Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock set a record that will never be beaten 30 years ago.
The bitter rivals first met at UFC 1 in 1993. Royce Gracie, who is arguably the best BJJ grappler of all time, scored a 57-second rear-naked choke win over Ken Shamrock during his legendary one-night, three-fight run to become the promotion’s inaugural champion.
Two years later, Gracie boasted a 10-0 record after emerging victorious from UFC 2 and UFC 4.
Meanwhile, Shamrock had put together an amazing 15-fight run, which included 13 wins, to earn a rematch.
Royce Gracie’s 36-minute rematch with Ken Shamrock
UFC 5 was headlined by Gracie vs Shamrock 2, and it was billed as the promotion’s first ‘superfight’.
Fans turned out in record numbers for the pay-per-view, but the main event failed to deliver.
Shamrock used his wrestling to nullify Gracie’s submission skills during a 36-minute snoozefest.
Ultimately, the fight was declared a draw as neither fighter was able to find a finish within the time limit.
A new record for the longest UFC fight of all time was set by Gracie and Shamrock, who will hold onto that honor forever because MMA’s premier league no longer schedules bouts for more than 25 minutes.
Five years later, Gracie fought Kazushi Sakuraba for 90 minutes to set the all-time longest fight MMA record at the PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Finals.
Royce Gracie vs Ken Shamrock III
In 2016, Gracie returned from a nine-year retirement to settle his rivalry with Shamrock, whom he knocked out after an alleged ‘low blow’ in the Bellator 149 main event.
‘The World’s Most Dangerous Man’ filed an official complaint after his second loss to Gracie.
“I’m very happy, that was my first knockout,” Gracie said about his controversial win over Shamrock.
“But, I was telling Ken, we come from an era where there was no time limit, no weight division, no gloves, no rules, groin shots were allowed. But it did not catch his groin.”
Almost a decade later, the Gracie vs Shamrock III result stands, much to the Americans’ annoyance.
Unfortunately, a shot at revenge is improbable, as both fighters walked away from MMA immediately after their trilogy and haven’t returned to the cage since.
