8 Brutal Fights From The Anything Goes Era Of The UFC

In the run-up to UFC 3, Royce Gracie had seldom been challenged in his burgeoning MMA career. Critics at the time noted that the UFC events were little more than infomercials for the effectiveness of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and, in a way, they were right. After all, one of the reasons family-champion Rickson hadn't been selected to compete in the tournaments was that Royce's fighting skills, in spite of his unathletic appearance, would demonstrate the efficacy of the art rather than the practitioner.

Royce's run of unopposed domination would come to an end at the third UFC event as he faced Kimo Leopoldo.

By this time, the formula of Royce securing a takedown, softening his opponent up with strikes and ultimately securing a submission had become something of a given, so when Kimo stuffed several of the Brazilian's takedown attempts, fans in attendance knew that they were witnessing a battle.

Kimo's strength and wrestling background allowed him to repeatedly deny Royce the opportunity to drag the fight to the mat, with Kimo even reversing position and briefly taking Gracie's back. Royce would end up with the behemoth in his guard, with Kimo defending submission attempts and landing some heavy blows.

Ultimately though, Royce would utilise the sparse ruleset to his advantage to secure an armbar while grabbing his opponent by the hair and notching yet another submission victory. The brutal battle had taken its toll on Gracie, and he would be forced to withdraw from the tournament before the semi-finals.