UFC 1: The Beginning
Information
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	November 12, 1993
Venue	McNichols Sports Arena
City	Denver, Colorado
Attendance	2,800
Buyrate	86,000 [1]
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, on November 12, 1993. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view and later released on home video.

[edit] History

UFC 1 used an eight-man tournament format, with the winner receiving $50,000. The tournament had no weight classes and consisted of fights to the finish with no time limits. The match only ended by submission, knockout or throwing in the towel.

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 and Jim Brown, 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.

[edit] Results

[edit] Alternate

• Jason DeLucia vs Trent Jenkins

DeLucia wins by submission, rear naked choke at 0:52.

[edit] Quarterfinals

• Gerard Gordeau vs Teila Tuli

Gordeau wins by TKO at 0:26, when the referee stepped in after a kick to the face by Gordeau.

• Kevin Rosier vs Zane Frazier

Rosier wins by TKO due to corner stoppage at 4:18.

• Royce Gracie vs Art Jimmerson

Gracie wins by submission at 2:18.

• Ken Shamrock vs Patrick Smith

Shamrock wins by submission due to a heel hook at 1:51.

[edit] Semifinals

• Gerard Gordeau vs Kevin Rosier

Gordeau wins by TKO due to corner stoppage at 1:03.

• Royce Gracie vs Ken Shamrock

Gracie wins by gi choke :57 seconds into the fight.

Shamrock clearly tapped the mat several times but Gracie still had to inform the referee that his opponent had given up. The referee questioned the submission, at which point Shamrock began to contend as to whether he had given up. Gracie furiously screamed at Shamrock "You did, you did" while holding position on him in case the match was to continue but Shamrock then admitted to giving up and the referee stopped the fight.

[edit] Finals

• Royce Gracie vs Gerard Gordeau

Gracie wins by rear naked choke at 1:45.

Gracie, clearly upset from the poor officiating in his bout with Shamrock, applied the rear naked choke and refused to release after several taps from Gordeau as he wanted to ensure no disputes this time. The hold was broken when the referee had to physically intervene and declare Gracie the winner.

[edit] UFC 1 brackets

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• UFC 1 Facts
• UFC1 results at Sherdog.com
• UFC1 fights reviews
• Official UFC website
• First UFC forever altered combat sports