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UFC 6 was built around the much anticipated "Superfight" which pitted Ken Shamrock versus UFC 5 Champion, Dan Severn.
This was the first UFC show to not feature Royce Gracie and felt like a new era for the company with the winner of the Shamrock/Severn bout likely to become the new figurehead of the promotion.
The headline battle was an entertaining clash while it lasted. The fight went just over two minutes. The finish came when Shamrock locked in a guillotine choke when Severn foolishly ducked his head too low as he overpowered the smaller Shamrock up against the Octagon fence.
With his victory, the "World's Most Dangerous Man" became the first ever "Superfight" Champion and the top star in MMA.
Underneath, the UFC tournament returned and saw the debut of a man who would become one of the promotion's biggest stars; Tank Abbott.
Tank destroyed John Matua in just 20 seconds with a devastating punch and thrilled the crowd with his aggressive brawling style.
Oleg Taktarov returned to the Octagon, fresh off his defeat in the UFC 5 Semi-Final to Dan Severn and he eased into the Semi-Finals with a sub one minute defeat of UFC 5 finalist, Dave Beneteau.
UFC veteran Pat Smith was victorious over the curiously named Rudyard Moncayo and rounding out the Quarter-Finals was Paul Varelans and Cal Worsham who contested a fight which demonstrated very little skill on the part of either man.
Worsham got the better of the early exchanges but fell victim to a series of vicious elbows from the 7-feet tall Varelans.
The fans were firmly behind Tank in the Semi-Finals. Loud chants filled the arena as the Pitfighter dropped the giant with a huge right hand then trapped Varelans on the floor and violently pounded away at him, laughing while he did so.
Well, well, well. As for the second Semi-Final. It is difficult to know what to make of this one. Alternate, Antony Macias, in for the ill Pat Smith simply charged at Taktarov straight into a guillotine choke and with that the bout was over. As Macias was friends with Taktarov, the suggestion was that he threw this fight to enable his pal to progress. Looking at how the fight played out it is easy to see why observers would come to that conclusion.
If that is what happened then it was UFC's error that both of its alternates Macias and Guy Mezger were training buddies with one of the tournament participants in Taktarov.
With the debacle of the second Semi-Final still fresh in fan's minds, Tank was the heavy crowd favourite versus the Russian, Taktarov.
The final match went an epic 17 minutes which saw both men completely exhausted by fight's end. However, it was one of the very best fight of the early years of UFC as both men gave it absolutely everything.
Taktarov hooked Tank in for some early clinches but the brawler showed incredible heart to repeatedly power out. Finally, Taktarov managed to land the match winning rear naked choke to become UFC 6 tournament champion.
However, so beaten up was the Russian that he left the bout wearing an oxygen mask while Tank bounded out of the Octagon under his own power.
A truly incredible ending to the best of the UFC events at that point in time.
Taktarov would be back at UFC 7 to challenge Shamrock for the "Superfight" Championship.
