While he's not nettled by the fact that his one glove made him a cult hero, Jimmerson doesn't seem to understand the humor and appeal it holds for so many.
"Even to this day, I can walk around the streets in St. Louis and someone will stop and ask me, 'Why did you wear that glove?'” he says.
Jimmerson was completely incredulous when a fan called him a couple of months ago asking for a crack at the glove first should he decide to sell it on Ebay. When asked if he still has the glove, Jimmerson was not even sure.
Despite being cast as an MMA punch line for a decade and a half, Jimmerson's ongoing enthusiasm for the sport is refreshing.
"Oh, I love it," he exclaims. "I watch it all the time, especially big events with guys like ‘The Iceman’ and ‘The Spider,’ and all them guys. I enjoy it as a sport because you want to push rewind and do it all over again."
He pauses, his mind traveling back to that night in 1993.
"It just hurt so bad because I hate losing at anything," he concludes.
"King Arthur" laid down his sword in 2002, at the age of 39. He spent the last seven years of his career as just another opponent for up-and-coming cruiserweights such as Vassiliy Jirov, Dale Brown and Rydell Booker, winning just once in his last dozen bouts. However, he hasn't strayed far from the gym.
"I'm still in St. Louis," he says. "I've worked for Pepsi-Cola, one of the biggest companies in the world, for 15 years. I co-own a MMA and boxing gym here in St. Louis, teaching the boxing side. I teach people how to get in shape without getting hit; I've got lawyers and doctors who really love it when they come in, they just want to get in shape."
While he may still love the sweet science, Jimmerson's primary focuses are now his family and his faith. It is impossible not to notice his exuberance when discussing either.
"I fear God; I am saved. I try to live by the Bible, I'm a hard-working man, I love to take care of my family, and I love a lot of people," he beams.
Married with four children, Jimmerson's eldest son A.J. is a tailback at Michigan State, where he spent his junior year backing up Javon Ringer, who figures to be a mid-round selection in April's NFL Draft. Daughter Kristene was prom queen, while daughter Stephanie is studying at the University of Central Missouri. Youngest son Christian is a high jump and hurdles standout at Okemos High School, where he'll graduate in May.
Jimmerson makes online scrapbooks and slideshows of his family and of his travels as a prizefighter, from Japan to England to Australia to Japan. Pictures with Muhammad Ali and Roy Jones Jr. are juxtaposed with pictures alongside Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock. He uploads his old fights onto his YouTube channel, along with church choir footage, home movies, and high school reunions. He has uploaded his fight with Gracie, under the title "Original UFC 1... 'I Had No Clue'!"
Naturally, Jimmerson would like some do-overs. However, it seems a matter of pride, rather than the delusional "coulda’ been a contender" mentality that so many journeymen can't get past. What seems to bother Jimmerson the most is not what he thinks of himself, but rather how his children may see him.
"I'm happy with what I accomplished, with two small titles under my belt, and I know who I am as a champion,” he says. “But my sons, it's kind of sad when they go on YouTube and see those comments and they say, 'That's my dad.' But you know, nobody knows me personally except my family."
For diehards, who find everlasting humor in the MMA's infant stages and all of its characters and quackery, Jimmerson is not so much a person as he is a concept. In the sport's history, he is no more than the single glove he wore, an indelible representation of how little we knew about the realities of fighting.
And far removed from that artifact he left in the Octagon some 15 years ago, there's a wild-haired kid from the Gateway City: a proud prizefighter, a prouder Christian and a family man prouder still. That's Art Jimmerson.