The day was November 22, 1996 and the setting was Birmingham, Alabama.
The event was Mars (Martial Arts Reality Superfighting), the kind of naming we just don’t see anymore.
Renzo Gracie was 29 years old and gloves were nowhere to be seen.
The opponent was Russian Oleg Taktarov and the fight looked a lot more like a street brawl than to what you see in the UFC today.
And as a street situation, it ended fast.
After a few takedown attempts, Renzo ended on his back and landed a beautiful self-defense textbook up-kick that practically knocked out Oleg.
One single punch finished the job and Renzo was off to celebrate with his team.
Just watch.
The post TBT: remember Renzo vs. Taktarov in a time MMA was much more like a street fight first appeared on Graciemag.