10 Crazy Facts About UFC 1
4. Ken Shamrock's Hectic Schedule
When it comes to the greats of the early days of MMA and UFC, very few hold the same sort of legendary status as Ken Shamrock. After all, Shamrock’s WWE nickname of The World’s Most Dangerous Man was well and truly earned the hard way in the fight game.
At UFC 1, Shamrock suffered a controversial submission loss to eventual winner Royce Gracie in the semi-finals, although Shamrock’s schedule at that time had been nuts.
Having debuted for the recently formed Japanese MMA organisation Pancrase in September 1993, Shamrock actually fought again in Japan for Pancrase on 8 November – just four days before competing at UFC 1 in Denver, Colorado.
After getting a submission victory in Japan, Shamrock then grabbed a long ol’ flight to the US before desperately attempting to recover from jetlag and train before competing at UFC 1 on 12 November.
A true badass athlete amongst some slightly less athletic, less badass names on that first UFC show, it’s easy to see why Ken quickly became one of the megastars of the early UFC.