Funny footage shows late MMA icon Art ‘One Glove’ Jimmerson admitting he didn’t know takedowns and headbutts were legal at UFC 1
MMA fans are currently mourning the loss of a legendary fighter.
Since it was announced that Art ‘One Glove’ Jimmerson had passed away at 60-years-old on May 8, social media has been flooded with footage from his lone UFC fight.
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The Golden Gloves champion boxer is fondly remembered by fans despite only stepping into the octagon once to represent his sport at UFC 1 in November 1993.
Jimmerson famously wore one boxing glove on his left hand, which he planned to use to jab his opponent before following up with a bare-knuckle knockout blow with his right hand.
However, he ended up running into BJJ wizard Royce Gracie, who quickly took him down to the floor and earned the first of the three submission wins he picked up that night.
Jimmerson never fought in MMA again as he returned to professional boxing and carried on his career, which ended with 51 bouts, 33 wins and 18 defeats in 2002.
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Despite being a boxing journeyman, ‘One Glove’ was loved by MMA fans, so much so, that he was invited to take part in a fan Q&A session ahead of UFC 167 exactly 20 years on from his fight with Gracie.
It was there he hilariously admitted to not knowing the rules of MMA.
Only three things were illegal during the early days of the UFC - biting, eye gouging, and groin shots - but Jimmerson didn’t find that out until Gracie was beating him up.
Takedowns and headbutts were perfectly legal, but the boxer didn’t realise and spent most of his two-minute fight wondering why the referee wasn’t intervening.
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“To be a boxer, I had to stay on my feet,” Jimmerson said in November 2013.
“Royce did the smartest thing. You know, he came and took my legs from under me.
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“I looked up at the referee like, ‘I’m ready to get up’ He’s like, ‘No. Keep fighting.’
“The funny part is Royce headbutts me three times. Bam! Bam! Bam! I said, ‘He’s cheating’. He said, ‘No’.
“It was a really, really bad night for me.”
A smile beamed across Jimmerson’s face as reminisced about his tough night at the office and earned a chorus of laughs from everyone in attendance at the Q&A session.
The UFC have confirmed Jimmerson’s passing on social media and are expected to pay tribute to the MMA pioneer at their show in St. Louis, Missouri on Saturday night.
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