Oh, great, vengeful God (or Zorp), please let this happen. If you can allow Razor Ramone to be assisted off his wheelchair, only to be repeatedly kicked and hit with steel chairs in front of an audience of less than 500 people, then surely you can allow this to happen. In a recent interview with MMAfighting.com, none other than Art Jimmerson, the man behind the most embarrassing loss in UFC History, challenged the former Youtube sensation, MoneyTalks star, UFC fighter, and 2-0 boxer Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson to a boxing match, stating:

(No glove, no love for Royce.)

When we first heard that one and done boxer-turned-MMA fighter Art Jimmerson was campaigning for a rematch with Royce Gracie at UFC Rio in August, we were skeptical, considering what happened to the single glove-wearing fighter at UFC 1. It didn’t help that the so-called “proof” that the fight was in the works was the fact that Jimmerson’s profile had inexplicably appeared on the UFC’s website. Harold Howard and Joe Son also have profiles on the site, and it’s unlikely they’ll get a weekend pass from prison to compete on the card, so the story seemed like it might be bullshit.

Well, it appears the rumors are true — at least that Jimmerson is pushing for the fight.

(Jimmerson’s Plan B was to close his eyes and count to 50, but when he opened them the bad man was still there. PicProps: MMA and Me)

In the nearly 20 years after Art Jimmerson spent all of two minutes, 18 seconds as a UFC fighter, he’s kind of become the gold standard for bad decision-making in our sport. Jimmerson’s choice to wear just one boxing glove during his fight against Royce Gracie at UFC 1 is now the stuff of legend in the same way Harold Howard’s mullet, Scott Morris’ ninjitsu and Teila Tuli’s flying tooth have become synonymous with epic failure during the early days of “no holds barred” combat. Heck, Jimmerson’s folly even inspired Tom Lawlor’s most recent wacky (and kind of uncomfortable) entrance to the UFC 121 weigh-ins. If getting spoofed by Lawlor doesn’t mean you’ve etched your name into the history books, I don’t know what does. For Jimmerson however — a former Golden Gloves champ who put together a mostly successful 17-year career as a professional boxer — being remembered primarily as “the idiot who wore one boxing glove to an MMA fight” has to be a little infuriating.

That’s why it makes for such a syrupy, schmaltzy happy ending to his roundabout history in MMA that Jimmerson is now once again gainfully employed with the UFC: Teaching boxing at the newly opened UFC Gym in Rosemead, Calif. Scumbag blogger turned respected reporter Ben Fowlkes has the scoop, sitting down with the boxer to get a full report on Jimmerson’s fight with Gracie (“I was like, I’m going to kill this man. I never heard of no Royce Gracie … ”) and his fateful decision to strap that glove onto his left fist before heading out to the cage. As it turns out, Jimmerson says there was actually some strategery involved.

When James Toney meets Randy Couture at UFC 118 next Saturday, he’ll be attempting to prove the dominance of the "sweet science" over that weird stuff that gay skinheads do. Of course, he won’t be the first pugilist to try to beat an MMA fighter at their own game — boxing vs. martial arts challenge matches have been around since before "Lights Out" was born. Join us as we take a look back at the brave boxers who preceded Toney…and what became of them.

MILO SAVAGE vs. "JUDO" GENE LeBELL
December 2, 1963

Arguably the first sanctioned MMA match in American history, Savage vs. LeBell came together when legendary judoka/actor Gene LeBell answered a challenge from boxer Jim Beck, who claimed that a professional boxer could beat any martial artist. (Yep, they’ve been making the same boast for almost 50 years.) According to LeBell, he was expecting to fight Beck himself in the televised match, but his opponent was switched at the last minute to Milo Savage, a top-5-ranked light-heavyweight who was allegedly wearing brass knuckles under his fingerless speed-bag gloves, and was greased from head to toe. Despite the disadvantages, Gene sunk a lapel choke in the 4th round and put Savage to sleep. But as with most stories involving Judo Gene, the details are somewhat debatable; this Jonathan Snowden article debunks several aspects of LeBell’s version. Still, LeBell vs. Savage deserves credit as the first MMA-style fight on television, and set up a rivalry between boxing and martial arts that’s somehow still relevant today.

MUHAMMAD ALI vs. ANTONIO INOKI
June 26, 1976

It sounded like good, harmless fun — the greatest boxer of all time taking on Japanese pro-wrestling kingpin Antonio Inoki in an exhibition match in Tokyo. But in the days leading up to the show, bizarre rules were added that restricted certain attacks. Most notably, Inoki could only kick if he had one knee on the ground. So, he scooted around the ring kicking Ali’s legs for the entire 15-round duration. Ali only landed six punches the entire fight and went home with two blood clots and an infection. The bout was ruled a draw, and has garnered a reputation as one of the ugliest fiascos in the history of combat sports. Fun fact: The referee of this match? None other than mixed-fighting pioneer Gene LeBell.

(Gerard Gordeau stomps Kevin Rosier in the semi-finals of UFC 1. Image courtesy of Real Fighter.)

In honor of the upcoming 15th anniversary of UFC 1, Real Fighter magazine has published an incredible oral history called “Starting a Fight,” where all the fighters and organizers involved share their memories about the watershed event. You can (and should) download the article at BloodyElbow. Our favorite bits are below…

***

“Big” John McCarthy: I had put in my application for it. Rorion said, “What are you doing? You can’t fight. You’re with us. When Royce is done, we’ll put you in there.”

Rorion Gracie: We thought of a ring that had a moat and we could put alligators on the outside, [or] chariots running around the ring and dropping the fighters off, people with trumpets and Roman togas announcing them. This is Hollywood.

Art Davie: I don’t think I came up with the moat idea. But the electrified copper fence was mine.

McCarthy: Jimmerson said, “How in the world do you think Royce is going to beat me when I’m flicking out a jab? He can’t get past that.” We went into a back ballroom area and I grabbed him in a double leg and put him on the ground. He looked up at me and said, “Oh, my God. He’s going to break my arms and legs, isn’t he?”

Ken Shamrock: Tuli goes down to his knees and Gerard kicks him in the mouth and his teeth go flying into the front row. Prior to that, everyone [backstage] was hitting pads and trying to hide their fear. It went dead silent.