UFC 1
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.
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 five minute time limits and unlimited rounds. 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, 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
Alternate
* United States Jason DeLucia vs United States Trent Jenkins
DeLucia wins by submission, rear naked choke at 0:52.
Quarterfinals
* Netherlands Gerard Gordeau vs United States Teila Tuli
Gordeau wins by TKO at 0:26, when the referee stepped in after a kick to the face by Gordeau.
* United States Kevin Rosier vs United States Zane Frazier
Rosier wins by TKO due to corner stoppage at 4:18.
* Brazil Royce Gracie vs United States Art Jimmerson
Gracie wins by submission via mount at 2:18.
* United States Ken Shamrock vs United States Patrick Smith
Shamrock wins by submission due to a heel hook at 1:51.
Semifinals
* Netherlands Gerard Gordeau vs United States Kevin Rosier
Gordeau wins by TKO due to corner stoppage at 1:03.
* Brazil Royce Gracie vs United States Ken Shamrock
Gracie wins by gi choke :57 seconds into the fight.
Finals
* Brazil Royce Gracie vs Netherlands Gerard Gordeau
Gracie wins by rear naked choke at 1:45.
UFC 1 bracket
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
 Gerard Gordeau |
TKO | |||||||||
 Teila Tuli |
0:26 | |||||||||
| Gerard Gordeau |
TKO | |||||||||
| Kevin Rosier |
1:03 | |||||||||
| Kevin Rosier |
TKO | |||||||||
| Zane Frazier |
4:18 | |||||||||
| Gerard Gordeau |
1:45 | |||||||||
 Royce Gracie |
SUB | |||||||||
| Royce Gracie |
SUB | |||||||||
| Art Jimmerson |
2:18 | |||||||||
| Royce Gracie |
SUB | |||||||||
| Ken Shamrock |
0:57 | |||||||||
| Ken Shamrock |
SUB | |||||||||
