UFC 1: The Beginning

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. 

UFC 1 used an eight-man tournament format, with the winner receiving $50,000.^[4] The tournament featured fights with no weight classes 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. Fights consisted of unlimited 5 minute rounds until a winner was decided.

Royce Gracie won the tournament by defeating Gerard Gordeau via tap out 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.

Final
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
N/A	Royce Gracie	def.	Gerard Gordeau	Submission (choke)		1:40
Semi-finals
N/A	Royce Gracie	def.	Ken Shamrock	Submission (rear-naked 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)		1:57
N/A	Royce Gracie	def.	Art Jimmerson	Submission (mount)		2:18
N/A	Kevin Rosier	def.	Zane Frazier	TKO Corner Stoppage (Head Stomps)		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[edit]

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	Gerard Gordeau (Savate)	TKO
	Teila Tuli (Sumo)	0:26
					Gerard Gordeau	TKO
					Kevin Rosier	0:59
	Kevin Rosier (Kickboxing)	TKO
	Zane Frazier (American Kenpo)	4:20
									Gerard Gordeau	1:40
									Royce Gracie	SUB
	Royce Gracie (BJJ)	SUB
	Art Jimmerson (Boxing)	2:18
					Royce Gracie	SUB
					Ken Shamrock	0:57
	Ken Shamrock(Shootfighting)	SUB
	Patrick Smith (Taekwondo)	1:49