - Average

Ken Shamrock Vs Teila Tuli

The Match - A brilliant fight mostly on the feet despite being a huge underdog Tuli give as good as he got and had Shamrock wobbling several times. He also used his immense size to pin Shamrock against the cage but eventually experience and better conditioning began to tell Shamrock started to boos the fight from the 10th minute onwards. Eventually he caught the sumo with a huge right uppercut that sent him down and out.

Result - Ken Shamrock wins via KO punch in 16.55
Match Rating - Fantastic

Gerard Gordeau Vs Art Jimmerson

The Match -Quite possibly one of the most boring matches ever. 60 minutes of little to no action with no man taking a risk to try and win the fight in the end the time limit expired and the match went to the judges cards.

Result - Winner by unanimous decision after 60 minutes Gerard Gordeau
Match Rating - Awful

Semi-Finals

Royce Gracie Vs Pat Smith

The Match - A boring match but a good one for Gracie he spent most of the match on his back waiting for the right time to submit Smith. After several failed attempts his strategy paid off in the 50th minute of the fight when Smith gave up his back after a takedown and Graice locked in a tight guillotine choke.

Result - Royce Gracie wins by submission via guillotine choke in 49.47
Match Rating - Very Poor

Ken Shamrock Vs Gerard Gordeau

The Match - Total domination by Ken Shamrock after a couple of take downs early on Shamrock caught Gordeau with a hard right hand and followed up quickly raining down punch after punch until the referee stopped the fight after only 4 minutes.

Result - Ken Shamrock wins via TKO in 4.12
Match Rating - Great

The Final



Ken Shamrock Vs Royce Gracie

The Match - Graice controlled a lot of the match from his back after Shamrock took him down. Gracies attempts at locking in a submission did not come off as Shamrock blocked and countered the many attempts. In a rather dull match it was Gracie who made the first mistake rushing in to takedown Shamrock who saw it coming and hit a huge right hand sweet on the chin to KO Gracie.

Result - Ken Shamrock wins via KO punch in 23.07
Match Rating - Poor

Attendance - 73 for a gate of $1095
Pay-Per-View -36 Buys for revenue of $216
Fight of the Night - Shamrock Vs Tuli
KO of the Night - Shamrock
Submission of the Night - Gracie
Critical Success - Decent
Commercial Success - Average

[Acidburned]

UFC 2 - No Way Out Preview

Some new faces will debut at UFC 2 as they try to take the crown from "The Worlds Most Dangerous Man" Ken Shamrock who KO'd every opponent last time out. We will be seeing Oleg "The Russian Bear" Taktarov (3-0) take on sumo Teila Tuli(0-1) who had a great match last time out, Taktarov will be trying to use his much superior sambo wrestling to win the match. In a rematch of last years semi-final Royce Gracie(2-1) will battle against Pat Smith(1-1) Smith will be hoping to avoid tapping out again but will be hard pressed against a skilled fighter like Gracie.

Zane Frasier(0-0) a 6 foot 6 American Karate fighter will have the daunting task of trying to defeat last years champion Ken Shamrock(6-0). After what most people considered a shock in the first UFC Shamrock will be hoping to once again be crowned the main man. The Last quarter-final will see debuting Trent Jenkins(0-0) a freestyle American fighter take on Gerard Gordeau(1-1) who will be hoping to perform better than last time out.

Quick Picks

1. Royce Gracie Vs Pat Smith
2. Teila Tuli Vs Oleg Taktarov
3. Zane Frasier Vs Ken Shamrock
4. Gerard Gordeau Vs Trent Jenkins

First Semi-Final winner of 1 Vs 2
Second Semi-Final winner of 3 Vs 4

Overall Tournament Winner

Royce Gracie
Pat Smith
Teila Tuli
Oleg Taktarov
Zane Frasier
Ken Shamrock
Gerard Gordeau
Trent Jenkins

Standings after one event

damonster - 6/7
dakydaky - 6/7
smokey al - 4/7

[damonster]

1. Royce Gracie Vs Pat Smith
2. Teila Tuli Vs Oleg Taktarov
3. Zane Frasier Vs Ken Shamrock
4. Gerard Gordeau Vs Trent Jenkins

First Semi-Final Oleg Taktarov
Second Semi-Final Ken Shamrock

Overall Tournament Winner

Royce Gracie
Pat Smith
Teila Tuli
Oleg Taktarov
Zane Frasier
Ken Shamrock
Gerard Gordeau
Trent Jenkins

[Acidburned]

UFC 2 - No Way Out



Tournament Quarter-Finals

Royce Gracie Vs Pat Smith

The Match - Royce Gracie showed extreme patience and composure in this match to bide his time for the right opportunity to pounce and it came via armbar just past the half hour mark.

