Perhaps a late stocking stuffer or a book to pick up during your down time over the holidays is Art Davie’s book, “Is this Legal?” Released this past summer, the book chronicles what went behind putting together UFC 1 back in November 1993.
The account details Davie and his path to organizing and promoting the first UFC. It’s clear that his relationship with the Gracie family helped with the eventual event. Davie trained with the Gracie family and some of his initial investors came from connections from their school in Southern California.
At a time when there was no Kickstarter or other forms of crowdfunding, it was an interesting look at the obstacles Davie faced and eventually overcame in promoting the event.
Initially brainstormed as “The War of the Worlds,” and then “World’s Best Fighter” as a working title, Davie pitched the idea to fighters, venues to hold the event and networks to air it for public consumption.
Davie did his first research on the event at a public library in Torrance, California. His passion to establish this grew to a small office in Torrance. He had compiled a detailed proposal which outlined his vision for the event. Davie pitched his proposal to ESPN, HBO and Showtime all of which declined the opportunity to air Davie’s vision for a one night tournament to determine who the best fighter was in hand to hand combat.
The book offers candid pictures of the makings of the event including a reproduction of a ticket/room package to go to the event at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado from $269. There are also initial sketches of a proposed cage where the fights would take place. Essentially, this was the birth of the Octagon.
To refresh your memory, Patrick Smith, Ken Shamrock, Zane Frazier, Kevin Rosier, Art Jimmerson, Royce Gracie Gerard Gordeau and Teila Tuli were the fighters competing on the first card.
The PPV, which was priced at $14.95, drew 85,592 buys. There were 3,997 in attendance with 984 comps. According to a list at the end of the book, the total fight purse was $102,500. The winner, Royce Gracie earned $50,000 as the tournament winner and won the $250,000 grand prize. The runner up Gerard Gordeau, earned $15,000. Notably, Art Jimmerson (the man with one glove) earned $18,000 (a guaranteed $17,000 plus another $1,000 for making the quarterfinals. Ken Shamrock earned $4,000.
The Gracies played a big part in this event and Davie’s relationship with the family. He first assisted in selling their videotapes, “The Basics of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu,” and after he earned a monthly commission check of over $21,000, he decided it was time to pitch to Rorion Gracie his idea for what became UFC 1.
Bellator play-by-play commentator Sean Wheelock assists in this book and “Big” John McCarthy writes the foreward.
On his web site for the book, Davie produced a 6 part series on the creation and evolution of MMA in North America.
Is it Legal is an easy read and if you had an interest on how the first UFC got off the ground, it’s worth a read over the holidays.
Visit Isthislegalthebook.com for more information or your preferred bookseller to purchase. It is available in e-book form as well.
Very good read. Most people aren’t aware of how important Davie was for getting the UFC going.