The Ultimate Fighting Championship is an American tournament for no holds barred fighting, and it was the showcase for R o y c e   G r a c i e, son of Helio Gracie, to demonstrate the effectiveness of their family's fighting art. The matches took place in the "Octagon," a platform surrounded by padded fencing. On March 11, 1994, R o y c e   G r a c i e stepped into the Octagon in the first...

Royce vs. Art Jimmerson (boxing):

Royce stepped into the Octagon against Jimmerson which was Royce's first match of the tournament. He took the boxer down after squaring off in the octagon. Then Royce attained the mounted position. The boxer gave up after realizing the futility of his situation.
 

Royce vs. Ken Shamrock (shootfighting):

Royce immediately crossed the octagon and quickly shot in on Shamrock who defended the shoot (tackling technique) by grabbing Royce by both shoulders under his armpits in a hugging posture. This allowed Shamrock to simply turn Royce over onto his back and mount him. But, Royce quickly countered from being mounted by blocking with one arm. Royce then struggles to get up and Shamrock follows close to Royce. Royce quickly holds Shamrock tightly to his chest and puts him in guard as they both go to the ground.

Immediately, Royce kicks Shamrock's lower back with his heel while Shamrock tries to attempt the same anklelock which allowed him to defeat Pat Smith in an earlier bout. But this time, Royce follows Shamrock as Shamrock sits back for the anklelock. Shamrock almost gets mounted by Royce as Royce comes on top of him. Royce tries to mount Shamrock while Shamrock defends. Royce palm strikes Shamrock once in the face and tries to push Shamrock's one arm to one side. Shamrock rolls out of the position while Royce tries to keep the top position where both of them are in a partial side mount situation. 
 

Royce reverses and gets on top of Shamrock.

Shamrock gets to his hands and knees. Royce responds by wrapping one leg around Shamrock leg and chokes Shamrock from the side. With his one leg entwined by Royce's leg, Shamrock has difficulty standing up or maneuvering on the ground. Shamrock is on his hands and knees and taps in submission from Royce's choke. However, the referee doesn't see the tap. Royce relaxes his choke and apparently demands Shamrock to acknowledge his submission. The referee questions Shamrock, and Shamrock finally admits he had tapped as he nods his head in agreement of Royce's victory.
 

Royce vs. Gerard Gordeau (savate):

For the championship bout, Royce shoots in low and has a hard time bringing Gordeau down. Gordeau and Royce end up up against the fencing in a clinch. Eventually, Royce brings his opponent to the ground by tripping Gordeau. Royce ends up in the mounted position. Gordeau turn onto his stomach where Royce simply applies a rear naked choke to force Gordeau to submit.
 
 

Royce vs. Minoki Ichihara (karate) :

In this preliminary bout, Royce launches two kicks and Ichihara himself counters with a kick. Ichihara attempts to strike but Royce shoots in quickly and takes Ichihara down to the mat. From the mounted position, Royce stabilizes the position as Ichihara attempts to buck Royce off. Eventually Ichihara almost gets Royce off of him, but Royce goes to the side of Ishihara and chokes Ichihara with his own collar and Ichihara taps out.
 

Royce vs. Jason DeLucia (Five Animals Kung Fu) :

DeLucia had earlier fought Royce at the Gracie Academy in a challenge match which appeared on one of the Gracie In-Action video tape where DeLucia submitted to Royce from a triangle choke. 

DeLucia shot in with a right side kick which Royce blocked with his knee. DeLucia said after the bout that he wanted to take Royce down to the ground. Royce mounted DeLucia and DeLucia tried to bridge and roll Royce off to reverse the position. He left one arm free which Royce capitalized on and forced DeLucia into submission with an armlock.
 

Royce vs. Remco Pardoel (jiu-jitsu) :

Pardoel stood upright and Royce shot in for the clinch and got to Pardoel's back. Royce tried to take his larger opponent to the ground as Pardoel kept himself upright. Eventually they went to the ground where Royce got on Pardoel's back. Pardoel was on his hands and knees. Royce hooked both feet into Pardoel's hips and thighs. 

Remco quickly countered by turning over to force Royce onto his back while Royce had his legs hooked into Remco's hips and applied a choke using Remco's judo gi collar. Remco held Royce's free arm to prevent the choke from being more effective as he turned onto his hands and knees. Eventually, Remco succumbed to the effectiveness of the collar choke and tapped in submission.
 

