UFC 1 – The Beginning – Royce Gracie Subs Gerard Gordeau Via RNC, 1:44 Round-1.
BY Scottie “The Context” White
Denver Colorado, (November 12, 1993) The McNichols Sports Arena on this night would be remembered for this epoch of MMA when UFC 1 hosted an eight-man tournament with 7,800 in attendance.
The “Gracies,” what a legendary family who invaded the world of combat sports this night. An introduction paged in the mix martial arts history as the very first Ultimate Fighting Championship fight card. Team Gracie is a family first but a team of well trained ground practitioners slash strikers who implemented a methodical fight plan. A pure demonstration of Gracie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu being a superior discipline no matter the size disparity to their their offending opposition.
Their tournament formation was beautiful, strategic and well-time in its execution as thousands watched in attendance. A family suited in a two-piece Gi, utilized to enforce multiple variances of applicable high level submissions. At the time, the lack of knowledge to compete in a no holds barred i.e excluding eye gouging and biting or groin strikes and typically clothing or attire presented a layer of advantage for your opponent during a fight. Royce Gracie was the only competitor to wear this attire during the tournament. Furthermore, the UFC 1 vetoed the scales in designating organized weight classes but allowed the encompassing fight card to carry the night with each bout contended at catch-weight. If you reviewed the weight class history for this fight card, it depicts (N/A) in perspective.
An important member who was the co-creator of the tournament format was Rorion Gracie, a Brazilian American – Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Grand Master. The oldest son of Helio Gracie himself, a 9th degree red belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and one of the founders of bleeding over the art to the American BJJ footprint.
Royce Gracie, the sole competitor from the family of grappling suppressors, would enter the final bout with submission authority, ending it in 1:44 round-one (RNC) rear-necked choke on Gerard Gordeau. Royce was awarded the $50,000 grand prize as the winner of the eight-man tournament. A victory that would set the precedence years to come in training mix martial arts, from a single competitor, undersized, winning every bout via submission. It simply changed the game of combat sports.
“World Combat Sports” salute the pioneers who competed in that epic 1993, UFC 1 mix martial arts extravaganza. An amazing night which has transcended the art as one of the top tier combat sports watched today.