Ken Shamrock's 6 best UFC fights

#2: vs. Kimo Leopoldo, UFC 8, February 16th, 1996

Shamrock submitted legendary brawler Kimo at UFC 8

When Shamrock won the UFC’s new ‘Superfight’ title by beating Dan Severn at UFC 6, the idea was that he’d defend against the best that the promotion had to offer. Oleg Taktarov was first, at UFC 7, but the fight was anything but memorable – a dull, drawn-out affair that was considered a draw, although Shamrock would’ve won a decision had today’s judging system been involved.

Far better though was his second defense against Kimo Leopoldo. Kimo had only had one UFC fight to that point, but it’d been one of the wildest brawls in UFC history as he’d become the first man to really push Royce Gracie before finally succumbing to an armbar after just under five minutes.

It was clear that the Hawaiian tough man was going to take the fight to Shamrock, and Ken obliged as both men went toe-to-toe standing before exchanging positions – and headbutts – on the ground. When Kimo got on top it looked like he might be about to pull out an upset, but Shamrock rolled into a kneebar and forced him to tap out at 4:24 – 16 seconds quicker than his old rival Gracie had taken to submit the street fighter.

It was a super-impressive showing as Shamrock showed that he had both the ground skill – and the sheer toughness – to deal with one of the UFC’s most notorious brawlers.