Result - Royce Gracie wins via armbar submission in 30.20.
Match Rating - Decent

Oleg Taktarov Vs Teila Tuli

The Match - Not much to say about this match I thought Taktarov would submit Tuli but instead he KO'd him within the first minute.

Result - Oleg Taktarov wins via KO punch in 0.58 sceonds
Match Rating - Good

Ken Shamrock Vs Zane Frasier

The Match - Frasier made a decent start avoiding a few takedown attempts from the reigning champion but in the end Shamrock proved too much. After hitting the takedown on Frasier he submitted him with a tight armbar.

Result - Ken Shamrock wins via armbar submission in 5.43
Match Rating - Average

Gerard Gordeau Vs Trent Jenkins

The Match -Gordeau was too much and too fast for Jenkins he rocked him with a hard right hand that sent Jenkins tumbling to the floor. Gordeau then leapt on him raining down punches until the referee stopped the match.

Result - Gerard Gordeau wins via TKO after 0.21
Match Rating - Good

Semi-Finals

Royce Gracie Vs Olerg Taktarov

The Match - A pretty boring match Taktarov was able to stop Gracie's takedowns in the first two minutes but eventually Gracie took him down and worked hard to take his back and lock in a choke and book his place in the finals.

Result - Royce Gracie wins by submission via rear naked choke in 5.12
Match Rating - Poor

Ken Shamrock Vs Gerard Gordeau

The Match - Once again Shamrock dominated Gordeau who showed none of the vicious striking ability he displayed in his last fight. Shamrock won once again by armbar.

Result - Ken Shamrock wins by submission via armbar in 2.25
Match Rating - Great

The Final



Ken Shamrock Vs Royce Gracie

The Match - Gracie was desperate to show that he is capable of beating Shamrock and taking the title. In classic Gracie style he was kept fighting on his back by Shamrock with both men constantly attempting various submission holds but neither being able to lock anything in properly. A mistake by Shamrock in the 11th minute of the fight enabled Gracie to lock in a Guillotine choke for the win.

Result - Royce Gracie wins by submission via guillotine in 11.50
Match Rating - Poor

Attendance - 87 for a gate of $1,305
Pay-Per-View -27 Buys for revenue of $162
Fight of the Night - Shamrock Vs Gordeau
KO of the Night - Oleg Taktarov
Submission of the Night - Royce Gracie
Critical Success - Average
Commercial Success - Good

[Acidburned]

UFC 3 - The American Dream Preview

The Tournament

This third tournament will see Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock not taking part so a new first time tournament winner will be crowned. The first match will see Oleg Taktarov(4-1) take on the debuting Mexican boxer Alberta Cerra Leon(0-0) his only hope will be to hit a lucky punch on the much better and well rounded fighter Taktarov. Following that will be the old man of the UFC Ron Van Clief(0-1) still searching for his first win in the UFC against a stable mate of Ken Shamrock Jason Delucia(2-2), Delucia has to be the favourite for this match with more experience and a better all round game than Van Clief.

The other quarter finals will see the debuting Frank Hamaker(0-0) the sambo wrestler take on Gerard Gordeau(2-2) who despite only having 4 fights has fought and lost against the best giving him the vital experience edge in this battle. Lastly will be the striker Pat Smith(1-2) taking on another debuting fighter Robert Lucarelli(0-0) the American brawler will be at a big disadvantage as Smith is a much better, faster and stronger striker.

The Main Event

A week or so after UFC 2 it was announced that due to his win Royce Gracie(5-1) would be crowned the first UFC title holding champion. Ken Shamrock(8-1) was slightly annoyed at having won the very first UFC tournament and only received the money rather than any real critical acclaim. Gracie has responded by challenging Shamrock to the first Super Fight effectively creating a super fight title. Despite not being the most exciting fights in MMA it will be an interesting battle to see who is the true champion of the UFC. Graice having a far superior ground game but but Shamrock having the abilities to stop the takedowns question is can he stop the submission attempts, in the first UFC he escaped all attempts and hit a vicious KO on Gracie but the return match saw Gracie win with ease as Shamrock effectively fought Gracie at his own game and will need better planning or luck to pull off a second win over the Brazilian Ju-Jitsu master.

