UFC 1
UFC 1: The Beginning | ||||
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![]() VHS Box art for UFC 1 | ||||
Information | ||||
Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
Date | November 12, 1993 | |||
Venue | McNichols Sports Arena | |||
City | Denver, Colorado | |||
Attendance | 7,800[1] | |||
Buyrate | 86,000[2] | |||
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.[3][4]
History
UFC 1 co-created by Rorion Gracie and Art Davie, used an eight-man tournament format, with the winner receiving $50,000.[5] The tournament featured fights with no weight classes, time-outs, or judges. The two rules, no biting or eye gouging, 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. 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. The referees for UFC 1 were João Alberto Barreto and Hélio 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. 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.
Results
Final | |||||||
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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 (sleeve 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 (mount) | 2:18 | ||
N/A | Kevin Rosier | def. | Zane Frazier | TKO (corner stoppage) | 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-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
![]() (Savate) | TKO | |||||||||
![]() (Sumo) | 0:26 | |||||||||
![]() | TKO | |||||||||
![]() | 0:59 | |||||||||
![]() (Kickboxing) | TKO | |||||||||
![]() (American Kenpo) | 4:20 | |||||||||
![]() | 1:40 | |||||||||
![]() | SUB | |||||||||
![]() (BJJ) | SUB | |||||||||
![]() (Boxing) | 2:18 | |||||||||
![]() | SUB | |||||||||
![]() | 0:57 | |||||||||
![]() (Shootfighting) | SUB | |||||||||
![]() (Taekwondo) | 1:49 | |||||||||
See also
References
- ^ "UFC 1: The Beginning". tapology.com. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
- ^ Walter, Donald F. , Jr. Mixed Martial Arts: Ultimate Sport, or Ultimately Illegal? Grapplearts.com. December 8, 2003. Retrieved June 2, 2006.
- ^ Rosenberg, Howard (November 15, 1993). "Television: Pay-Per-View Battle, Instead of Being Merely Gory and Funny, Gets Interesting After the First Two Bouts". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
- ^ Inc, Active Interest Media (1 April 1994). "Black Belt". Active Interest Media, Inc. Retrieved 6 September 2017 – via Google Books.
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has generic name (help) - ^ Rossen, Jake (2009-07-14). "Lesnar, GSP Lead UFC 100 Bounty". Sherdog. Retrieved 2011-02-08.