The show was supposed to be a one-off, but such was the success, that it gave birth to future UFC pay-per-views. Royce Gracie was the one who was able to win the first-ever tournament and he won the UFC tournament championship with the help of his submission skills, beating others along the way. The UFC fight card featured top fighters from different disciplines such as shoot-fighter Ken Shamrock, karate expert Zane Frazier, sumo wrestler Teila Tuli, boxer Art Jimmerson, kickboxers Patrick Smith and Kevin Rosier, savate fighter Gerard Gordeau, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Royce Gracie, the brother of Rorion Gracie. In 1993, most fighters were skilled in only one discipline as the concept of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) was not that popular yet. UFC 1 was advertised as the tournament which would answer the question, ‘Can a wrestler beat a boxer?’ and other such questions. Art Davie was the UFC booker and matchmaker. The first-ever UFC event was held on 12th November, 1993, and it was called UFC 1. They designed the trademarked ‘Octagon’ and devised a new name for the show – The Ultimate Fighting Championship. While the producers declined, SEG, who were a pioneer in pay-per-view television at the time and were known for being out-of-the-box, partnered with them. The entire idea was supposed to help develop the tournament into a television franchise of its own.ġ993 was a big year for WOW Promotions, as they approached by PPV producers and SEG. Davie found the backing of 28 business investors who helped to start WOW Promotions. The tournament was set to feature no-holds-barred combat to decide which the best martial arts was. The idea for the tournament came from a video-series Gracies in Action where Gracie jiu-jitsu students fought against and defeated top martial-artists from various other disciplines. It can be traced back to when Art Davie first made the proposal to John Milius and Rorion Gracie for an eight-man single elimination tournament called War of the Worlds. The Ultimate Fighting Championship has a long history attached to it.
The company has traveled to several different countries and have not only put on main events worthy of any pay-per-view, they have also managed to incorporate the local MMA fighters into the event by having them fighters from the country they are in heavily feature on the card. With the company holding UFC events almost on a weekly basis, they have taken things to a new level, by traversing the globe to expand MMA over the entire world. Who are the current UFC Champions in each weight division?.Which countries have hosted a UFC event?.Their 500th event took place at UFC 244: Diaz vs Masvidal. Over the course of UFC history, the company has held over 500 live events across the world. The Ultimate Fighting Championship aka UFC has become the leading promotion for American Mixed Martial Arts over the last two decades.
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