At the beginnings of the mixed martial arts movement, back in the early 1990’s when the sport was still often referred to as ‘No Holds Barred,’ the UFC arrived on the scene with a policy of fighting with bare knuckles.
The no-gloves stipulation (which boxer Art Jimmerson partially managed to circumnavigate at UFC 1) had been requested by one of the event’s founders, Rorian Gracie, who wanted to see fighting in its purest form.
By UFC 6 in 1995 gloves had become optional for fighters though, and by UFC 14 in 1997 they were mandatory.
Even when wearing gloves became the norm though, some fighters were still willing to test themselves in bareknuckle combat, whether it was for fight promotions in packed arenas, or just out on the street in front of a few dozen onlookers baying for blood.
Among them were some of the most famous fighters in the sport, battle hardened warriors who would move on from those barbaric beginnings to fight at the highest level in the UFC, and in some cases still do even to this day.
In this article we’ll tell the story of ten past and present UFC stars who were brave enough to go bare knuckle, providing rare video footage of them in action where possible – so let’s get right to it!
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