8 Brutal Fights From The Anything Goes Era Of The UFC

The MMA world was exposed to a talent of unprecedented proportion when Marco Ruas made his debut in the Octagon in 1995. A lot had changed in the years since the debut of the sport in North America: though still sparse, the ruleset had grown and become more prohibitive, the Gracie family had departed following UFC 5, and the sport had begun to make the wrong kind of headlines as lawmakers in the US attempted to shut fights down across the country.

However, in his performances at UFC 7, Marco Ruas would lay the blueprint for the modern mixed martial artist by demonstrating his proficiency in several styles of combat. In his first bout with the aforementioned Remco Pardoel, Ruas exhausted his opponent forcing a submission due to position (yeah, the early days of MMA were weird) after more than ten minutes of fighting.

In Ruas' next fight, with the giant Paul Varelans, he would demonstrate the brutal efficacy of his potent mix of striking and grappling skills. Chopping the much larger Varelans down with stinging leg kicks, Ruas would be the first fighter to successfully incorporate Muay Thai techniques into the burgeoning sport.

Sporting several seriously large welts on his leg, Varelans tried to tackle his opponent but his attempts were in vain. After absorbing two final chopping kicks, Varelans collapsed to the mat and was quickly pounced upon by Ruas forcing referee John McCarthy to intervene.