Holly Stein / Getty Images
On December 12, 1993, a newly sanctioned competition called the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC 1) was making its debut at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado. The air was crisp, and the night was calling for heavy snow. Seats were only half-filled.
It wasn’t even the first tournament of its kind
The tournament was billed as having “No rules, no judges and no time limits,” even though there were three specific rules: No biting, no eye gouging and no groin shots. Time limits and judges would eventually be introduced over the following years as well.
A sport called pankration which was played by the ancient Greeks had virtually the same rules, minus the groin shot limitations. While the UFC was the biggest, it wasn’t even the first tournament of its kind to hit North America. CV Productions Inc. which was founded in 1979 takes that mark. The sport was shortly thereafter banned for 30-years in Pennsylvania.
The first UFC tournament was the beginning of fringe acceptance of MMA in North America. Sure, there were movies like Bloodsport which preceded it. There were also video games like Mortal Kombat which the creators were attempting to emulate in some way – but any previous MMA event wouldn’t be approved by the sanctioning bodies.
Some teeth went flying
The night kicked off with Teila Tuli, a 410 lbs. Hawaiian Sumo wrestler vs. Gerard Gordeau, a 216 lbs. Dutch Savate kickboxer. Early in the fight but after some sizing up, Tuli decided his best option was to charge the smaller man. Gordeau landed a few shots while backing away and Tuli fell as he pushed Gordeau up against the side of the octagon. The Dutchman saw a target that wasn’t moving and delivered a devastating kick to Tuli’s face. Some teeth went flying and his nose wasn’t straight anymore. They called the fight and Gordeau moved up in the bracket.
Next on the docket was the Californian Zane Frazier who would be using the discipline of karate vs. the kickboxing New Yorker named Kevin Rosier. Rosier had the chance to end it almost immediately with a rear naked choke but nobody knew what that was. Frazier got up and turned it into a grueling mess of a fight. He sent a knee to Rosier’s groin which went unseen by the referee. Later, Frazier started pulling out tufts of his hair. It ended when Rosier was stomping the side of Frazier’s head and a towel was thrown into the octagon.
Didn’t see the clear and obvious tap
Royce Gracie, whom the tournament was essentially built around, was the next fighter up. He would be facing off against Art Jimmerson, a light heavyweight who was the #10 ranked WBF boxer in the world. Jimmerson chose to go with a single boxing glove on his lead hand. This strategy was completely ineffective. Gracie had him in the full mount and Jimmerson was tapping out before there was even a punch thrown. The ref didn’t see the clear and obvious tap and both fighters had to let him know about it.
The fights went on. Back then you had to do all the fights during the same event. It was the shootfighter Ken Shamrock vs. practitioner of Tae Kwan Do Patrick Smith. Then the former stomper Rosier got stomped into submission by Gordeau. After that, Gracie beat Shamrock which sparked a rivalry. Then Gracie beat Gordeau – all by submission.
Royce Gracie walked away the victor. He would also go on to win the next one before he and his brother sold their shares in the UFC and bowed out because rules and rounds were introduced. Gracie and Shamrock would be the first inductees into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2004.
