10 Crazy Facts About UFC 1

Alligators? Sharks? Electrified fencing? Where we're going, we don't need rules...

by Andrew Pollard
UFC 1
UFC/PlusPNG

These days, the UFC is the biggest and best Mixed Martial Arts company in the fight game. Sure, they may have had their dark days, but there's no doubting the Ultimate Fighting Championship's place at the top of the MMA tree.

To many, of course, UFC only really became a 'thing' in the early 2000s when names like Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, and Randy Couture were just some of those who caught the public attention and took UFC into a golden age of popularity - and, most importantly, began to bring in big buy rates and attendance figures.

Ultimate Fighting Championship was created back in 1993, with the aim being to establish which of the various fighting styles was the most effective. And thus, UFC 1 was born!

Taking place from Denver, Colorado's McNichols Sports Arena on 12 November, 1993, the event was available on PPV and then soon after released on VHS. Laid out in a tournament format, UFC 1 saw eight fighters of various disciplines battle it out to see who was the very best.

Now, while the UFC these days is a global phenomenon and a smoothly oiled machine, the first show was something from the wild west. Let's look at the crazier details.

10. Teeth-Gate

In his quarter-final win over Teila Tuli, Gerard Gordeau put a brutal beating on his opponent, instantly making a statement that the latter could be one to watch out for. So vicious was Gordeau’s offense, a kick to the face of his fallen sumo opponent saw three of Tuli’s teeth knocked out.

Now, while the initial thought was that these teeth had been sent out of the Octagon due to the force of Gordeau’s kicks, the ewww-inducing truth of the matter was that two of the teeth had actually gotten stuck in the foot of the Dutchman.

Deciding that any extraction of the teeth would leave Gordeau with an open wound with which he’d be unable to fight, doctors decided to tape up the former Savate World Heavyweight Champion's foot with the teeth still lodged in place.

Gordeau would actually make it all the way to the final of UFC 1, although his losing effort to Royce Gracie was marred in controversy after Gerard intentionally bit his opponent. Gracie would still get the submission win in this final contest – although he was in no rush to loosen his winning choke, as Gracie made a point of showcasing his unhappiness with Gordeau's antics.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.