i always wanted to see this matchup back in the day ..right around when the 2nd ultimate Ultimate happened, this fight would have been perfect..probably the 2 most well rounded fighters at the time...who would have won??
could SHammy score the takedown and grind Ruas to a decision??
could Ruas somehow keep it standing and chop SHammy down with kicks and punches??we all know Shammy couldnt hang with ruas on the feet..
if taken down, is there any chance ruas could get back to his feet or possibly even sub Shammy from his back??
too hard to call, what u think UG??
Ruas.
Shamrock by dec.
I really liked Ruas back in the day but I think his standup was overrated. He had a whole fight with Taktarov on the feet and couldn't do any damage. I also think his submission defense was probably better than his offense. I could see Shamrock taking him down and GNP him similar to what he did to Johnson. 
I could see both those guys going for leg submissions right out of the box on the mat. That would have been an excellent fight. Re: the first Taktarov fight, I don't think that was a good showing for Ruas, I think the issue was that he gassed pretty hard in that fight.
Ninja and Shogun destroy Shamrock with ease. you guys are crazy.
Probably Ken.
But Marco was a BOSS back then!
Prime Master LLoyd beats Rickson, Glamcock, and Ruas.
not shogun tho
Prime Master LLoyd beats Rickson, Glamcock, and Ruas.
not shogun tho
ehh i seriously doubt Ruas was afraid of SHamrock or anyone in MMA...he did seem tentative in several fights though i admit..
hammerhouse-that is true but did you see the rematch between Ruas and Oleg??Ruas was a different fighter then and he destroyed Oleg with strikes..it was about as one-sided as you can get..
Ruas would chop Ken down like his student Rizzo did.
RyannVonDoom - Ken and it wouldn't have been close. There's a reason why Ruas never asked for this fight.
Iirc - He did actually say when interviewed at one of the early UFCs he attended, that Royce and Ken were the 2 guys he was most interested in fighting.
I think Ken probably takes the decision in a pretty lackluster fight though. If Larry Cureton manages to get on top of Ruas, Ken def would have.
Ruas.
Bry Bry - ehh i seriously doubt Ruas was afraid of SHamrock or anyone in MMA...he did seem tentative in several fights though i admit..Yes, but that second fight still ended in a draw. Also, two fight later he lost to Otsuka. I really like Ruas but I don't see him running over Shamrock. I think Ken plays it safe and takes him down and grinds out a decision. One thing on Ruas' side is his size. There is a picture with Coleman, Kerr, Kimo, etc. (Shamrock may be in it as well) where Ruas is clearly the biggest out of all of them.
hammerhouse-that is true but did you see the rematch between Ruas and Oleg??Ruas was a different fighter then and he destroyed Oleg with strikes..it was about as one-sided as you can get..
Well, Ruas was a big guy, listed as 1.85 for his rematch with Taktarov and fit.
He was never really impressive however, I guess he was expected to be perfect with his BJJ and vale tudo experience plus some muay thai. But with his counter-attacking style he never really got to shine (let's not forget he was pretty old already then). He chopped down slugger Varelans and choked Jennum. Went 1-0-1 against Taktarov who was a stud back then but in that style matchup Ruas should reeally have been able to cruise to victory with strikes, Taktarov was a flat-footed Sambo guy with leglocks and uninspired boxing, not much else (don't get me wrong, I like the russian bastard and would have loved to see him with Royce or Sakuraba).
Shammy in his prime takes this either on the feet or on the ground, no finish however and it would have been a pretty slow fight.
I think Ken. Ruas had the skills to be the best but he lacked the mental strength of the very best fighters. Some people criticise Shammrocks heart but I think Ruas had less.
Obviously to even get in the ring you have to be brave, but compared to other fighters Ruas was not brave at all. Thats why he fought so tentatively against guys he outclassed by quite a bit.
Ruas was way ahead of his time, much moreso than the likes of shamrock. Shamrock had stand up skills compared to Royce, but Ruas was legitimately technically skilled striking and on the ground. If he had the right mentality Ruas could have been the best by quite a distance at that time imo.
Truemanc3 - Ruas would chop Ken down like his student Rizzo did.
LOL!
Bullshit comparison.
First of all.. as much af a legit legend as Marco Ruas is.. Pedro Rizzo is absolutly one of the most dangerous strikers ever in MMA, and just a VERY tough fighter overall. Rizzo may have learned a lot from Ruas, and looked up to him as a mentor. But realistically, Rizzo would evolve into the superior fighter, and fought much bigger and better competition than Ruas.
Second.. Ken was beyond washed up when he fought a Rizzo that still had much of his ability, especially in the striking department. By this fight, Ken's knees and neck were so far gone, that any kind of dominant grappling he used to posess was a thing of the past. Ken basically HAD to fight Rizzo standing up. The thing is, Ken didn't look that bad until his leg got wrecked. He wasn't "winning" the standup by any means.. but he was holding his own.
Like I said.. bad comparison. Pretty much irrelavent.
