Who won UFC 1: The event that sparked the rise of mixed martial arts across the planet

UFC 1 was a revolutionary event as it sparked the rise of mixed martial arts and its popularity worldwide. The event began as a one-night tournament that would determine what the best martial art was.

Questions on the legitimacy of the no-holds-barred fighting tournament were quickly answered. Karate champion Gerard Gordeau defeated sumo wrestler Teila Tuli with a vicious head kick that set the tone for the event and has since become one of the sport’s most iconic knockouts.

All eyes were on Royce Gracie, who was set to prove that his family’s style of BJJ was effective. The future UFC Hall of Famer proved that size didn’t matter as a smaller fighter with technique is capable of defeating a much larger opponent.

The finals saw Gordeau and Gracie match up to determine the UFC 1 tournament winner. As he did in his previous bouts, the BJJ specialist used his grappling to get control of the karate champion and submitted him with a rear-naked choke in 1:44. Gracie's Jiu-Jitsu was on full display as the Brazilian submitted all his opponents en route to winning the tournament.

Gracie's most notable submission win was in his second bout as he submitted eventual Superfight champion Ken Shamrock in less than one minute. 'The World's Most Dangerous Man' had made a name for himself competing in Japan-based promotion Pancrase, where he earned a number of submission wins.

Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock played a pivotal role in the promotion's success following UFC 1 and were rightfully honored as the inaugural inductees into the UFC Hall of Fame.

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Ken Shamrock opens up about UFC 1

Like many fans and viewers, Ken Shamrock wasn't sure what to expect prior to competing at UFC 1.

During an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA earlier this year, the UFC Hall of Famer shared his thoughts on the early years of the promotion and its popularity. He mentioned that the fighters didn't know who they were fighting at the event and described the reaction to Gerard Gourdeau's knockout win over Teila Tuli.

He said:

"Standing there just before the first fight went on, I think it was something that everybody was wondering what it would look like. Fighters, fans had no idea what they were gonna see and the fighters themselves had no idea...That was the first time I really looked at it said, 'Damn, they weren't kidding.'" [3:14 - 3:52]