Issue 106
October 2013
The UFC Hall of Famer reflects on two decades of combat and his desire to see a masters division in mixed martial arts.
If you could choose one fight from your career that every MMA fan should see which one would it be and why?
“I don’t know if I could choose just one fight but I can choose one event and that would be the very first Ultimate Ultimate, back in ‘95. This was the ‘no holds barred’ era, as opposed to the mixed martial arts era.
“MMA has about 30 different rules, its predecessor, NHB, had two rules and those were: do not bite your opponent, and do not stick you fingers in his eyes. End of the rules. No weight classes, no time periods, no gloves. It was an eight-man tournament so you had to face and defeat three men in less than a two-hour pay-per-view. A little bit different than what the fans see today.
“With the Ultimate Ultimate they brought back a number of tournament champions and runner-ups. They put up the largest monetary purse at the time and over the two-hour period I was inside the Octagon for just over one hour, at mile-high elevations, as the event was held in Denver. That is a story of preparation, mental and physical, as well as knowing there were only two rules you had to abide by.”
How did you initially get involved in NHB/MMA?
“Ironically, it’s a strange situation as how I ever got involved in the pugilistic arts whatsoever. Had everything gone the way I was anticipating I would have retired from athletics back in 1984, during my amateur wrestling career. I was hoping to cap off my career with an Olympic gold medal.
“That did not happen, I was an Olympic alternate, and I had to sit in the stands and watch the gentleman ahead of me win the gold medal. Everybody that he faced I had pinned in less than one minute. So that was tough for me and that’s what catapulted me onto my next adventure in my career.
“I have a chapter in a book that is entitled ‘Hate: It can consume you and it can destroy you or it can propel you to heights you never imagined.’ I took the latter of the two.”
You have called into question your ‘official’ MMA record, stating that many of your early fights are not listed. How many fights do you feel are not accurately recorded?
“The current records listed could be missing as many as 30 matches. I keep a pretty crazy record/schedule of travel and competition. These days, the promoters are pretty good about getting the results in. I’ve had to go back and have a couple of those changed. I had one loss listed that was actually a victory.
“But I don’t sit there and look at that stuff. They are like, ‘Do you have proof of these matches?’ I said, ‘Yeah it’s called a daily planner.’ I have a crazy life and I have all the matches written down. They say, ‘Well, can you provide that to us?’ And I respond, ‘Yeah, one day, when I have nothing better to do, which will be when I’m 80 or 90 years of age.’ Right now I just don’t care enough to get the information.”
Do you feel mixed martial arts has peaked or do you see more growth potential?
“I see more growth potential. I think it will be on the rise for the next three to five years. The reason I say that is there is not that Super Bowl or Wrestlemania style of event yet. When you can showcase an event like that, it will have arrived. But once again, we have to deal with egos.”
You’ve mentioned in the past about creating a masters division in MMA, whether it be in the UFC or another organization. Where’s that at?
“I pursue it with almost every promotion I talk to and they all love the idea. It opens up a whole new demographic and opens up a whole new audience. This would open up opportunities for that many more athletes. I’ve already spoken to Ken Shamrock, he’s agreed to it. I have already spoken to Mark Coleman and he’s agreed to it. I have not spoken to Royce about it. I’m actually speaking to them directly. That is straight from the horse’s mouth.”
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