Rivals don’t need to be enemies – but it certainly helps. Just before a long-awaited grudge match between Bellator stars Paul Daley and Michael Page gets settled at Bellator 216 on Saturday, we take a look at 23 of the greatest MMA rivalries of all time (in chronological order).
Ken Shamrock vs. Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock at UFC 1. (Markus Boesch-Getty Images)
Of all the entrants in the first UFC tournament, Ken Shamrock was best poised to take down the son of jiu-jitsu royalty. But like the others who took on the 27-year-old Royce Gracie that night in 1993, Shamrock wasn’t quite ready and soon found himself tapping the canvas. That move cemented the octagon’s first star rivalry.