UFC 1

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"The Ultimate Fighting Championship" redirects here. For the organization which promoted the event, see Ultimate Fighting Championship.
UFC 1: The Beginning
VHS Box art for UFC 1
Information
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateNovember 12, 1993
VenueMcNichols Sports Arena
CityDenver, Colorado, United States
Attendance7,800[1]
Buyrate86,000[2]
Event chronology
UFC 1: The Beginning UFC 2: No Way Out

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (later renamed UFC 1: The Beginning) was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, United States, on November 12, 1993. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view and later released on home video.[3][4]

Although the event was the lowest profile by the contemporary standards (the venue was less than half-packed, the grand prize of the tournament was as big as a regular

octagon
.

Background

UFC 1 was co-created by Rorion Gracie and the Torrance-based UFC promoter Art Davie, who decided to take locally famous Gracie Garage Challenge fights versus California's martial artists to a new level, televised nationally, with the opponents picked internationally.[6]

They did not come up with a

Hee Il Cho, George Dillman, Gene LeBell, Rob Kaman, Peter Aerts, Ernesto Hoost, Masaaki Satake, were among the others "publicly invited" by Art Davie,[7] but had shown no interest in participating.[5] Davie placed advertisements in martial arts magazines to recruit fighters. He found less than a dozen who answered the call.[6] The promoters came up with an eight-man tournament format, with the winner receiving $50,000.[8]

They wanted it to look brutal on television, so

fighting video game, in which victorious fighters got to "finish" their opponents through moves such as ripping their spines out of their bodies. That one and the Davie's idea to top the cage with razor wire were rejected.[6] UFC promoters initially pitched the event as a real-life fighting video game tournament similar to Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter.[9]

General regulations agreed upon were:

  • No
    doping probes
    .
  • No holds barred.
  • No biting.
  • No eye-gouging.
  • No mandatory gloves and combative uniform (bare-knuckle contest).
  • No judges' scores.
  • Unlimited five-minute rounds with one-minute rest period in between. (Changed to no time limits for UFC 2 since no UFC 1 fight lasted five minutes.)[10] [11]
  • corner stoppage
    (indicated by towel) are the only determination methods. Referee could only halt a match pending the corner decision.

McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, at an elevation above mean sea level of approximately one mile (1.6 km), had been chosen because Colorado had no athletic commission and thus no governing body from which they would need to get approval for bare-knuckle fighting.[6] The arena had hosted only two fight cards in its history, both of minor significance, occurring earlier in 1993.[12]

The major accomplishment though for the promoters was to gather a celebrity commentary team for the event. The commentary team for the pay-per-view was

Bill Wallace, Jim Brown, and Kathy Long, with additional analysis from Rod Machado and post-fight interviews by Brian Kilmeade
. The ring announcer was Rich Goins.

Jason DeLucia was an alternate for the event, having defeated Trent Jenkins in the alternate bout. However, as no fighter pulled out during the tournament, he was not called upon.

History

The tournament featured fights with no weight classes, rounds, or judges. The three rules – no biting, no eye gouging, and no groin shots – were to be enforced only by a $1,500 fine. The match only ended by

throwing in the towel, although the referee stopped the first fight at 26 seconds. Gloves were allowed, as Art Jimmerson showed in his quarterfinal bout against Royce Gracie
, which he fought with one boxing glove.

Royce Gracie won the tournament by defeating

vale tudo
referees from Brazil.

Results

Final
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
N/A Royce Gracie def. Gerard Gordeau Submission (rear-naked choke) 1:44
Semi-finals
N/A Royce Gracie def. Ken Shamrock Submission (rear-naked choke) 0:57
N/A Gerard Gordeau def. Kevin Rosier TKO (corner stoppage) 0:59
Quarter-finals
N/A Ken Shamrock def. Patrick Smith Submission (heel hook) 1:49
N/A Royce Gracie def. Art Jimmerson Submission (smother choke) 2:18
N/A Kevin Rosier def. Zane Frazier TKO (punches) 4:20
N/A Gerard Gordeau def.
Teila Tuli
 TKO (head kick) 0:26
Alternate bout
N/A Jason DeLucia def. Trent Jenkins Submission (rear-naked choke) 0:52

UFC 1 bracket

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
 
 
 
Teila Tuli
(Sumo
) 		0:26
 
Netherlands Gerard Gordeau TKO
 
 
 
United States Kevin Rosier 0:59
 
Kenpo
)		4:20
 
Netherlands Gerard Gordeau 1:40
 
 
 
Brazil Royce GracieSUB
 
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu)
SUB
 
 
 
United States Art Jimmerson
(Boxing) 		2:18
 
Brazil Royce GracieSUB
 
 
 
United States Ken Shamrock 0:57
 
United States Ken Shamrock
(Shootfighting) 		SUB
 
 
United States Patrick Smith
(Taekwondo) 		1:49
 

Cultural significance

The event and its outcome catapulted

Blockbuster Video.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "UFC 1: The Beginning". tapology.com. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  2. ^ Walter, Donald F. , Jr. Mixed Martial Arts: Ultimate Sport, or Ultimately Illegal? Grapplearts.com. December 8, 2003. Retrieved June 2, 2006.
  3. The Los Angeles Times
    . Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  4. Black Belt Magazine. Active Interest Media, Inc. Retrieved 6 September 2017 – via Google Books
    .
  5. ^ a b "Still King of the Hill: Jujutsu Fighter Royce Gracie Tells the World "If You Want Me, Come Get Me!" (An Interview by Sandra E. Kessler)". Black Belt. 32 (8): 48–52. August 1994.
  6. ^
    ISBN 9781620401569
    .
  7. ^ "Promoter Issues Invitation". Black Belt. 30 (11): 6–7. November 1994.
  8. ^ Rossen (2009-07-14). "Volkanovski vs Topuria | Can the Champ Weather the Storm? UFC 298 Prefight Breakdown". Retrieved 2011-02-08.
  9. ^ Snowden, Jonathan (12 November 2018). "UFC 1, 25 Years Later: The Story Behind the Event That Started an Industry". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  10. ^ "MMA Origins: The UFC's Fight for Survival". 22 December 2012.
  11. ^ Joe Rogan Experience MMA Show #26 with Big John McCarthy
  12. ^ McNichols Sports Arena information at the Boxing's Official Record Keeper, BoxRec.com.
  13. ^ "UFC 1: The Beginning: Playboy, Mortal Kombat and the hunt for an ultimate fighter". BBC Sport. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  14. ^ Snowden, Jonathan (12 November 2020). "UFC 1, 25 Years Later: The Story Behind the Event That Started an Industry". Bleacher Report. WarnerMedia. Retrieved 5 November 2020.

External links

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