Quick Picks

1. Alberta Cerra Leon Vs Oleg Taktarov
2. Jason Delucia Vs Ron Van Clief
3. Gerard Gordeau Vs Frank Hamaker
4. Pat Smith Vs Robert Lucarelli

Winner of 1 Vs 2
Winner of 3 Vs 4

Tournament Winner

Alberta Cerra Leon
Oleg Taktarov
Jason Delucia
Ron Van Clief
Gerard Gordeau
Frank Hamaker
Pat Smith
Robert Lucarelli

Main Event - Royce Gracie(c) Vs Ken Shamrock




Standings after one event

damonster - 11/14
dakydaky - 6/7
smokey al - 4/7

[dakydaky]

Quick Picks

1. Alberta Cerra Leon Vs Oleg Taktarov
2. Jason Delucia Vs Ron Van Clief
3. Gerard Gordeau Vs Frank Hamaker
4. Pat Smith Vs Robert Lucarelli

Winner of 1 Vs 2 - Taktarov
Winner of 3 Vs 4 - Lucarelli

Tournament Winner

Alberta Cerra Leon
Oleg Taktarov
Jason Delucia
Ron Van Clief
Gerard Gordeau
Frank Hamaker
Pat Smith
Robert Lucarelli

Main Event - Royce Gracie(c) Vs Ken Shamrock

[damonster]

Quick Picks

1. Alberta Cerra Leon Vs Oleg Taktarov
2. Jason Delucia Vs Ron Van Clief
3. Gerard Gordeau Vs Frank Hamaker
4. Pat Smith Vs Robert Lucarelli

Oleg Taktarov
Gerard Gordeau

Tournament Winner

Alberta Cerra Leon
Oleg Taktarov
Jason Delucia
Ron Van Clief
Gerard Gordeau
Frank Hamaker
Pat Smith
Robert Lucarelli

Main Event - Royce Gracie(c) Vs Ken Shamrock

[Jingo]

1. Alberta Cerra Leon Vs Oleg Taktarov
2. Jason Delucia Vs Ron Van Clief
3. Gerard Gordeau Vs Frank Hamaker
4. Pat Smith Vs Robert Lucarelli

Winner of 1 Vs 2 Oleg Taktarov
Winner of 3 Vs 4 Gerard Gordeau

Tournament Winner

Alberta Cerra Leon
Oleg Taktarov
Jason Delucia
Ron Van Clief
Gerard Gordeau
Frank Hamaker
Pat Smith
Robert Lucarelli

Main Event - Royce Gracie(c) Vs Ken Shamrock

[Acidburned]

UFC 3 - The American Dream



Tournament Quarter-Finals

Oleg Taktarov Vs Alberta Cerra Leon

The Match - Taktarov had his opponent totally outclassed and was in very little trouble throughout the fight, it took him a mere 5 minutes to grab a loose arm and lock in an armbar for the easy win.

Result - Oleg Taktarov wins via armbar submission in 5.04
Match Rating - Decent

Jason Delucia Vs Ron Van Clief

The Match - This match was a good back and to fight but after 10 minutes Delucia knocked down Van Clief with a solid right hand on the jaw. This was the beginning of the end and eventually Delucia got in position to choke out Van Clief.

Result - Jason Delucia wins by submission via rear naked choke in 12.26
Match Rating - Average

Frank Hamaker Vs Gerard Gordeau

The Match - A good battle with Hamaker using his wrestling to take down the bigger man several times. In the end Gordeau's submission skills were too much for the debuting Hamaker who got locked in a guillotine and had no choice but to tap out.

Result - Gerard Gordeau wins by submission via guillotine choke in 20.50
Match Rating - Good

Robert Lucarelli Vs Pat Smith

The Match -Smiths power and accuracy in his striking game was too much for Lucarelli to handle within the first 3 minutes Smith had knocked him down twice. The third time was a charm as Smith knocked him down with a hard right kick to the head and then jumped on him raining down punches until the referee was forced to step in a stop the match.

Result - Pat Smith wins via TKO(Strikes) after 3.48
Match Rating - Average

Semi-Finals

Oleg Taktarov Vs Jason Delucia

The Match - A very very boring match that saw Taktarov take the win when Delucia carelessly left his arm in after taking down Taktarov. Once the armbar was applied Delucia had to tap straight away. The cheer by the crowd was obviously because the match was finally over rather than any skill.

