enter the promotion as soon as September 1994, but the UFC management only allowed him to fight from UFC 6 onwards, after Royce Gracie had ceased fighting in UFC. Art Davie would later confirm the Gracie family used its input in the management to limit fighters with amateur wrestling backgrounds, like Abbott himself, from entering the first events. Ultimate Fighting Championship (1995–2003) Abbott made his debut at UFC 6 in July 1995 as scheduled. He actively cultivated the tough character he had been given, firstly by giving a rude interview in which he derided martial arts and then by knocking out the Hawaiian Kapu Kuialua fighter John Matua, who weighed 400 lb, in the first 18 seconds of his opening fight. Abbott further solidified his reputation by mocking Matua's convulsions after the KO while the ring doctors rushed the cage. Abbott advanced to the next round and was pitted against a similarly heavier adversary, Paul Varelans. After returning to the cage in midst of strong cheers, Abbott knocked out Varelans by ground and pound and knee strikes, all while mockingly smiling at his opponent laying beneath him. His post-fight interview also contained the notorious "sexually aroused" comment. At the finals of the tournament, Abbott faced the Russian Oleg Taktarov in a fight that the announcers touted as a "skill vs. power" bout. Just as described, the match saw Abbott blocking Taktarov's artful grappling attempts and damaging him in turn with hard punches and uppercuts. With both men becoming increasingly tired due to their previous fights and the high altitude of the location, the action moved to Taktarov's guard, where Abbott avoided multiple submission attempts and punished him further. The fight was restarted standing, which would give Abbott the advantage, but by this point he was exhausted enough for a slightly better conditioned Taktarov to pull him down and lock a rear naked choke, thus winning the fight at the 17 minutes mark. Both men collapsed in exhaustion after the fight, and Taktarov had to be carried out of the cage. Although Abbott had failed at winning the tournament, referee John McCarthy considered him the next big star of the promotion after Royce Gracie. Abbott returned the same year as part of the Ultimate Ultimate event, which saw runners-up and champions from the previous UFC tournaments gathered together. He first fought UFC 3 winner and ninjutsu practitioner Steve Jennum, whom he