Issue 103
July 2013
A star was born when Ireland’s Conor McGregor announced his arrival at April’s UFC on Fuel TV card in Sweden, but was it the promotion’s best debut ever? Fighters Only looks back on some of the very best highlight reel starts in the history of the Octagon
Kimo Leopoldo
(UFC III, 9th September 1994)
Rocky didn’t beat Apollo Creed first time around and Kimo didn’t beat Royce Gracie, but his aggressive brawling left the fight’s actual winner too battered and exhausted to continue in the evening’s tournament. Heavily tattooed and fiercer-looking than some entire street gangs, Kimo picked up fights all over the world for years and actually had a few decent wins in the ’94–’97 period but only ever had his hand raised twice inside the Octagon – battering unskilled giant Paul Varelans in ’96 and tapping out another name from the past, Tank Abbott, in 2003.
Tank Abbott
(UFC VI, 14th July 1995)
If Abbott had never fought again, his brutal Octagon debut could still have encapsulated his entire career. Raw, aggressive and mocking the massive opponent (John Matua) he struck down with a thunderous punch in just20 seconds, a genuine cult hero was born. A superb
self-promoter with a great look and image, but a serious aversion to training, Abbott never backed up his talk in the cage and has retired (spending some time as a singing, dancing professional wrestler), only to come back several times, usually to lose in decisive and/or embarrassing fashion.
Vitor Belfort
(UFC XII, 7th February 1997)
Still a teenager, boasting incredible hand speed for a heavyweight and truly concussive power, Belfort’s UFC debut in which he blitzed the Lion’s Den’s Tra Telligman and then, in the tournament final, hammered brawling bowling ball Scott Ferrozzo in a combined two minutes, is forever etched in longtime fans’ memories. Rumored at the time to be preparing for a bid to make the Brazilian Olympic boxing team, the 230lb teen’s punching was well ahead of its time inside the cage. A frustratingly inconsistent but very talented fighter, Belfort remains a star name and still something of a title contender in 2013.
Maurice Smith
(UFC XIV, 27th July 1997)
Extreme Fighting champion Smith entered his title unification match against then-terrifying ground ‘n’ pounder Mark Coleman as a huge underdog and pulled off one of the sport’s great upsets. Using his kickboxing, conditioning and defensive skills on the ground, plus a smart strategy, he outlasted ‘The Hammer’ to claim a famous decision victory and the heavyweight championship. He lost the title to Randy Couture a few months later but fought on until his first retirement in 2000. He came back seven years later, retired and subsequently returned last year, aged 50, winning a fight with a head kick.
Frank Shamrock
(UFC Japan, 21st December 1997)
Already a superstar in the fledgling sport, Shamrock had made his name in Japan and needed just 16 seconds to perfectly trap and armbar 1992 Olympic wrestling gold medalist Kevin Jackson in a match for the newly created UFC light heavyweight title. One of the UFC’s true legends, Shamrock defended the title four times, most notably in his final, epic UFC fight against a young Tito Ortiz before announcing his premature retirement. In 2006 he returned to regular action for his hometown promotion, Strikeforce, until hanging up the gloves for good in 2010.
Mark Weir
(UFC 38, 13th July 2002)
The first Englishman to win a UFC fight on home soil, rangy Gloucester striker and UK MMA legend Weir needed just 10 seconds to KO tough veteran Eugene Jackson in front of an ecstatic, electrified crowd at the Royal Albert Hall in the undoubted highlight of his short (three-fight) UFC career. Losing his next two UFC fights, Weir returned to the domestic scene, appearing as a regular for Cage Rage in the London promotion’s (brief) glory days. Now in his mid-40s, Weir last fought earlier this year.
Anderson Silva
(UFC Fight Night, 28th June 2006)
‘The Spider’ made his long-awaited UFC debut a decade after his first professional fight by completely outclassing and destroying Chris Leben in the 49-second main event of a Spike TV special with punches and a brutally precise, finishing knee. Four months later he was the UFC middleweight champion, rearranging Rich Franklin’s face and kicking off a record-smashing title reign that has lasted well over six years and an incredible
10 title defenses. Widely regarded as the greatest MMA fighter of all time, even at 38, he shows no signs of decline.
Joe Lauzon
(UFC 63, 23rd September 2006)
Submission specialist and huge underdog Lauzon’s stunning 47-second KO spoiled former champion Jens Pulver’s Octagon comeback after over four and a half years away. Awkwardly, a few months later, Lauzon was a contestant on the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter, coached by BJ Penn. The opposing coach? Pulver. Lauzon has been a UFC regular and fringe contender ever since. His habit of picking up ‘Submission...’ and ‘Fight of the Night’ bonuses has nicely swelled both his bank account and fan base and he won the Fighters Only World MMA Awards’ ‘Fight of the Year’ for last year’s incredible, winning battle with Jamie Varner.
Junior Dos Santos
(UFC 90, 25th October 2008)
Matched up with highly-touted heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum, Dos Santos made his mark on the UFC with a crushing 81-second victory. Entering the fight as a hefty underdog, the little-known Junior’s tremendous uppercut set him on the road to championship glory. Rattling off six straight wins, he challenged champion Cain Velasquez in the UFC’s most watched fight ever, on the big debut for Fox television in November 2011. Just 64 seconds later he was the champion, only to lose the belt 13 months later when Velasquez dominated and battered him for five rounds in their rematch.
