The Ultimate Fighting Championship has seen it all. The UFC has faced backlash from politicians and politics since its inception, but now finds itself as an ESPN product after being exclusively on pay-per-view for years.
But as the UFC celebrates its progress, it has been sharing moments from the past.
Now, we can see how it all started.
Recently, the UFC dropped the entire first event it ever held — UFC 1: The Beginning. The event took place at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado on November 12, 1993. It was an eight-man tournament format, with the winner receiving $50,000.
At UFC 1, there were only two rules: no biting or eye gouging. Violations of the rule resulted in a $1,500 fine.
Fights could only end by submission, knockout, or the fighter’s corner throwing in the towel.
As we know by now, the winner of the first UFC event was Brazilian Jiu Jitsu ace Royce Gracie, a UFC Hall of Famer as part of the promotion’s Pioneer wing, and the rest is history.
Here is the first event in the history of the promotion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6N1axku8QA
The full results from the first UFC event can be seen below.
‘UFC 1: The Beginning’ Results
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxnoX6gJ-ff/
| Final | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Round | Time | Notes | ||||
| Royce Gracie | def. | Gerard Gordeau | Submission (rear naked choke) | 1:44 | |||
| Semi-finals | |||||||
| Royce Gracie | def. | Ken Shamrock | Submission (sleeve choke) | 0:57 | |||
| Gerard Gordeau | def. | Kevin Rosier | TKO (corner stoppage) | 0:59 | |||
| Quarter-finals | |||||||
| Ken Shamrock | def. | Patrick Smith | Submission (heel hook) | 1:49 | |||
| Royce Gracie | def. | Art Jimmerson | Submission (mount) | 2:18 | |||
| Kevin Rosier | def. | Zane Frazier | TKO (corner stoppage) | 4:20 | |||
| Gerard Gordeau | def. | Teila Tuli | TKO (head kick) | 0:26 | |||
| Alternate bout | |||||||
| Jason DeLucia | def. | Trent Jenkins | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 0:52 | |||
