UFC 1, November 12, 1993 in theMcNichols Arena - Denver, Colorado. The first ever Ultimate Fighting Championship event and what a blast it was. It was the first time that Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie fought in the UFC.
Royce Gracie fought first and his Brazillian Jiu Jitsu techniques led him to winning early on in the first round and tapping out Art Jimmerson. Ken Shamrock faced Patrick Smith and demonstrated his trademark heel hook which earned him a tap out even earlier than Gracie’s after a minute and 49 seconds.
Gracie then faced Shamrock in the third round with Gracie trumping Shamrock’s early win against Smith after an astonishing 57 seconds.
The entire fight card was over in about 13 or 14 minutes. Not a lot of fighting, regardless, Royce Gracie walks away as the winner of the first Ultimate Fighting Championship.
| Winner | Loser | Method | Round/Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gerard Gordeau | Teila Tuli | TKO (Kick) | 1 / 0:26 |
| Kevin Rosier | Zane Frazier | TKO | 1 / 4:20 |
| Royce Gracie | Art Jimmerson | Submission | 1 / 2:11 |
| Ken Shamrock | Patrick Smith | Submission (Heel Hook) | 1 / 1:49 |
| Gerard Gordeau | Kevin Rosier | TKO (Corner Stoppage) | 1 / 0:59 |
| Royce Gracie | Ken Shamrock | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | 1 / 0:57 |
| Jason Delucia | Trent Jenkins | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | 1 / 0:52 |
| Royce Gracie | Gerard Gordeau | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | 1 / 1:44 |
(7 votes, average: 4.14 out of 5)
This was what made mma, royce was damn good back then.