Houston Alexander
(UFC 71, 26th May 2007)
Packing an unbelievable amount of action into a 48-second fight, Alexander and Keith Jardine (coming off a big win over Forrest Griffin) went to war in an unforgettable slugfest that left Jardine, minus gumshield, slumped in the corner like a sack of potatoes. An inspiring character with a fascinating history (a single father of six, hip-hop DJ and mentor to young people, he also donated a kidney to his sister in 2000), Alexander was briefly very, very popular but his fighting career was hampered by a wild, untutored style and distinctly iffy chin.
Paul Daley
(UFC 103, 19th September 2009)
Heavy-handed controversy magnet Daley’s fight with highly skilled Dane Martin Kampmann was eagerly awaited by fans of European MMA. They got to work immediately, swinging back and forth until Daley stunned Kampmann with a right hand and a follow-up barrage that forced the stoppage. An exciting power puncher, Daley’s UFC future looked bright but he was fired by Dana White eight months later after
cheap-shotting Josh Koscheck seconds after losing a lopsided decision at UFC 113.
Pat Barry
(UFC 92, 27th December 2008)
Squat, powerful and a highly respected heavyweight kickboxer, Barry was widely expected to beat Dan Evensen. But the way he did it – annihilating his opponent’s legs with an onslaught of accurate, ferocious kicks in under three minutes – was beautiful to watch. No fun for Evensen, though. Since then, the ever-enthusiastic sub-six-footer has been involved in some of the heavyweight division’s more thrilling, and usually shorter, fights. Even with an 8-5 record (5-5 as a UFC fighter), Barry is a popular, marketable character who always entertains.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
(UFC 106, 21st November 2009)
Two-and-a-bit years after his heavyweight twin brother Rodrigo made his Octagon debut, light heavyweight ‘Lil Nog’ made his belated first UFC appearance against the then-highly rated rising star Luiz Cane. What looked like a tough, competitive fight on paper turned into a thoroughly one-sided exhibition of Nogueira’s skill, poise and precise boxing. Finishing Cane in less than two minutes, Nogueira immediately looked like a contender but has largely disappointed since, going 3-2 and only really impressing against a near-retirement Tito Ortiz.
Charles Oliveira
(UFC Live, 1st August 2010)
Few 20-year-olds, no matter how talented, have a UFC contract in their back pocket. Sao Paulo lightweight Oliveira did, and his first appearance in the Octagon was simply stunning. Unbeaten, with a 12-0 record and 11 finishes, Oliveira faced Darren Elkins, a wrestler who has since leapfrogged Oliveira in the featherweight (where both now fight) pecking order with a string of wins. But on that night, Oliveira was slammed, immediately slapped on a triangle choke, shifted it to a better one and then finally ended the fight in 41 seconds with a perfect armbar, instantly marking him out as an uncommonly talented young fighter.
Chan Sung Jung
(UFC Fight Night, 26th March 2011)
His epic WEC brawl with Leonard Garcia forever etched in MMA history, the rematch 11 months later showcased another side to the cult hero ‘Korean Zombie’ as he trapped the wild-swinging Garcia with the first successful twister submission in UFC history, finishing the Texan hardman 4:59 into the second round. Earning his nickname for his furious, face-first fighting style, the almost comically exciting featherweight has since blitzed Mark Hominick in seven seconds and beaten Dustin Poirier by submission in one of 2012’s very best scraps.
Glover Teixeira
(UFC 146, 26th May 2012)
Tagged for years as one of the better ‘unknown’ talents on the international scene, Teixeira’s UFC debut saw him floor, mount, punch, elbow and then arm-triangle Kyle Kingsbury – all in less than two minutes of a hugely impressive showing. Since then, the Brazilian (unbeaten since 2005) has stopped heroically iron-chinned countryman Fabio Maldonado, easily decisioned former champion Quinton Jackson and currently appears no more than two wins away from a 205lb title shot.
Jimi Manuwa
(UFC on Fuel, 29th September 2012)
Poor Kyle Kingsbury. Four months after losing to Teixeira, he faced the frightening, undefeated Manuwa. Ten minutes of high-energy punishment saw Kingsbury, broken orbital bone and all, looking like something from a Tom Savini film and Manuwa a star in the making. That fight took Manuwa’s career tally to 12-0 and he followed it in February with a win over French veteran Cyrille Diabate. Manuwa’s ferocity and skill have seen him win every one of his professional fights inside two rounds so far.
Rustam Khabilov
(TUF 16 Live Finale, 15th December 2012)
Just as Hall of Famer Dan Severn debuted by hauling the hapless Anthony Macias all over the Octagon in 1994, Russian wrestler and former world combat sambo champion Khabilov burst onto the big stage by dominating and knocking out Vinc Pichel with a barrage of devastating first-round suplexes. One of the most destructive and, given the amount of times Pichel landed on his head and neck, potentially dangerous debuts of recent years was all over by the 2:15 mark.
Liz Carmouche
(UFC 157, 23rd February 2013)
Former US Marine Carmouche’s compelling backstory, her status as the first openly gay UFC fighter and her willingness to treat her media obligations like a true professional took her from an unknown to a genuine star. But it was her performance, even in defeat, inside the Octagon that made her such a valuable part of the new women’s division. Forcing Ronda Rousey late into the first round and having her in real trouble before losing to the eventual, seemingly inevitable armbar, Carmouche was far more impressive than anyone expected.
Conor McGregor
(UFC on Fuel, 6th April 2013)
Among the most highly touted European fighters of recent years, the Cage Warriors lightweight and featherweight champion made his UFC debut in Stockholm riding an eight-fight winning streak. In just 67 seconds McGregor became one of the 145lb division’s hottest properties, displaying punching power, footwork and beautiful uppercuts on his way to a $60,000 ‘Knockout of the Night’ bonus and a flawless debut against Marcus Brimage – a tough opponent in a hugely competitive weight class.
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