“He’s Wrapping His Gear Around My Neck”: Arch-Rival Ken Shamrock Exposed Gracie Family for Fixing Royce Gracie Fight at UFC 1 in Old Interview

All UFC fighters can unite over their shared trauma of bad bouts. The reasons for a bad bout vary largely. In fact, a fighter doesn’t necessarily need to lose in order to count a fight as the worst experience of his career. UFC veteran Ken Shamrock once shared an experience related to his career’s ‘weirdly’ bad fight. The retired UFC fighter was a wrestler by style. Due to this, his wrestling shoes were an important part of his gear. However, the fighter was stripped of this important gear in an important bout against Royce Gracie.

The fight took place in UFC 1 back in 1993. The founder fight of the now world-famous MMA league was filled with a lot of management issues. This was up to the point that Shamrock once accused the Gracie family of fixing his fight against Royce Gracie.

What happened in the UFC 1 fight?

The fight was not fair on Shamrock’s part as far as fans are concerned. Where the wrestler was denied his wrestling gear (shoes), his opponent, Gracie, was allowed his. “The whole time he’s wrapping his gear around my neck and I remember as he pulled it tight, I tapped… But in my head I’m thinking, ‘they took my shoes away’,” the retired fighter shared.

Shamrock also mentioned that the fight was confirmed only a few days prior. Following that, his shoes were taken away by the management 24 hours before the bout.

Read more:- Edward Norton Revealed UFC 1 Winner Royce Gracie’s Influence That Led to Iconic Hulk Movie Scene at Joe Rogan Podcast in 2019

Whoever has stepped their foot in the ring knows that it’s like walking on ice if you walk barefoot. Besides this, the wrestler also felt discriminated against when he did not get an appropriate break. Shamrock added, “I’m fighting the second fight. Royce had 15 minutes to rest.” While the American fighter had only gone to the changing room, he was called back again.

Did the promotion take any action against this unfair fight?

Ken Shamrock mentioned this unfairness plenty of years later in the original fight. Considering the late review, there can not be any actions taken against this unfairness and discrimination.

The fighter also talked about how after that night, he took an oath to never submit to an opponent ever again. Consequently, Shamrock never lost a match via submission.

Watch this story:- Everything to Know About Royce Gracie, UFC 1

Although it was pretty miserable for the fighter, he did not let this incident bring him down. Instead, he learned from it and changed himself for the better.