The Gracie Glue That Shines Through in UFC 2 (No Way Out)

Royce Gracie vs. Patrick Smith

Patrick Smith was exactly where he wanted to be in UFC 2. The determination of the Denver native was something to watch and most now considered Smith to have redeemed himself from the loss to Ken Shamrock back at UFC 1. But now he had to face Royce Gracie, a man more skilled on the ground than Patrick and able to submit every opponent he has ever faced in UFC competition so far.

The mentioning Ken Shamrock brings up a point as many expected he would be on the card for UFC 2 and when the fighters were announced for UFC 2 and Shamrock’s name wasn’t included many were disappointed. Shamrock had broken his hand in another fight and therefore couldn’t compete but he was in the crowd as a spectator. Before the final he was interviewed on camera and gave us his thoughts on the evening’s competitors. We would see Shamrock back in the octagon for UFC 3.

Gracie, by this time, had proved the Brazilian jujitsu was the discipline to have if one wanted to excel at MMA. Every opponent, larger or not, and it was usually the former, fell to his skills of grappling and submission holds. Unfortunately for Patrick Smith, the results of the final to UFC 2 would not be any different.

Out of all the fights this was the most disappointing. Although the outcome probably wouldn’t have been any different, when the Smith corner threw in the towel prematurely, it took away any chance Patrick had to come back on Gracie. Smith had prepared six months, learning grappling skills in the process, to be prepared for this specific opportunity and it was disappointing the fight wasn’t more entertaining.

Yes, Gracie took Smith to the ground, yes, Gracie had Smith in a mounted position, and yes Gracie was beginning to strike Smith in the face, but the fight was far from over. Patrick was not even close to being hurt and the Smith’s corner basically robbed the Denver crowd of a complete contest. In the end, Gracie won at 1:17, but the fight could have lasted much longer.

Royce Gracie vs. Patrick Smith Video

Gracie defended his UFC crown as many predicted and it wasn’t until UFC 3 that we saw any crack in Royce’s armor. But more on that in a future article.

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