UFC 1

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.

They did not come up with a 16-man tournament, as the big-name martial artists, mainly kickboxers, namely Dennis Alexio, Benny Urquidez, Jean-Yves Thériault, Rick Roufus, Stan Longinidis, Maurice Smith, Bart Vale, Hee Il Cho, George Dillman, Gene LeBell, Rob Kaman, Peter Aerts, Ernesto Hoost, Masaaki Satake, were among the others "publicly invited" by Art Davie,{{cite journal|title=Promoter Issues Invitation|journal=Black Belt|date=November 1994|volume=30|number=11|pages=6–7}} but had shown no interest in participating.{{cite journal|date=August 1994|title=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)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QNADAAAAMBAJ|journal=Black Belt|volume=32|pages=48–52|number=8}} Davie placed advertisements in martial arts magazines to recruit fighters. He found less than a dozen who answered the call.{{cite book|last=Merlino|first=Doug|title=Beast: Blood, Struggle, and Dreams at the Heart of Mixed Martial Arts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rOCHCgAAQBAJ|year=2015|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=9781620401569}} The promoters came up with an eight-man tournament format, with the winner receiving $50,000.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

They wanted it to look brutal on television, so John Milius, one of Rorion Gracie's students and a Hollywood veteran who had directed Conan the Barbarian, decided the fights should take place in an octagonal cage fenced with chain link. Campbell McLaren, a SEG executive, wanted people to consider the championship a live, televised version of Mortal Kombat, a popular 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. UFC promoters initially pitched the event as a real-life fighting video game tournament similar to Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter.{{cite web |last1=Snowden |first1=Jonathan |title=UFC 1, 25 Years Later: The Story Behind the Event That Started an Industry |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2804552-ufc-1-25-years-later-the-story-behind-the-event-that-started-an-industry |website=Bleacher Report |access-date=5 November 2020 |date=12 November 2018}}

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.){{Cite web|url=https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/12/22/3712764/mma-ufc-origins-history-rules-regulation-fight-survival-legal-court-lawsuit-|title=MMA Origins: The UFC's Fight for Survival|date=22 December 2012}}Joe Rogan Experience MMA Show #26 with Big John McCarthy
• Knockout, tapout, or 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 {{convert|1|mile|spell=in}}, 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. The arena had hosted only two fight cards in its history, both of minor significance, occurring earlier in 1993.[https://boxrec.com/en/venue/31507 McNichols Sports Arena information] at the Boxing's Official Record Keeper, BoxRec.com.

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.

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 submission, knockout, or the fighter's corner 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 Gerard Gordeau via submission due to a rear naked choke.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/mixed-martial-arts/46015665|title=UFC 1: The Beginning: Playboy, Mortal Kombat and the hunt for an ultimate fighter|work=BBC Sport|date=9 November 2018|access-date=13 November 2018}} The referees for UFC 1 were João Alberto Barreto and Hélio Vigio, two veteran vale tudo referees from Brazil.

{{MMAevent}}

{{MMAevent card|Final}}

{{MMAevent bout|N/A|Royce Gracie|def.|Gerard Gordeau|Submission (rear-naked choke)||1:44|

}}

{{MMAevent card|Alternate bout|header=no}}

{{MMAevent bout|N/A|Jason DeLucia|def.|Trent Jenkins|Submission (rear-naked choke)||0:52|

}}

{{MMAevent card|Semi-finals|header=no}}

{{MMAevent bout|N/A|Royce Gracie|def.|Ken Shamrock|Submission (rear-naked choke)||0:57|

}}

{{MMAevent bout|N/A|Gerard Gordeau|def.|Kevin Rosier|TKO (corner stoppage)||0:59|

}}

{{MMAevent card|Quarter-finals|header=no}}

{{MMAevent bout|N/A|Ken Shamrock|def.|Patrick Smith|Submission (heel hook)||1:49|

}}

{{MMAevent bout|N/A|Royce Gracie|def.|Art Jimmerson|Submission (smother choke)||2:18|

}}

{{MMAevent bout|N/A|Kevin Rosier|def.|Zane Frazier|TKO (punches)||4:20|

}}

{{MMAevent bout|N/A|Gerard Gordeau|def.|Teila Tuli|TKO (head kick)||0:26|

}}

{{MMAevent end|notes = yes}}

{{Round8

||{{flagicon|NED}} Gerard Gordeau
(Savate) |TKO|{{flagicon|USA}} Teila Tuli
(Sumo) |0:26

||{{flagicon|USA}} Kevin Rosier
(Kickboxing) |TKO|{{flagicon|USA}} Zane Frazier
(Kenpo)|4:20

||{{flagicon|BRA}} Royce Gracie
(Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) |SUB|{{flagicon|USA}} Art Jimmerson
(Boxing) |2:18

||{{flagicon|USA}} Ken Shamrock
(Shootfighting) |SUB|{{flagicon|USA}} Patrick Smith
(Taekwondo) |1:49

||{{flagicon|NED}} Gerard Gordeau |TKO|{{flagicon|USA}} Kevin Rosier |0:59

||{{flagicon|BRA}} Royce Gracie|SUB|{{flagicon|USA}} Ken Shamrock |0:57

||{{flagicon|NED}} Gerard Gordeau |1:40|{{flagicon|BRA}} Royce Gracie|SUB

|||||

}}

The event and its outcome catapulted Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (also known as Brazilian jiu-jitsu) to new heights in the United States and worldwide. Its gate and pay-per-view buys ensured that there would be more UFCs in the near future, which proved to be the case. The event sold nearly 90,000 live pay-per-view buys, in addition to drawing new audiences through video rental stores such as Blockbuster Video.{{cite web |last1=Snowden |first1=Jonathan |title=UFC 1, 25 Years Later: The Story Behind the Event That Started an Industry |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2804552-ufc-1-25-years-later-the-story-behind-the-event-that-started-an-industry |website=Bleacher Report |publisher=WarnerMedia |access-date=5 November 2020 |date=12 November 2020}}

The following fighters were honored in the October 2011 book titled UFC Encyclopedia.{{cite book |last= Gerbasi|first= Thomas|date= 2011-10-17|title= UFC Encyclopedia - The Definitive Guide to the Ultimate Fighting Championship|location= New York|publisher= DK|page= 148|isbn=978-0756683610}}

• Fight of the Night: Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock
• Knockout of the Night: Gerard Gordeau {{small|def. Teila Tuli}}
• Submission of the Night: Royce Gracie {{small|def. Gerard Gordeau}}

• 1993 in UFC
• List of UFC champions

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.sherdog.com/events/UFC-1-The-Beginning-7 UFC 1 results at Sherdog.com]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090203145946/http://411mania.com/MMA/video_reviews/54464/History-of-the-UFC:-UFC-I---The-Beginning.htm UFC 1 fights reviews]
• [http://www.ufc.com Official UFC website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140316232745/http://www.mmamental.com/?q=node%2F39 MMA Mental History UFC 1]
• [http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/3/26/2890710/mma-origins-ufc-1-MMA-History MMA Origins: UFC 1]
• [http://punchdrunkgamer.com/the-brutal-beginnings-of-the-ufc-video/ The Brutal Beginnings of the UFC]

{{UFC Events}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ufc 001}}

Category:Ultimate Fighting Championship flagship events

Category:1993 in mixed martial arts

Category:Mixed martial arts events in Colorado

Category:Sports competitions in Denver

Category:1993 in sports in Colorado

Category:1993 controversies

Category:November 1993 sports events in the United States

Category:1990s in Denver