Kimo's memorable entrance
UFC 3: The American Dream – Grady Cole
Center – Charlotte, NC
– Sept. 9, 1994
Royce Gracie entered UFC 3 with the
chance to continue his legacy as the Michael Jordan of the fledgling sport of
mixed martial arts.
While the eight-man tournament was set up like the first two UFC
events, as a battle to see which style of martial arts was superior, everyone
knew that one athlete – Royce Gracie – had to be knocked off to keep everyone
else from being irrelevant.
Big John McCarthy was the referee for all of the fights, and
for the first time, he had the discretion to stop the fight, rather than
waiting for the cornerman to throw in the towel.
Bryan Kilmeade, Jim Brown and Ben Perry returned as the
announce crew, and they worked together very smoothly. Rich “G-Man” Goins
continued his streak as ring announcer for all three UFC shows.
UFC 3: an eight-man tournament for $60,000. Let’s fight!
1. Emanuel Yarborough
(Sumo) vs. Keith Hackney (kempo karate)
Hackney was facing a man more than three times his
weight (200 pounds to 616). There’s something you don’t see these days.
Yarborough showed off his power early by throwing Hackney through the door and out of the cage. However, the big man looked like he was chewing gum, and he ran out of gas quickly.
Hackney dropped him with a punch and added more punches on
the ground to win by TKO. Yarborough and the other first-round losers walked
away with $1,000. The first-round winners were guaranteed at least $5,000.
So between Yarborough and Telia Tuli (UFC 1), it’s looking
like we can eliminate “sumo wrestling” from contention as the best fighting style on the
planet.
2. Ken Shamrock
(shootfighting) vs. Christophe Leninger (judo)
Ken Shamrock lost to Gracie in the semifinals of UFC 1, and
he would have been back at UFC 2 if it weren’t for a wrist injury. Leninger was
a 10-time Arizona judo champ and the No. 2
ranked judoka in the U.S.
in his weight class.
Shamrock opened with a takedown and Leninger pulled guard.
Shamrock took the back, transitioned to the top and delivered some strong
punches. Tired of being used as a punching bag and sensing there was no way
out, Leninger tapped at the five-minute mark.
3. Ronald Payne (Muay
Thai kickboxing) vs. Harold Howard (karate)
Payne got a huge ovation from his hometown fans in Charlotte. Howard and his
crew represented Canada. Kilmeade pointed out that the Canadians came out in the “Gracie train”
formation. Jim Brown pointed out that the train originated with boxers like Joe
Frazier and Muhammad Ali.
Howard dropped Payne on his head, but Payne gamely popped up
and started throwing some kicks. Howard won the brawl with a devastating right,
and Payne was out on the way to the canvas.
4. Royce Gracie (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) vs. Kimo (Tae Kwon Do)
Kimo made it clear that he was here to fight and spread the
gospel of Jesus Christ. Not only did have Jesus’ Name tattooed on his abdomen,
but he had a giant tattoo of the crucified Christ on his back.
Kimo came out with a giant cross on his back and wrapped up
his entrance by Tebowing! So all this time, we should have called it Kimoing.
Gracie came out to a massive cheer, as the crowd knew him
and gave him total respect for dominating the first two UFC tournaments.
Gracie couldn’t take Kimo down for the first 90 seconds.
Finally, both men went down and Kimo took Gracie’s back. Royce fought his way
to the top, but Kimo BUCKED him off and landed on top. Okay, now we’ve got a
fight.
Kimo passed his guard and smothered Gracie, which is what
Royce always loved to do. Gracie responded by using Kimo’s hair as a handle (There are
no rules!).
Royce finally won the fight by grabbing an armbar from the
bottom. All this action happened in less than five minutes, so this is your
first “greatest fight in UFC history.”
Unfortunately, the injury bug bit the winners of the first four fights really hard. First, Hackney dropped out, and Felix Lee Mitchell took his
place on 10 minutes notice.
5. Semifinal No. 1:
Felix Lee Mitchell (kung fu) vs. Ken Shamrock (shootfighting)
Mitchell came to the ring wearing boxing gloves, but he
decided to take them off before the fight. “Good idea,” said Art Jimmerson,
watching at home.
Lots of close-quarters fighting wore out both men and the
crowd. Finally, Shamrock put Mitchell away at the 4:30 mark with the rear naked
choke.
Shamrock guaranteed himself at least $15,000 with his
semifinal victory.
6. Semifinal No. 2:
Royce Gracie (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) vs. Harold Howard (karate)
The announcers talk about how banged up Gracie is from the
first fight. Sure enough, the towel came flying in and Gracie left the
tournament with a shoulder injury. Just like that, Gracie’s streak was over.
This kicked off a hilarious double celebration in the
Octagon. First, Howard and Team Canada
started jumping around like they really won the fight. Then, Kimo and his entourage
hit the ring for a victory lap as if to say “Yeah, that was us!”
The finals were a big problem, as Shamrock was also unable
to compete due to an injury. Steve Jennum, an alternate, jumped right into the final fight.
7. UFC 3 Finals:
Steve Jennum (Policeman/Ninja) vs. Harold Howard (karate)
Howard tried a big flip that completely missed before landing a
hard right hand. Jennum rebounded by working Howard into the mount position. He ground-and-pounded his way to victory, winning the whole tournament.
Jennum, the pride of Omaha,
Neb., was busted open from that
first big punch, but he was the winner. Promoter Art Davie wrote “Steve
Jennum!” on the check, and that’s a wrap!
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