Not sure what your point is, but by 1993, Ruas would've been a major challenge for Royce. So would Oleg Taktarov, who won a UFC-like tournament in Russia in '93. Like I said, Ken fought 3 days before the event in Japan, and had to deal with jet lag, a totally different altitude and Gracie-favored rules. He had zero experience in fighting someone with a gi, and was fighting someone who had been training since a toddler (again, Ken had 1 year of experience).
The event was a marketing ploy by the Gracies--nothing more, nothing less. I was active in some old NHB boards, and we had this figured out pretty quickly. Rorian was normally called Whorian for this reason.
Well, my point is pretty clear in this thread:
http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/deconstructing-mma-myths-part-1.3734725/
The Renan Pitanguy [BJJ] X Eugênio Tadeu [Luta Livre] fight should be
a reference to understand what happened, and should have happened
at UFC1.
Ken didnt lose coz of Rorion, jetlag, GI etc...
Had he fought like Tadeu [similar skill set, and the size
difference btw Tadeu & Pitanguy is similar to the one
btw Hoyce & Ken] fought against Pitanguy, he could have won.
Ken didnt win coz he entered this fight with a Pancrase
mindset, not a NHB one.
Now, for sure Ruas would have been a major challenge for Hoyce,
you´re right. He showed it against Pinduka, Rickson´s toughest student.
On a sidenote, saying that "The event was a marketing ploy by the Gracies"
is quite simplistic.
Them Gracies had their agenda, for sure, but they were the
frontrunners of a bigger master plan: build a market
in what they perceived the best base for a NHB expansion,
the American market.
So they had to adapt their marketing plan to the reality
of the American market, which, unlike the Brazilian
or the Japanese one, had zero knowledge of NHB & especially
the ground game.
The audience & the TV dudes had some expectations and
had their head full of myths about traditional disciplines
[kung fu,karate,kenpo,boxing] being the dominant ones.
That´s why the tournament spots HAD to be filled with these
"flashy" dudes, not with wrestlers or sambo dudes or Luta Livre, all
unknown to the American audience.