| UFC 1: The Beginning | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | November 12, 1993 | |||
| Venue | McNichols Sports Arena | |||
| City | Denver, Colorado, USA | |||
| Attendance | 2,800 | |||
| Buyrate | 86,000 [1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
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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, on November 12, 1993. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view and later released on home video.[2]
Contents |
UFC 1 used an eight-man tournament format, with the winner receiving $50,000.[3] The tournament had no weight classes and consisted of single-round fights to the finish. The match only ended by submission, knockout, throwing in the towel, or referee stoppage due to a severe cut or injury. Gloves were allowed as shown by Art Jimmerson in his Quarterfinal bout against Royce Gracie, Jimmerson had only one glove on.
Despite being billed as having "no rules" there were limitations on what the fighters could do, including no biting and no eye gouging. Royce Gracie won the tournament by defeating Gerard Gordeau via submission due to a rear naked choke. The referees for UFC 1 were Joao Alberto Barreto and Helio Vigio, two veteran vale tudo referees from Brazil.
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.
Under the current five-minute round rules, every fight on this card would have ended within the first round.
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| Gerard Gordeau | TKO | |||||||||
| Teila Tuli | 0:26 | |||||||||
| Gerard Gordeau | TKO | |||||||||
| Kevin Rosier | 0:59 | |||||||||
| Kevin Rosier | TKO | |||||||||
| Zane Frazier | 4:20 | |||||||||
| Gerard Gordeau | 1:44 | |||||||||
| Royce Gracie | SUB | |||||||||
| Royce Gracie | SUB | |||||||||
| Art Jimmerson | 2:18 | |||||||||
| Royce Gracie | SUB | |||||||||
| Ken Shamrock | 0:57 | |||||||||
| Ken Shamrock | SUB | |||||||||
| Patrick Smith | 1:49 | |||||||||