Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) has certainly come a long way from its Vale tudo days where everything seemed like an all-out street brawl. Today, the addition of rules may have lowered the action significantly, but it has also brought the ever evolving sport into the mainstream consciousness of fight aficionados everywhere. 

In the very first UFC match, despite all the advertising that said the sport has no rules, fighters basically agreed to no biting, no eye-gouging, and five-minute rounds even though UFC 1 matches did not last that long. Additionally, groin strikes were actually not allowed and despite the announced no-holds barred rule, fighters abided that particular rule. 

UFC 1, dubbed as “The Beginning”, was held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado on the 12th of November 1993. Similar to video fighting games like Tekken or Street Fighter, UFC 1 was a single-elimination, fighting tournament that featured eight men battling each other out in one night only. There were no weight classes and weight limits during this time, and UFC 1 included a match between the 200-lb Frenchman Gerard Gordeau against a 430-lb Samoan Sumo Wrestler, Teila Tuli. Since matches can only be won through force, UFC 1 did not have any judges, although two veteran Vale tudo referees mediated the fights. 

The eventual winner of the $50,000 pot money was Brazilian legend Royce Gracie, who beat American boxer Art Jimmerson and former WWF standout Ken Shamrock to march his way to the finals. There, Gracie forced French Savate champion Gerard Gordeau to a submission using a rear naked choke just nearly two minutes into the match. Gracie would repeat as champion against Patrick Smith in the more brutal UFC 2, the first and only time the UFC featured 16 competitors. However, Gracie withdrew during UFC 3 because of fatigue and dehydration, although he would regain his championship in UFC 4 against another former WWF champion, Dan Severn. 

Those early days were a stark contrast to the cultured UFC events these days. For instance, fighters today no longer have to endure multiple matches in one night and they can already receive their paychecks just by showing up. After UFC 18, the tournament format was dropped and each event featured a single fight. Gradually, UFC included more rules, regulations and weight classes, mainly to turn it into a legitimate mixed martial arts sport. 

UFC President Dana White even admitted that UFC was only supposed to be a one-night event only. However, the program did so well on pay-per-view that fans craved for more. Eventually, UFC focused on increasing their popularity, while leaving their previous image of being savage beasts.

Despite toning down the violence content a huge notch, UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championships) remains as one of the most entertaining and action-packed sports around. It seems that UFC has found the secret formula of combining action that is mild, yet brutal enough for both fighting enthusiasts and first-time viewers to enjoy and appreciate. After surviving a rocky past, UFC is here to stay, and it will be that way for a long time.