Why the Gracies never invited Sam McVea to UFC 1

Discussion in 'MMA Forum' started by cross_trainer, Aug 23, 2021.



  1. cross_trainer

    cross_trainer Liston was good, but no "Tire Iron" Jones Full Member

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    It's a well known claim that UFC 1 was a tailor-made infomercial for Gracie Jiujitsu. There is no better evidence of this than the fact that the Gracies never invited Sam McVea.

    Although some might argue that the UFC's failure to include McVea owed more to McVea's death in 1921 than any "ducking" from the Gracie family, I think this argument has been overplayed. Far more salient, in my opinion, was the fact that McVea had a history of clobbering jiujitsuka under mixed rules.

    Take, for example, McVea's fight with Professor P.W. Stevenson, another deceased Edwardian fighter that Royce avoided. Admittedly, Stevenson was not a large man, and the rules (multiple submissions or knockouts required) allowed McVea to exhaust his smaller opponent before clubbing him into unconsciousness. But hey, both guys agreed to the rules, and Stevenson was more experienced than McVea, having taken on boxers and other jiujitsuka before. An entire article on it can be found here, and is worth a read:

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    As is McVea's more amusing first run-in with jiujitsu:

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    One wonders what might have been if World War I hadn't broken out and put a stop to the consolidation process that was happening between various martial arts disciplines worldwide.

    Ah, the good old days, when McVea beat up the vale tudo champ of Australia, Jeffries put a savateur into orbit, and even wrestling champion Ernest Roeber got his cheekbone smashed by Bobby Fitz before submitting him...
     
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2021
  2. outtieDrake

    outtieDrake Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Mcvea tapped out multiple times. They only scored it by points for submission. By ufc 1 rules mcvea would have lost in the first round.
     
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  3. cross_trainer

    cross_trainer Liston was good, but no "Tire Iron" Jones Full Member

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    True.

    Conversely, he knocked the guy out at least once, which also would have been fight ending.

    I kind of like the idea of multiple attempts for each fighter to level out the effects of a fluke victory. However, McVea does seem to have exploited the rules here in a way they may not have been originally intended to be used.
     
  4. ForemanJab

    ForemanJab Steroid Junkie Full Member

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    Gracie Jiujitsu didn’t exist during Mcvey’s lifetime. Carlos Sr opened the first academy in 1925.
     
  5. cross_trainer

    cross_trainer Liston was good, but no "Tire Iron" Jones Full Member

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    Correct. Neither did the UFC. I was being silly.

    My point was just to showcase an interesting performance McVey put in against a very early jiujitsu guy.
     
  6. ForemanJab

    ForemanJab Steroid Junkie Full Member

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    Did he fight any catch wrestlers? Catch wrestling was popular in the US in the early 20th century. Those guys had a brutal submission game.
     
  7. cross_trainer

    cross_trainer Liston was good, but no "Tire Iron" Jones Full Member

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    Dunno. He'd certainly be up against much bigger guys if he jumped into those waters...
     
  8. outtieDrake

    outtieDrake Well-Known Member Full Member

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    that was what ended the fight. But mcvea had tapped before that several times. I remember reading that bloody elbow article years ago.

    Captain Stevens jiu jitsu guy tapped him out, Sam Lanford told Mcvey that would happen . Mcvey basically laid on his back until Stevens got exhausted and then hammered him to the the body. It may have been ground and pound, or on the feet. But to me it didn't sound like a dominating performance. Still a fan of Sam for trying out early age mma.
     
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  9. Carinito

    Carinito Member Full Member

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    Yea because thats what the rules said.
    He just allowed Stevenson to do that for about 4-5 rounds, tire himself out and then beat the **** out of him in the next round and Stevenson couldnt fight anymore.

    Had it been only one round, he wouldve done that to Stevenson in the very first round.
     
  10. Carinito

    Carinito Member Full Member

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    Jesus Christ you are all over the place.

    Sam Langford told him that before he fought Jiu Jitsu artist Tano Matsuda, 5 years prior to fighting Stevenson. He KOd Matsuda in 8 seconds
     
  11. outtieDrake

    outtieDrake Well-Known Member Full Member

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    hyperbole.
    Tano wasn't a Japanese man, he was an Englishmen who con his way to a fight. I'm very familiar with these events and studied the boxing vs judo early history. He never did jiujutsu. You can create stories in your head, but Sam tapped easy to Stevenson.

    It's ancient history, boxing purist need to let it go, i like boxing, but you need grappling to stay on your feet.