10 Crazy Facts About UFC 1

5. The Gracie Family Drama

There’s no disputing the Gracie family’s place on the highest pedestal of Mixed Martial Arts, with the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialists absolute icons of the sport.

Back during UFC 1, however, the mustachioed Rorion Gracie found himself in quite the pickle.

One of the co-founders of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Rorion was under threat from his own family members. That was down to a number of factors that irked the rest of the Gracie clan.

Firstly, Rorion had gone behind the family’s back to trademark the ‘Gracie Jiu-Jitsu’ name in North America. Then, the original plans of having Rickson Gracie represent the family at UFC 1 were turned on their head after Rorion and Rickson had a massive falling out – which was the reason why Royce Gracie was brought in as the star of UFC 1.

By the time UFC 1 rolled around, Rorion Gracie was fearing for his life as his family flew in for the Denver, Colorado-held event. So much so, he even approached ‘Big’ John McCarthy – himself then a lawman – to help him find a firearm to protect himself with.

Luckily for Rorion, all of this family drama - as is so often the case - fizzled out, and he was all smiles as he presented younger brother Royce with his winner's payday.

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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 day job, 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/Saints, Jamie Hayter, 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. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.