Tag: Patrick Smith

Video: UFC 1 competitors reunite for dinner 30 years later

The six remaining living UFC 1 tournament members reunited for a 30th anniversary dinner to reflect on their pioneering night in 1993.

It was a reunion 30 years in the making.

The UFC celebrates its 30th anniversary Nov. 12 and the promotion recently organized a get-together for the six remaining living tournament participants.

The six pioneers met over dinner at an undisclosed location and shared drinks, food, laughs, and memories. The gathering was recorded and released in a video segment published Saturday entitled “Fighter of the Roundtable.”

On hand were [autotag]Gerard Gordeau[/autotag] and Taylor Wily (known as [autotag]Teila Tuli[/autotag] during his fighting days), the two fighters from the first-ever UFC bout. UFC Hall of Famers [autotag]Ken Shamrock[/autotag] and [autotag]Royce Gracie[/autotag] were also on hand, as were [autotag]Art Jimmerson[/autotag] and [autotag]Zane Frazier[/autotag].

UFC 1 took place Nov. 12, 1993 at McNichols Sports Arena. The tournament-style competition was won by Gracie, who defeated Jimmerson, Shamrock, and Gordeau all the in the same night.

Absent from the meal were the late [autotag]Kevin Rosier[/autotag] and [autotag]Patrick Smith[/autotag], who died in 2015 and 2019 respectively. An in memoriam graphic dedicated to the two deceased pioneers ran prior to the video’s closing credits.

Check out the full 42-minute production of the UFC 1 reunion dinner in the video above.

Combat Rewind, April 30: Early UFC star Patrick Smith experiences the best and worst of K-1

Check out the best highlights from this day in history with MMA Junkie’s “Combat Rewind.”

There’s “Flashback Friday” and “Throwback Thursday” (and Tuesday, too, if you want). But at MMA Junkie, we figured why not expand that to every day?

“Combat Rewind” brings you some of combat sports’ best highlights from every calendar day of the year. It’s a look back at history, courtesy of the UFC Fight Pass archives, featuring stellar finishes and classic moments in MMA and beyond on their anniversaries.

So kick back and relive the following bits of greatness in the video above:

Fight footage courtesy of UFC Fight Pass, the UFC’s official digital subscription service, which is currently offering a seven-day free trial. UFC Fight Pass gives fans access to exclusive live UFC events and fights, exclusive live MMA and combat sports events from around the world, exclusive original and behind the scenes content and unprecedented 24-7 access to the world’s biggest fight library.