Historical archive

Denver, 1993: the Gracies and UFC 1

A slim Brazilian in a gi won a tournament of giants and changed how the world thinks about fighting.

1914–1993

Original WABUKAN illustration (ink and wash), 2026. A fighter in a jiu-jitsu gi chokes a bigger opponent inside an eight-sided cage.

The story

The story starts with a Japanese judoka, Maeda Mitsuyo, who toured the world fighting all comers and settled in Brazil in 1914–1915. In Belém he taught Carlos Gracie, who passed the art to his brothers, above all the youngest, Hélio. In Rio de Janeiro the family adapted it for smaller fighters and tested it in open vale tudo (“anything goes”) contests. In 1951 Hélio fought the judo champion Kimura Masahiko at the Maracanã and lost to the arm lock that now bears Kimura’s name.

Hélio’s son Rorion moved to California in 1978 and taught in his garage. To prove that Brazilian jiu-jitsu worked against any style, he and the advertising man Art Davie created a televised tournament with eight fighters from different arts. The Ultimate Fighting Championship took place on 12 November 1993 at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, on pay-per-view.

The family sent Rorion’s younger brother Royce, who weighed around 80 kg. In one night he submitted the boxer Art Jimmerson, the shoot-fighter Ken Shamrock and, in the final, the Dutch kickboxer Gerard Gordeau, all by taking them to the ground. Millions of viewers saw that a fight often ends on the floor, and that grappling had to be learned.

Key dates

1914–1915
Maeda Mitsuyo arrives in Brazil and settles in Belém.
1951
Hélio Gracie vs Kimura Masahiko at the Maracanã.
1978
Rorion Gracie moves to the United States.
12.11.1993
UFC 1 in Denver: Royce Gracie wins the eight-man tournament.

Myth and fact

Myth

UFC 1 had no rules at all.

It was sold as “no rules”, but biting and eye-gouging were banned, and a fight could end by knockout, submission or a corner throwing in the towel. There were no weight classes and no time limits.

Myth

Brazilian jiu-jitsu was invented from nothing by Hélio Gracie.

Its roots are in Kōdōkan judo and Japanese jūjutsu brought by Maeda and others. The Gracies, and rival Brazilian teachers such as Luiz França, developed it further, especially the ground game.

Why it matters

UFC 1 ended the era when each style claimed to be the best without testing it. Almost every serious fighter since has had to learn to strike, wrestle and fight on the ground.

Images: public-domain or CC0 works credited under each picture, or original WABUKAN ink illustrations. Panels: the story told in numbered comic boxes.

Sources

UFC 1 — Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org
Royce Gracie — Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org
Mitsuyo Maeda — Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org
Hélio Gracie — Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org
Brazilian jiu-jitsu — Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org

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WABUKAN 和武館, «Denver, 1993: the Gracies and UFC 1», https://wabukan.com/marco-gracie-ufc (accessed 2026-10-30).

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