To mark the passing of UFC 100, FIGHT! Magazine compiled some interesting, funny, and sad data about the worlds largest mixed martial arts promotion.
1. It took Royce Gracie a total of 4:59 seconds to defeat Art Jimmerson, Ken Shamrock, and Gerard Gordeau to become UFC 1’s tournament champion. That’s one second less than the standard five-minute round MMA enjoys today.
2. John Milius, screenwriter of Apocalypse Now, invented the Octagon.
3. UFC 2 featured the lone 16-man tournament. The winner? Royce Gracie.
4. The only non-tournament fighters at UFC 1 were reserves Jason Delucia and Trent Jenkins. They never saw action that night.
5. “Big” John McCarthy began “refereeing” at UFC 2. Early sentiment had UFC brass and competitors employing an “If he dies, he dies” philosophy. McCarthy lobbied for reason and went on to literally invent the referee stoppage in the sport.
6. Steve Jennum won the UFC 3 eight-man tournament by fighting only once, entering the finals as an alternate. It only took him under two minutes to enter the record books.
7. Pay-per-view broadcast cut off the end of the UFC 4 tournament. Fans didn’t get to see Royce Gracie triangle choke Dan Severn to win his third and final tournament.
8. Don Frye made a lasting impression in his debut at UFC 8—he knocked out Thomas Ramirez in eight seconds, scoring the UFC’s quickest KO. James Irvin tied the record 12 years later by trumping Houston Alexander.
9. Randy Couture debuted by choking out Tony Halme at UFC 13. Fans may remember Halme better as his World Wrestling Federation persona, “Ludvig Borga.”
10. Tito Ortiz also debuted at UFC 13, competing for no money to maintain amateur status to continue collegiate wrestling.
11. Mark Kerr’s debut at UFC 14 saw him finish a fight by jamming his chin into Daniel Bobish’s eye. It was the first and last time that submission was seen.
12. UFC 15 marked the first addition of rules to the original three: “no biting, eye-gouging, or fish-hooking.”
13. MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba’s lone UFC appearance came at “Ultimate Japan,” an event between UFC 15 and 16, when he defeated Marcus Silveira.
14. Kevin Jackson, an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling, is the most decorated wrestler to compete in the UFC. Frank Shamrock submitted him in 16 seconds at Ultimate Japan.
15. Frank Shamrock’s UFC 16 crippling slam of Igor Zinoviev was a unification fight for the UFC and Extreme Fighting middleweight titles.
16. Chuck Liddell debuted at UFC 17 and currently holds the record for Octagon appearances with 22.
17. UFC 22 brought the 155-pound division to the organization. The weight class was scrapped after UFC 49 and was brought back at UFC 58.
18. UFC 24 featured current American Kickboxing Academy trainer Bob Cook’s lone UFC appearance. He submitted Tiki Ghosn.
19. Semmy Schilt is the UFC’s tallest competitor, standing at 6’11. Josh Barnett submitted him in his lone appearance at UFC 32.
20. Joao Marcos Pierini competed at UFC 37.5, losing to Yves Edwards in his lone UFC bout. Years later, he pleaded no contest to one felony and three misdemeanor counts of child molestation.
21. UFC 37.5, headlined by Chuck Liddell and Vitor Belfort, was the UFC’s first venture onto basic cable television. Steve Berger vs. Robbie Lawler was aired on the Fox Sports Nets’ “Best Damn Sports Show, Period.”
22. Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz delivered a landmark event at UFC 40, getting the UFC its most attention on pay-per-view since UFC 5 and landing its first ever million-dollar gate.
23. Pete Spratt defeated then-young gun Robbie Lawler at UFC 42, earning him a title shot against welterweight champion Matt Hughes. He turned it down and never got the offer again.
24. Nick Diaz debuted at UFC 44 just after his 20th birthday, making him the youngest American competitor to compete in the Octagon at the time. Vitor Belfort, a Brazilian, debuted at 19. Dan Lauzon was 18 at UFC 64 when he surpassed both.
25. Tito Ortiz lost his light heavyweight title to Randy Couture at UFC 44, leaving him with five successful title defenses—a divisional record.
26. Lee Murray defeated Jorge Rivera via triangle choke at UFC 46. It was his lone UFC appearance. He now resides in Moroccan prison after (allegedly) masterminding the biggest bank heist in United Kingdom’s history.
27. UFC 52 was the first event after the inaugural “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show. Coaches Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell headlined the card. Liddell knocked out Couture in the first round.
28. Nick Diaz lost a unanimous decision to Joe Riggs at UFC 67. He went for round four when both fighters were in the hospital for post-fight evaluations and began to brawl.
29. Nick Diaz was the most featured UFC fighter between UFC 44 and 65 with 10 appearances in three years and two months.
30. Matt Serra became the first “The Ultimate Fighter” contestant to win a championship by upsetting welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 69. It’s regarded as one of the biggest upsets in history.
31. Roger Huerta defeated Leonard Garcia at UFC 69. Garcia and Huerta were the first mixed martial artists to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated.
32. Lightweights Sean Sherk and Hermes Franca both tested positive for steroids according to the California State Athletic Commission after UFC 73. It is the first time two UFC fighters in a title fight (or a fight period) tested positive.
33. At UFC 73, fan Eraldo Cano fell to his death from a smoking balcony at Arco Arena in Sacramento, California.
34. UFC 75 placed UFC 205-pound champion Quinton Jackson across from Pride 205-pound champion Dan Henderson in the first ever UFC-Pride unification title fight. Jackson won a unanimous decision. Henderson went on to lose another UFC-Pride unifying bout when Anderson Silva submitted him at UFC 82 in a 185-pound contest.
35. UFC 76 dubbed, “Knockout,” featured none.
36. B.J. Penn captured the lightweight belt by submitting Joe Stevenson at UFC 80.
37. Michael Bisping answered Charles McCarthy’s pre-fight smack talk by beating him into retirement in less than five minutes at UFC 83.
38. Frank Mir achieved the unthinkable at UFC 92 when he finished Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira with strikes.
39. Georges St. Pierre and B.J. Penn II became the UFC’s first cross-division championship bout as well as the first bout to carry a “UFC Primetime” hype series.
40. Anderson Silva set a new win-streak record in the UFC, becoming the first man to win nine consecutive fights. He surpassed Royce Gracie and Jon Fitch, who halted their streaks at eight.
41. UFC 100 wasn’t actually UFC 100. Do you know how many cards the UFC has actually promoted?
Read Bear Frazer’s thoughts on UFC 100 here and check out the 9th edition of the “Acosta Is Legend” Awards.
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