Royce vs. Pat Smith (kickboxing) :

Pat Smith squared off with Royce and they moved around until Smith rushed Royce with a lead kick which was ineffective as Royce used a typical low kick to block. He quickly ducked under for the clinch. They both go to the ground where Royce establishes the mount position as Smith tries to hold Royce's head in a headlock. Royce simply turns and sits to one side and hits Smith's head. Smith can't defend himself and looks to the referee as he submits.

Royce kneed by Smith in the clinch.

Royce vs. Kimo Leopoldo (Tae Kwon Do) :

Kimo was more of a street fighter or brawler as he stepped into the ring to fight Royce. Kimo cautiously crossed the octagon to meet Royce in a semi-crouched position. He swings with an awkward hook punch to Royce's head which Royce ducks under. Royce quickly shoots in for the clinch. They clinch and Kimo tries to free himself and they end up against the fence of the octagon. Royce throws a few knees and also headbutts Kimo which opens a small cut on Kimo's brow. 

When they both go to the ground, surprisingly Kimo ends up on Royce's back and rear mounts Royce. Royce rolls onto his back to force Kimo onto his own back. Royce then gets to his knees with Kimo riding on his back without Kimo's legs hooked into his hips. 

Royce rolls out again and Kimo can't maintain the rear mount position and winds up with Royce on top of Kimo. Kimo uses his strength to bridge and roll Royce off of him. Royce immediately holds Kimo in his guard while Kimo tries to headbutt and strike Royce which Royce deflects and neutralizes by holding onto one of Kimo's hands and protecting his face with the other hand. Royce attempts to arm bar Kimo from the guard but Kimo pulls his arm out and forces Royce to roll onto his hands and knees. Kimo tries to secure the mounted position as Royce eventually rolls onto his back. 
 

Royce holds Kimo by his ponytail.

Royce puts Kimo in guard and holds Kimo down by holding onto Kimo's ponytail while striking him in the face with his free hand. Kimo tries to choke Royce with an elbow while leaning his weight on top of Royce. Kimo escapes and Royce tries to get up but Kimo quickly clinches with Royce from behind. Royce tucks down to prevent being thrown and they both stumble tiredly to the fence and both fall to the mat. Kimo falls into Royce's guard and eventually gets caught with an armbar. Kimo is lying face down with Royce's legs wrapped around his torso and applying an awkward armbar. Kimo wearily taps out. Royce has a small cut below one eye and is carried out. He can't continue to fight and drops out of the tournament.
 
 

Royce vs. Ron Van Clief (karate) :

They both walk towards one another and both kick simultaneously with low kicks. Royce goes for the clinch and swings around to Van Clief's side, and forces Van Clief to the ground. He establishes side mount and then mounts Van Clief. Royce throws a few palm strikes and elbows to the back of Van Clief's head as well as striking Van Clief in the ribs. Eventually Van Clief turns over when Royce sits up and throws a barrage of punches at Van Clief's head. Royce chokes him from the rear for a submission.
 

Royce vs. Keith Hackney (Kenpo Kung Fu) :

They both square off in the center of the ring. Hackney constantly fakes with his hands and Royce cautiously moves about. Royce attempts a low kick and then a high kick to Hackney's face which is wide. Hackney then launches a low kick but Royce comes in for the shoot and Hackney quickly reverses himself and strikes at Royce while backing off. 

Royce appears visibly angry and pursues Hackney. Royce shoots again and Hackney deflects the shoot and backs off. They both square off and apply feinting, half-hearted striking attempts. Royce tries to shoot in again but Hackney's game plan is to obviously avoid the clinch and strike from the standing position. Eventually Royce accomplishes the clinch. Royce knees Hackney, as they both struggle in the clinch. 

Hackney pushes Royce away while holding onto Royce's uniform and strikes repeatedly at Royce's head. Royce defends by trying to get back into the clinch with Hackney. Royce quickly establishes the clinch with Hackney. 

Royce pays Hackney back by holding Hackney's head down and repeatedly kneeing him in the head while Hackney tries to block the knees with his arms. Royce pulls Hackney to the ground into his guard and tries for a submission but can't get the triangle choke. Royce uses a weak triangle to hold Hackney in place as Royce holds Hackney's one hand. Effectively, Hackney has his head and shoulders trapped between Royce's legs. 

Hackney gets up and Royce uses an open guard to prevent Hackney's escape since Hackney has his back to the fence. Hackney leans forward and throws a tremendous right hand downward at Royce's head. How much contact the punch had with Royce's head is uncertain as Royce quickly holds Hackney in his guard in a tight defensive position trapping one of Hackney's arm and his head. 

