UFC 1 took place 25 years ago today, November 12, 1993. It went like this:

Opening Round
Gerard Gordeau def. Teila Tuli TKO via tooth removal
Kevin Rosier def. Zane Frazier via head stomps
Royce Gracie def. Art ‘One Glove’ Jimmerson via I can’t get him off me
Ken Shamrock def. Patrick Smith via foot twist

Semi-Finals
Gerard Gordeau def. Kevin Rosier (RIP) via rib stomp
Royce Gracie def. Ken Shamrock via some gi thing

Finals
Royce Gracie def. Gerard Gordeau Submission via Sleeper Hold

Shamrock competed in Pancrase in Japan on November 8, and on the 12th he was in the Octagon. In an interview with Thomas Gerbasi for UFC.com, Shamrock talked about what happened, and how.

One of my students, Scott Bessac, gave me a flyer about this no holds barred thing and of course I thought it was a joke, said Shamrock. He said, ‘No, it’s for real, it’s anything goes.’ In my mind, I’m thinking there’s no way they could do that. They only do that in movies. Then I called Art Davie and he basically assured me that it was real, and I didn’t believe him. But I said, ‘Okay, put me in.’

I wasn’t going to jump into this thing when I didn’t believe that it was going to happen. So I went to Japan and then I jumped on a plane with a couple Japanese guys to help me prepare for whatever was going to happen.

I see all these guys there and they all did not look like fighters to me. Some of them should have been in a rocking chair, drinking a beer, and other ones looked like they shouldn’t be in a sports event at all, which was Royce Gracie. So it was definitely something I did not expect.

I think people don’t realize that if there was an intimidating figure, a person that people feared to fight, like a Mike Tyson, when boxers used to go in there and get beat before they ever threw a punch, that was me. That was my thing when I was fighting over in Pancrase. Even in the UFC, people stared across the ring at me and they were afraid for the fight to start. And I believe a lot of it had to do not only with my fighting ability, but my interviews, my determination, my personality – all those things that are interesting for fans to watch. It also worked out well against the people who were fighting me because when they walked into the ring, I put so much pressure on them in interviews and press conferences that by the time they walked in, they were already beat.

It was always a fight for me, and the thing you had to do was let people know who you were, where you came from and the reason why they weren’t going to step on your toes. So a lot of that came from the way I was brought up. People were gonna know and understand who they were getting into it with, and the reason why we were getting into it, and that this is my house. I’m the one in charge.

I watched the very first fight, and that’s when I was like, ‘This is really happening.’ And like most people in this type of situation, they all started getting worried. ‘This is not what I signed up for; you can’t kick a guy in the face.’ And in my mind, I’m thinking, ‘Oh yeah, you can; this is what they said this was.’ I just didn’t believe it. But I was excited. This is one step above what I was doing, and I was always that guy that wanted more of the extreme. I was a street kid my whole life. I fought in juvenile hall, I fought in group homes, I fought for survival, and now I’m gonna get paid for it? And I don’t have to fight ten guys.

I thought for sure I was gonna destroy this [Royce] guy walking around in pajamas. The next thing I know, I’m looking up and I tapped. I didn’t even realize I tapped, and I’m thinking, ‘Okay.’ From that point on, it was my journey that started because I knew that I was not going to go out like this. I wanted to make sure I got back and was able to show people what I was about and not take it lightly.

When I look back at it now and see where it’s at today, I’m very proud that I was able to be that guy to fight for this event to keep moving forward. A lot of other people did too, but I was the bull’s eye, I was the one everyone was showing when they were showing the bad things; I was the face. And I had to stand up for myself and handle myself very professionally and I did that very well. I think I was able to help the organization be able to keep moving forward. I take a lot of pride in that.