10 Crazy Facts About UFC 1

9. The Minimal Rules

These days, the world of MMA is a vastly different beast to what it was back in 1993 when UFC 1 took place.

Whereas nowadays there are rightly many rules and regulations in place for MMA companies and their fighters, things were a little more free ‘n’ easy back in the early days.

For UFC 1, the fights had pretty much three basic rules – no nut shots, no biting, and no eye gouging. Other than that, everything was fair game. And likewise, there were no weight classes whatsoever, and there was no such thing as rounds or a time limit. That essentially meant that fights would just continue on until somebody was knocked out or submitted.

Luckily, the longest fight at UFC 1 only lasted 4 minutes 20 seconds – Kevin Rosier vs. Zane Frazier – but the UFC 5 main event of Ken Shamrock vs. Royce Gracie went 36 minutes before it was declared a draw after both men refused to quit despite being exhausted.

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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 and Presenter, 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 day job, his role as 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 and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.