Eventually, Hackney sits back and Royce elbows and punches to Hackney's face. Hackney defends himself and tries to free one arm which Royce holds onto. Finally, Hackney gets caught in an armbar and taps in submission.
 

Royce vs. Dan Severn (wrestling) :

In this long championship bout, Royce aggressively kicks at Severn which miss. Severn shoots in and does a double-leg take down. Royce immediately puts Severn into his guard and uses heel kicks at the back of Severn. Severn tries to choke Royce but gives up the attempt. He simply stays on top of Royce and forces Royce to bear his weight. Royce tries to choke Severn from the bottom using the blade of his forearm against Severn's throat and grabbing his own gi which is not effective to force Severn into submission. Severn gets more aggressive and leans back abit to strike at Royce's head with short barrages while Royce quickly pulls Severn tightly against him. 

Severn's tactic is to place his weight on top of Royce and ride Royce while periodically trying to throw punches at Royce's head. Severn repeatedly tries to place Royce up against the fence. Royce finally goes for the triangle choke but Royce's head is up against the fence. Royce uses one leg to push him away from the fence thus giving up the choke. 

Severn pushes the blade of his forearm onto Royce's neck and bears his weight on Royce and also throws a few hooks to Royce's head. Royce defends himself as usual in the guard to prevent from getting hit and waits patiently for openings. 

Royce goes for the triangle choke again and wraps his legs around Severn's head and shoulder. Securing the choke, Severn appears befuddled and moves about aimlessly from side to side as his head is trapped between Royce's legs. Severn eventually taps out as he obviously cannot extricate himself from the choke and the pressure on his neck increases.
 
 

Royce vs. Shamrock — S U P E R F I G H T :

Shamrock wanted to settle the score with Royce ever since his loss to Royce in the first UFC. In the UFCs after Shamrock's defeat, Shamrock entered the UFC to hope to fight in the tournament format to eventually settle his score with Royce. "Royce beat me clean. I underestimated his abilities and was careless," admitted Shamrock in regard to his loss to Royce in the first UFC. The Superfight was the perfect venue to settle the score with Royce. 

Shamrock looked more muscular than the first match with Royce and stepped into the octagon wearing black bikini trunks, wrestling shoes and knee pads. As usual, Royce entered wearing a white judo gi with his family's emblem emblazoned on the back. 

As expected, the fight went to the ground. Royce had Shamrock in his guard for the first 31 minutes. Shamrock was content to stay in Royce's guard. This time, Shamrock simply tucked his head down onto Royce's head and waited Royce out. It was apparent that this tactic would allow Shamrock a draw under the rules of the Superfight if he made no mistakes. Shamrock threw some punches into Royce's ribs but Royce neutralized the attacks easily as Royce spent the majority of the fight kicking the back of Shamrock with his heel and palm striking Shamrock's head, and consistently applying a choke with the edge of his elbow into Shamrock's throat. 
 

Shamrock in Royce's open guard.

After 31 minutes, the referee broke them up and restarted the fight into overtime with both of them standing. Shamrock crossed the octagon and faced Royce. Royce quickly lashed out with a side kick at Shamrock. It was followed up by a slap at Shamrock's face. Shamrock countered weakly with a punch and missed. Royce kicked low again and closed the distance on Shamrock. As Royce came in with the kick, Royce followed with a straight punch which missed. Shamrock almost simultaneously followed up Royce's punch with his own straight or overhand right hand. The strike hit Royce above the eye. Royce shot in for the clinch, but Shamrock countered again just like in their first match by holding Royce around the shoulder area. 

Royce quickly countered by sitting back and pulling Shamrock into his guard. Shamrock's punch had given Royce a "mouse" under one eye which ballooned rapidly. Shamrock headbutted Royce to try to get at Royce's ballooning eye. Royce appeared dazed and spent time defending his bruised eye which Shamrock tried to irritate withh headbutts and his hand. 

With the stalemate and time running out again, the fight was pronounced a tie. It appeared that Shamrock fought his game plan of using the same waiting game that Royce and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters used against larger opponents. 

This was to be Royce's last fight to date. He refused to enter the octagon as time limits hindered his ability to defeat often larger and stronger opponents. The justification was that time limits would result in a tie or if it came to judges' decision, he may lose to an opponent. This assumption has been born out by bjj fighters losing in the UFC, fighting under time limits and judges' decisions. 

After Royce fought Shamrock in the Super Fight, Royce Gracie walked out of the Octagon, with a string of victories, one tie, and one technical loss when he couldn't continue fighting after his victorious bout with Kimo.