The UFC’s ‘starting’ got here 32 years ago today.
Talk of bringing multiple martial arts disciplines together to see which might emerge victorious was delivered to life over three a long time ago, after a collaboration between marketer Art Davie and Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Rorion Gracie.
Their preparation culminated in UFC 1 happening on at the present time, November 12, in 1993. On the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, the Octagon appeared for the primary time as practitioners from different fighting styles competed in an eight-man tournament.
The motion kicked off with a clash between a sumo wrestler, the late Teila Tuli, and French Savate and karate fighter, Gerard Gordeau.
In a far cry from fights seen in modern-day MMA, the first-ever UFC fight featured a 200-pound weight discrepancy. However it was not the larger man who had his hand raised.
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The UFC’s first-ever fight resulted in a devastating 26-second head kick knockout
While the sector was not full and the vast majority of the media were said to have stayed away, those that did attend UFC 1, described as ‘The Starting’, were introduced to MMA about as brutally as possible.
The over-400-pound Tuli, who had won two consecutive yūshō or tournament championships in sumo wrestling, soon charged at Gordeau. However the 1991 World Champion Savate and holder of the Dutch Champion Karate title for eight straight years made the Hawaiian pay.
As he was backed up against the fence, Gordeau hurt Tuli with an uppercut. The grounded behemoth was then hit with a vicious kick to the top that knocked out three of his teeth. While one was sent flying out of the cage, the opposite two were apparently lodged in Gordeau’s cut-open foot.
Tuli was left bleeding because the referee called a timeout to let the doctor have a look, with the fight ultimately being waved off after just 26 seconds. With many not knowing what to anticipate from the brand new creation, the vicious start left fans and even the commentary team in a state of shock.
The Dutchman also went on to defeat Kevin Rosier in under a minute to qualify for the UFC 1 final, where he was submitted by Royce Gracie.
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UFC 322 takes place days after the thirty second anniversary of UFC 1
Since ‘The Starting’, the UFC has gone on to stage lots of of numbered events and Fight Nights, the most recent of which takes place inside the celebrated surroundings of Madison Square Garden this Saturday.
Gone are the times of 200-pound weight discrepancies and same-night tournaments. That initial format was replaced by divisional titles, two of which will likely be on the road at UFC 322 in Latest York City on November 15.
After Zhang Weili challenges flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko in a bid to realize two-division supremacy, it can be an analogous story within the essential event.
Closing out the penultimate pay-per-view of 2025 will likely be Islam Makhachev’s clash against Jack Della Maddalena. To defend his title for the primary time, the Australian must spoil the previous lightweight king’s plan so as to add the welterweight gold to his UFC résumé.