[1] He met Fabio Gurgel, Romero Cavalcanti, Sylvio Behring, and other fighters, who taught him some of the sport's techniques.
Cornered by UFC 1 finalist Gerard Gordeau,[6] Remco was billed as a Jiu-Jitsu fighter[7] and was pitted in the first round of the tournament against Alberto Cerro León, a Spanish Pencak Silat practitioner.
The bout was long and violent, as although Pardoel threw León to the ground early, the Spaniard resisted his armlock attempts and even tried an illegal fish-hook on repeated occasions.
"[8] Pardoel advanced to the next round and fought Muay Thai fighter Orlando Wiet in a memorable match.
[10] The Dutch contender went to the semi-finals to face UFC 1 winner Royce Gracie, another Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu exponent.
Seconds into the match, Royce captured Pardoel's back while standing, tripped him down, and performed a gi choke, making Remco tap out.
His first opponent would be Karateka Ryan Parker, whom he defeated swiftly by throwing him down, pinning him with kesa gatame, and locking a mounted Ezekiel choke.
Pardoel got a guillotine choke early, but Ruas escaped via foot stomps, and they both met on the ground, where the Brazilian tried a straight-ankle lock to no avail.