The Ultimate Fighting Championship (later renamed
UFC 1: The Beginning) was the first
mixed martial artsMixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
event by the
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
, held at the
McNichols Sports ArenaMcNichols Sports Arena was an indoor arena, in Denver, Colorado, USA, adjacent to Mile High Stadium. Completed in 1975, at a cost of $10 million, it seated 16,061, for hockey games, 17,171, for basketball games and contained 27 luxury suites, which were installed as part of the 1986 renovation. It...
in Denver,
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, on November 12, 1993. The event was broadcast live on
pay-per-viewPay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
and later released on
home videoHome video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
.
History
UFC 1 used an eight-man
tournamentA tournament is a competition involving a relatively large number of competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:...
format, with the winner receiving $50,000. The tournament had no weight classes and consisted of single-round fights to the finish. The match only ended by
submissionA submission is a combat sports term for yielding to the opponent, and hence resulting in an immediate defeat...
,
knockoutA knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
, throwing in the towel, or referee stoppage due to a severe cut or injury. No gloves were allowed to be used by the fighters.
Despite being billed as having "no rules" there were limitations on what the fighters could do, including no biting and no eye gouging.
Royce GracieRoyce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...
won the tournament by defeating
Gerard GordeauGerard Gordeau is a retired Dutch savateur, karateka, and mixed martial artist. He is the 1991 World Champion Savate and holder of the Dutch Champion Kyokushin Karate title for 8 consecutive years, but foremost known internationally for his fight against Teila Tuli in the first televised Ultimate...
via submission due to a
rear naked chokeThe Rear naked choke is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. Depending on the context, the term may refer to one of two variations of the technique, either arm can be used to apply the choke in both cases...
. The referees for
UFC 1 were Joao Alberto Barreto and Helio Vigio, two veteran
vale tudoVale tudo are full-contact unarmed combat events, with a limited number of rules, that became popular in Brazil during the 20th century. Vale tudo has been considered a combat sport by some observers...
referees from
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
The commentary team for the pay-per-view was
Bill WallaceWilliam "Bill" Louis Wallace is an American martial artist who was a Professional Karate Association world full- contact karate champion. He was the Professional Karate Association Middleweight Champion kickboxer for almost six years.- Background :Wallace was born in Portland, Indiana, and...
,
Jim BrownJames Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News...
and
Kathy LongKathy Long is an American retired five time world kickboxing champion and mixed martial arts fighter.- Biography :Long was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and was raised in Sunny Mead, California...
, with additional analysis from
Rod MachadoRod Machado is a pilot and author of aviation flight training materials. He is ATP rated, and a member of the Aviation Speakers Bureau.- Biography :...
and post-fight interviews by
Brian KilmeadeBrian Kilmeade a Fox News Channel television personality. Weekdays, he co-hosts Fox's morning show, Fox & Friends, along with Steve Doocy and Gretchen Carlson. Kilmeade also co-hosts Brian and the Judge, a talk-news radio show on Fox News Radio, with Judge Andrew P. Napolitano...
. The ring announcer was Rich Goins.
Jason DeLuciaJason DeLucia is a retired American mixed martial artist. . He holds victories over Masakatsu Funaki, Matt Hume, Minoru Suzuki, Yuki Kondo, Ikuhisa Minowa, Kiuma Kunioku, Chris Lytle, and Manabu Yamada...
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.
Under the current five-minute round rules, every fight on this card would've ended within the first round.
Quarterfinals
Gerard GordeauGerard Gordeau is a retired Dutch savateur, karateka, and mixed martial artist. He is the 1991 World Champion Savate and holder of the Dutch Champion Kyokushin Karate title for 8 consecutive years, but foremost known internationally for his fight against Teila Tuli in the first televised Ultimate...
vs. 
Teila Tuli
- Gordeau wins via TKO (kick to the face) at 0:26.
- Kevin Rosier
Kevin Rosier is an American former kickboxer, boxer and mixed martial artist. He had much success as a kickboxer, winning a number of titles, but did not transition particularly well into the world of boxing and was mostly seen as a journeyman fighter...
vs. Zane Frazier"Nasty" Zane Frazier is an American former Karateka, kickboxer and mixed martial artist. Notably, he took part at the inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship event in 1993.-Career:...
- Rosier wins via TKO (Strikes) at 4:20.
Royce GracieRoyce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...
vs. Art JimmersonArt Jimmerson is a retired boxer who competed at super middleweight, light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight. As an amateur, Jimmerson was the 1983 National Golden Gloves Middleweight champion. He finished his boxing career in 2002, with a record of 33–18.-Biography:In November 1993,...
- Gracie wins via submission (mount) at 2:18.
- Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...
vs. Patrick SmithPatrick Smith is a retired American kickboxer, boxer and mixed martial artist. He started his mixed martial arts career by participating in the first two Ultimate Fighting Championship events....
- Shamrock wins via submission (heel hook) at 1:49.
Semifinals
- Gerard Gordeau
Gerard Gordeau is a retired Dutch savateur, karateka, and mixed martial artist. He is the 1991 World Champion Savate and holder of the Dutch Champion Kyokushin Karate title for 8 consecutive years, but foremost known internationally for his fight against Teila Tuli in the first televised Ultimate...
vs. Kevin RosierKevin Rosier is an American former kickboxer, boxer and mixed martial artist. He had much success as a kickboxer, winning a number of titles, but did not transition particularly well into the world of boxing and was mostly seen as a journeyman fighter...
- Gordeau wins via TKO (corner stoppage) at 0:59.
- Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...
vs. Ken ShamrockKenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...
- Gracie wins via submission (rear naked choke) at 0:57.
Alternate bout
- Jason Delucia
Jason DeLucia is a retired American mixed martial artist. . He holds victories over Masakatsu Funaki, Matt Hume, Minoru Suzuki, Yuki Kondo, Ikuhisa Minowa, Kiuma Kunioku, Chris Lytle, and Manabu Yamada...
vs. Trent Jenkins
- Delucia wins via submission (rear naked choke) at 0:52.
Finals
- Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...
vs. Gerard GordeauGerard Gordeau is a retired Dutch savateur, karateka, and mixed martial artist. He is the 1991 World Champion Savate and holder of the Dutch Champion Kyokushin Karate title for 8 consecutive years, but foremost known internationally for his fight against Teila Tuli in the first televised Ultimate...
- Gracie wins via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:44 to win the UFC 1 Tournament.
UFC 1 bracket
External links