If we are talking about Ken at the Ultimate Ultimate 96, this was the best version of Ken Shamrock ever. He was healthy, incredibly explosive and freaky strong. Look at his double leg on Brian Johnston (who was not a slouch as he trained wrestling with Don Frye). Ken shot one of the fastest doubles I've ever seen a heavyweight shoot in MMA. He took down a 240 muscular, strong beast like Brian Johnston with ease and Johnston was not a softie.
Ken will come in at 230 lbs and have a significant size and strength advantage over Ruas. Ken will have NO PROBLEMS taking Ruas down in 1996. At UFC 3, Ken had a knee injury so his takedowns looked slow and unexplosive. This would not be a problem in late 1996. At UFC 1, Ken's understanding of BJJ was poor. By late 1996, a top BJJ guy would not be able to tap Ken like Royce did in 1993 in a NHB fight.
Ken's students, Vernon White and Jerry Bohlander, fought nasty BJJ guys and did not get submitted. White fought Sperry and Bohlander fought Gurgel and Bustamante. Ken circa 1996 (after he had time to learn how to defend BJJ) had a better top game than they did, so I highly, highly doubt Ruas gets a submission from guard.
I've got Ken via decision due to takedowns and ground and pound. Maybe even Ken via TKO. I can't see Ruas giving a late 1996 Ken any problems at all. Maybe a 1993-94 version of Ken, yes, but not a late 1996 version of Ken.
I would pick Ken Shamrock in this fight, and with confidence.
Ken would just be a bad matchup for Ruas. Even the Pride version of Ken, (who had cardio problems and evident ring rust), would be too much for Ruas, IMO.
Ken was a DOMINANT grappler for NHB in the mid 90's. His submission skills were better than almost any fighter not named Gracie. Hell.. even well after his prime when he was losing.. Shamrock's leg submissions were still respected as a dangerous weapon. Ruas would have nothing for Ken on the ground. Sooner or later, (probably sooner), Ken gets the takedown. From that point on, It's gonna be all Shamrock. I doubt Ruas could even get out from under Ken once.
Ken was also just tough as nails, and could take a lot of damage and still be in the fight. An older, smaller, slower Ken Shamrock got dropped by Don Frye (he was admittedly out on his feet).. and he STILL managed to reverse the position and sink another leg lock. Frye was not human, and "somehow" LOL managed not to tap despite getting both of his legs fractured. The point is.. Ken at his best was very much a gamer. He fought well through adversity, and would not be discouraged by a few painful leg kicks.
Also.. Ken MORE than held his own against Bas Rutten in their standup exchanges. Granted, Bas was clearly the better striker. But Ken did have dangerous power in his hands, and his overall physical aggression was tough even for a seasoned striker like Bas. Basically, Bas just couldn't keep Ken off him.
IMO, Ruas and Bas brought similar well rounded skill sets to the ring in the 90's. We can argue the differences all day. But when we really break it down, they were very similar fghters in that era. Ruas arguably had better leg kicks, and was more versed in submissions before Bas. Bas was probablt more diverse, and more of a threat for a quick KO. Bas would also evolve to become a pretty effective submission grappler, and made noticable improvments leading up to the Shamrock fights, and especially for the second fight with Ken where he was better positionally. Overall.. they were both tough fighters.. but I would have to give Bas the edge as far as mixing it up with other tough fighters. Bas was very much a gamer, and could fight through bad positions without shutting down mentally.
So the point of that long FRAT is.. Ken Shamrock was always just a very bad matchup for Bas in the 90's. Well Bas and Ruas brought some similar threats during this era... And Shamrock would have similar advantages over both fighters. Mainly, Ken was just so freakishly strong! He was able to outmuscle much bigger guys than Ruas. But for all his strength, he also moved fast, especially in transition. This leads me to believe Ken would gain superior position over Ruas in any kind of scramble. Ken was ahead of his time as far as combining technique with superior athleticism.
Ken also had good cardio in the 90's. Whatever cardio issues Ken gets criticized for, were only an issue AFTER his comeback from WWF. Ruas had suspect cardio in the 90's. So in a war.. I would have to give Ken a significant advantage as far as conditioning. Ken could fight harder, longer.
I would pick Ken Shamrock by late submission.. probably by leglock or a choke over a tired Ruas. There is also a strong possibility that Ken would G&P Rual to a late stoppage or decision.
There is a VERY small possibility that Ruas avoids the takedown, and hurts Ken with leg kicks enough to win the decision. But I really doubt Ken goes the whole fight without a takedown. Ken was fast and aggressive, and a very different animal than someone like Paul Varleans. Ruas would NOT want to grapple with Ken. He would try to keep it standing.
This is a GREAT fight that should have happened! The fact that I'm picking Ken is not a knock on Ruas. Marco is a true warrior, and he would have made it a good fight. I just don't see him finishing Ken, or avoiding the takedown long enough to set anything up. He would have been too much on the defensive to commit to any power strikes other than leg kicks.
As always - IMHO.
they almost fought. sergio baterelli iirc was putting together an event during the cable ban with those 2 headlining. he also said it would air on cable. nope.