Result - Oleg Taktarov wins by submission via armbar in 13.29
Match Rating - Very Poor

Pat Smith Vs Gerard Gordeau

The Match - Gordeau neutralised most of Smiths attacks easily blocking them. Smith tried to take down Gordeau several times but was mostly unsuccessful. In the end Gordeau once again used the guillotine choke to set up a finals match against Oleg Taktarov.

Result - Gerard Gordeau wins by submission via Guillotine choke in 19.58
Match Rating - Average

The Final

Gerard Gordeau Vs Oleg Taktarov

The Match - The Russian Bear Oleg Taktarov was the heavy favourite in the finals match. For the first minute or two Gordeau put up a good fight but eventually he was taken out by Taktarov. After attempting a takedown Gordeau suddenly found himself face down and the Russian Bear wasted no time in attacking and locked in a rear naked choke to become the tournament winner.

Result - Oleg Taktarov wins by submission via Rear Naked Choke in 4.57
Match Rating - Decent

The Super Fight

Vs

The Match - Hyped as a big match the clash between these two giants of MMA failed to deliver as the first 10 minutes or so was pretty much failed take downs by either man. Eventually it was Shamrock who got the take down which played into the hands of Royce Gracie. Showing himself to be a truly patient man Graice was able to wait for the mistake and lock in an arm triangle on Shamrock for the win.

The Result - The winner and still superfight champion of the UFC Royce Gracie by arm triangle submission in 18.38
The Rating - Poor

Attendance - 206 for a gate of $5,160
Pay-Per-View - 1725 Buys for revenue of $10,350
Fight of the Night - Gerard Gordeau Vs Frank Hamaker
KO of the Night - Pat Smith
Submission of the Night - Royce Gracie
Critical Success - Average
Commercial Success - Good

Standings after three events

damonster - 18/22
dakydaky - 12/15
Jingo - 8/8
smokey al - 4/7

[Acidburned]

UFC 4 - Revenge Preview

The Tournament and Shamrock Challenged

Lots of new fighters will be making their UFC debuts at UFC 4 mainly in the tournament. Fan favourite Ken Shamrock(8-2) refused to take part in the tournament due to a potential clash with training mate and friend Guy Mezger. Shortly after signing a contract with the UFC rookie fighter Sean Daugherty(0-0) challenged Ken Shamrock quoted in the media as saying he wanted to face the best upon his arrival, with Shamrock refusing to take part in the tournament the UFC booked the rookie against the veteran.

Jason Delucia(1-1) will be looking to advance further than he did last time out in his semi-impressive UFC debut. He will be fighting against Ju-Jitsu fighter Remco Pardel(0-0) who will need to bring his A-game to beat Delucia. Gerard Gordeau(4-3) now considered a sort of tournament veteran after appearing in all the previous tournaments will be looking to advance against new comer Guy Mezger(0-0) who is a very very talented striker and will be actively searching for the KO win.

The other quarter finals will see Orlando Weit a French kickboxing newcomer he will be facing the hard task of defeating Masakatsu Funaki(7-1) the Japanese catch wrestler who brings a host of experience with several fights in his native Japan. The last quarter final will feature the returning Alberta Cerra Leon(0-1) the Mexican boxer will be looking to get his first win in the UFC. He will have to go through Bas Rutten(5-1) a man who describes his fighting style as hybrid, Ruttens attitude and personality are sure to make him a fan favourite upon his UFC debut and he is joint favourite to win the competition along with Guy Mezger.

Super Fight

The last match will see the superfight title up for grabs when defending champion Royce Gracie(6-1) puts it on the line against UFC 3 tournament winner Oleg Taktarov(7-1). It will be a hard task for the Russian Bear but he feels he is well equipped to win the title. In recent interviews he has been quoted as saying the title will be his and Russia's and that Gracie as good as he is will not be able to beat him this time round as he looks for revenge.

Quick Picks

Ken Shamrock Vs Sean Daugherty

1. Remco Pardel Vs Jason Delucia
2. Guy Mezger Vs Gerard Gordeau
3. Orlando Weit Vs Masakatsu Funaki
4. Alberta Cerra Leon Vs Bas Rutten

Semi-final winner of 1 Vs winner of 2
Semi-final winner of 3 Vs winner of 4

Overall Tournament Winner

Remco Pardel
Jason Delucia
Guy Mezger
Gerard Gordeau
Orlando Weit
Masakatsu Funaki
Alberta Cerra Leon
Bas Rutten

Super Fight winner - Royce Gracie(c) Vs Oleg Taktarov