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

Patrick Smith vs. Scott Morris

Patrick Smith came in to UFC 2 on a mission. Losing to Ken Shamrock at UFC 1 (submission, heel-hook) embarrassed the Denver native in front of his hometown fans and Smith didn’t take the loss lightly. Smith was invited back to UFC 2, also held in Denver, and he used the interim to learn ground techniques.

Smith used what he learned to submit Sean Daugherty in the preliminary round and was looking to continue winning and take the championship from Gracie.

Scott Morris was the UFC’s first ninjutsu practitioner studying at Robert Bussey’s Warrior International (the organization closed its doors in 1997). Morris was a dark horse in the competition as not many at the time knew much about either him or the organization.

The fight opened with Morris rushing Smith in an attempt to strike the kick-boxer with a right knee. Smith moved to his left and grabbed Morris. Morris forced Patrick against the fence then wrapped his arms around his waist and lifted Smith slightly off the ground. Morris then tucked his head into Smith’s side and pulled Patrick forward forcefully to the ground. The point was to smash Smith’s face into the mat. The results were far from devastating, at least for Smith, as this put Patrick in the dominant position on the ground.

With full mount, Smith just raised himself up and began reigning blows down on Morris’ face. Morris tried to hug Smith but failed and Smith landed elbow after elbow until you wondered why the slaughter wasn’t stopped. By the time Morris’ corner found and threw in the towel, ninja was prostrate with multiple lacerations to his face.

The fight was one of the most brutal in UFC history. It lasted all of 30 seconds and it took Morris weeks to recover from the fight. It was also the catalyst for rule changes as you would see in future UFC competitions.

The first rule change implemented after UFC 2 was that the referee would be required to ensure each corner had a towel ready to be thrown into the octagon. The reason you saw such a long barrage of strikes against Morris was that his corner couldn’t find a towel. The referee also would also be allowed to stop a fight if he deemed a fighter could no longer defend himself.

Patrick Smith vs. Scott Morris Video

Johnny Rhodes vs. Fred Ettish

Johnny Rhodes would fight in the UFC for this tournament only then would fade into oblivion. The 39 year old’s discipline was karate and he took out David Levicki to face alternate Fred Ettish in this bout. UFC 2 would be Ettis’ only appearance also at the Ultimate Fighting Championship and we wouldn’t have seen him at all if Frank Hamaker didn’t withdrawal from the competition with an arm injury. Ettish’s discipline was also karate so it was no surprise the fight was decided with blows rather than a submission.

The fight opened with kicks from the two fighters and some sparring on Rhodes part. You could tell Ettish would have a hard time against Rhodes as Ettish’s stance, with his left arm at his side, left him open to punches.

Ettish eventually lifted that left arm, copying Rhodes, when he concentrated more on punching leaving the kicks behind. But Rhodes was a skilled counter puncher and even though he had just been through a twelve minute marathon the fight before, he still had pop in his fists.

About a minute into the fight Rhodes avoided a soft straight right from Ettish and countered with one of his own tagging Ettish and putting the smaller fighter off balance. Rhodes then pursued Ettish and hit him with another. Ettish fell to the ground and Rhodes circled the downed fighter looking for an opportunity for a finishing barrage. Ettish defended himself from the ground resting on his left hip using his legs to keep Rhodes at a distance.

Rhodes was patient until he saw an opportunity to strike. He slowly moved in closer to Ettish and dropped a straight right into Ettish’s face with devastating effect. Ettish turtled to protect himself and Rhodes, who had dropped to his knees by then let loose with a flurry of fists.

The turtle protected Ettish enough to allow him to weather the flurry and try to stand back up. Taking repeated strikes while attempting to gain his feet, including some strong knee strikes to the face, Ettish showed he had guts.

But Rhodes was too much for the smaller fighter and after Ettish fell back to the ground, Rhodes circled again until he was comfortable going to the ground. When he did, about 30 seconds later, he applied a choke and Ettish tapped out. The fight lasted 3:07.

Johnny Rhodes vs. Fred Ettish Video

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