UFC 1: The Beginning – Results, Fights & Full Card
UFC 1: The Beginning
United States
Main Card • Final
Brazil
R1, 1:44
Open Weight • Main Event • Title Fight
Submission of the Night
Netherlands
R1, 0:52
R1, 0:57
Fight of the Night
R1, 0:59
R1, 1:49
R1, 2:18
R1, 4:20
R1, 0:26
Knockout of the Night
Official Event Results
Official Post-Fight Bonus Awards
Official Tournament Grand Prize & Historical Honors
Tournament Grand Prize: Royce Gracie won the official $50,000 tournament winner purse by defeating Art Jimmerson, Ken Shamrock, and Gerard Gordeau in one night.
Fight of the Night (Retrospective): Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock (honored in the 2011 official UFC Encyclopedia).
Knockout of the Night (Retrospective): Gerard Gordeau def. Teila Tuli (honored in the 2011 official UFC Encyclopedia).
Submission of the Night (Retrospective): Royce Gracie def. Gerard Gordeau (honored in the 2011 official UFC Encyclopedia).
Note: Standard promotional $50,000 post-fight performance cash bonuses were not instituted until 2006 (UFC 58). Honors listed above represent official retrospective designations from UFC historical archives.
Reported Payouts & Disclosed Purses
Fighter Purses & Official Tournament Prize Money
| Fighter | Result | Base Purse | Win / Finish Bonus | Performance Bonus | Estimated Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WIN | $50,000 | — | — | $50,000 | |
| LOSS | — | — | — | — | |
| LOSS | — | — | — | — | |
| LOSS | — | — | — | — | |
| WIN | — | — | — | — | |
| LOSS | — | — | — | — | |
| LOSS | — | — | — | — | |
| LOSS | — | — | — | — | |
| LOSS | — | — | — | — | |
| LOSS | — | — | — | — |
*Purses were not publicly disclosed by a state athletic commission, as Colorado did not regulate no-holds-barred events in 1993. The promotion offered an advertised winner-take-all $50,000 tournament grand prize, which was won by Royce Gracie.
Historic UFC Records Set
Promotional Records & Milestones Established at UFC 1
UFC 1 marked the inaugural event in Ultimate Fighting Championship history, establishing the sport of mixed martial arts at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado on November 12, 1993.
Royce Gracie won three consecutive bouts by submission (Art Jimmerson, Ken Shamrock, and Gerard Gordeau) to become the first tournament champion in UFC history.
The eight-sided chain-link Octagon made its worldwide debut at UFC 1, designed to prevent fighters from falling out while avoiding favor toward any single martial discipline.
Dutch savateur Gerard Gordeau recorded the first knockout and the quickest victory in UFC history, finishing sumo wrestler Teila Tuli in just 26 seconds of the opening quarterfinal.
Ken Shamrock recorded the first official submission victory in UFC history, forcing Patrick Smith to tap out to a heel hook at 1:49 of their quarterfinal bout.
Royce Gracie set the promotional record by securing 3 submission finishes in a single evening, spending less than 5 total minutes inside the cage to win the tournament crown.
All 8 tournament and alternate bouts on the card concluded via definitive stoppage (5 submissions and 3 KO/TKOs), with zero bouts requiring a judges’ decision or reaching a time limit.
Professional boxer Art Jimmerson made UFC history by entering the cage wearing a single boxing glove on his left hand to protect his lead jab while leaving his right hand free for grappling.
Far exceeding executive projections, UFC 1 generated approximately 86,000 live pay-per-view buys, validating the commercial potential of no-holds-barred combat sports.
Kevin Rosier set the event’s striking benchmark, landing 38 total strikes and scoring 2 knockdowns over Zane Frazier in a 4-minute-and-20-second quarterfinal slugfest.
