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Kimo was not a top fighter. Nobody had even heard of the rest of the fighters in the first UFC. But the Gracie family has never done anything but oversell the qualifications of the people they've gone up against.

As you note, there was not a lot of application for the first UFC. But in discussion and publicity about it, you'd think Gracie had fought the best in the world. Modesty or perspective, or even not being a good bit cheesy, have never been Gracie strong suits.

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Yeah i agree on all counts. On a postive note, you could say that marketing is a Gracie strong suit. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Shamrock was clearly the second best fighter in the early UFC days, as a king of pancration. Depardue was also pretty well regarded in Canada, as was Patrick Smith in the kickboxing / muy thai world. But yeah, those were really the only standouts.

I no means would I say that Gracie defeated the best in the world. But I would say that he defeated everyone who showed up.

The Gracie / Hughes fight will be the real test, in my opinion. We'll see if Royce took the fight just for the payday and it will be low action, just a lot of Hughes in the guard and Royce defending - or if Gracie has really actively prepared for someone of Hughes' strength and conditioning and wrestling ability.