Tag: one-night tournament

On This Day in MMA History: The UFC Holds Its First (and Last) Ever 16-Man Tournament at UFC 2: No Way Out

“On This Day in MMA History” pays tribute to some of the more bizarre and infamous moments from MMA’s past. Twenty years ago today (!), on March 11th, 1994, the UFC held the only 16-man, one-night tournament in promotional history at UFC 2. It was…epic to say the least. 

No weight classes, no time limits, no judges, and up to four fights in one night. Yes, the early nineties truly were a time when men were men. That was at least according to the rules of UFC 2: No Way Out, which somehow managed to up the ante from the promotion’s first event the previous November.

Taking place on the evening of March 11th, 1994, UFC 2 pitted previous tournament contestants Patrick Smith, Jason Delucia, and UFC 1 winner Royce Gracie against a gaggle of unknowns in what would become the promotion’s first and last ever sixteen-man, one-night tournament.

As expected, the tournament served as little more than an informercial for the superiority of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu once again. In just over 9 minutes of total fight time, Gracie dominated Minoki Ichihara, Delucia, Remco Pardoel, and Morris to claim his second straight tournament victory. Being that the UFC has long since abandoned the one-night tournament format due to safety concerns, Royce’s four victories at UFC 2 stands as a record that will likely never be broken in the UFC.

But aside from providing us with the biggest tournament in promotional history, we also have UFC 2 to thank for:

“On This Day in MMA History” pays tribute to some of the more bizarre and infamous moments from MMA’s past. Twenty years ago today (!), on March 11th, 1994, the UFC held the only 16-man, one-night tournament in promotional history at UFC 2. It was…epic to say the least. 

No weight classes, no time limits, no judges, and up to four fights in one night. Yes, the early nineties truly were a time when men were men. That was at least according to the rules of UFC 2: No Way Out, which somehow managed to up the ante from the promotion’s first event the previous November.

Taking place on the evening of March 11th, 1994, UFC 2 pitted previous tournament contestants Patrick Smith, Jason Delucia, and UFC 1 winner Royce Gracie against a gaggle of unknowns in what would become the promotion’s first and last ever sixteen-man, one-night tournament.

As expected, the tournament served as little more than an informercial for the superiority of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu once again. In just over 9 minutes of total fight time, Gracie dominated Minoki Ichihara, Delucia, Remco Pardoel, and Morris to claim his second straight tournament victory. Being that the UFC has long since abandoned the one-night tournament format due to safety concerns, Royce’s four victories at UFC 2 stands as a record that will likely never be broken in the UFC.

But aside from providing us with the biggest tournament in promotional history, we also have UFC 2 to thank for:

-Two of the most one-sided beatdowns to ever occur in the octagon: Patrick Smith vs. Scott Morris (see above) and the near homicide that was Fred Ettish vs. Johnny Rhodes

-The debut of legendary referee Big John McCarthy, who got off to a rough start in his officiating of such fights as Pat Smith vs. Scott Morris (again, see above)

-The first lapel choke in UFC history (actually, the first two)

-*Nine* finishes that came in under three minutes (for more information on this, see your mother)

Perhaps it’s appropriate that, some twenty years after UFC 2, Kenny Monday’s Battlegrounds promotion is attempting to kickstart the one-night tournament format once again. Because while today’s classy, wine-sipping, FOX-endorsed MMA landscape may have evolved out of a brutal, barbaric form of human cockfighting (as some called it), there were still some good ideas to be found in the early UFC events, and the one-night tournament remains the most captivating, dramatic format for a sport as inherently dramatic as MMA to this day.

–J. Jones

PRIDE Neva Die: Kenny Monday’s Oklahoma-Based MMA Promotion Bringing Back Eight-Man, One-Night Tournaments

(Part 1 of Igor Vovchanchyn‘s legendary one-night performance in the 1996 Mr. Powerman tournament. Parts 2 and 3 are after the jump.)

(*fans self off with both hands*)

You guys, I don’t want to pull a Danga and curse this thing by simply mentioning it, but there’s a fairly good possibility that we will see the return of the eight-man, one-night tournament in the near future. Specifically, June 27th at the BOK Center in Tulsa. CALM DOWN, GOD DAMMIT. You’re going to blow it!!

Here’s why we shouldn’t immediately dismiss this gift handed down from the heavens as a manipulative, freakshow marketing attempt being made by some obviously struggling promotion (ala the man vs. woman fight in Shooto or Gina Carano in the UFC. Zing!). For starters, the promotion in question is Battlegrounds MMA, the Oklahoma-based promotion of which former Olympian Kenny Monday is the president. Secondly, former Strikeforce matchmaker Rich Chou is on board as the tournament matchmaker. Thirdly, the promotion has already been granted the go-ahead by the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission, following Battlegrounds managing partner Bryan O’Rourke’s petition to slightly modify the rules passed unanimously.

Read up on the special stipulations for the tournament after the jump, then try not to destroy your computer while thrash dancing in your cubicle.


(Part 1 of Igor Vovchanchyn‘s legendary one-night performance in the 1996 Mr. Powerman tournament. Parts 2 and 3 are after the jump.)

(*fans self off with both hands*)

You guys, I don’t want to pull a Danga and curse this thing by simply mentioning it, but there’s a fairly good possibility that we will see the return of the eight-man, one-night tournament in the near future. Specifically, June 27th at the BOK Center in Tulsa. CALM DOWN, GOD DAMMIT. You’re going to blow it!!

Here’s why we shouldn’t immediately dismiss this gift handed down from the heavens as a manipulative, freakshow marketing attempt being made by some obviously struggling promotion (ala the man vs. woman fight in Shooto or Gina Carano in the UFC. Zing!). For starters, the promotion in question is Battlegrounds MMA, the Oklahoma-based promotion of which former Olympian Kenny Monday is the president. Secondly, former Strikeforce matchmaker Rich Chou is on board as the tournament matchmaker. Thirdly, the promotion has already been granted the go-ahead by the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission, following Battlegrounds managing partner Bryan O’Rourke’s petition to slightly modify the rules passed unanimously.

You can view the full petition here, but basically, the only things that differ from the Unified Rules of MMA is that all elbows will be illegal until the final fight (for obvious reasons), and that said final fight will consist of five five-minute rounds instead of the traditional three. As O’Rourke told Bleacher Report:

We’ve all been a part of one-night and Grand Prix elimination tournaments, and Kenny has competed countless times in a tournament format, so we recognized the energy this format brings.

We were confident we could get the format approved if we could show the safety levels went above and beyond current standards, and we’ve set the bar for MMA globally. The Oklahoma State Athletic Commission is progressive, and fighter safety is their credo, so receiving their unanimous approval was proof that our plan provides the greatest fighter safety standards in the world.

There is a major gap between the UFC, Bellator and WSOF. We’re looking toward a grass-roots base of wrestling and MMA fans supporting a revitalization of the one-night, eight-fighter elimination tournament to fill that empty space. 

Unfortunately, the winner of the aptly named “Battlegrounds: One Night Elimination (O.N.E.)” tournament will not receive $500,000 and a top of the line big rig as previously established in the 1987 arm wrestling classic Over the Top. But $50,000 for a night’s work (which at the most is a mere eleven rounds of fighting. Pssh.) isn’t half bad either.

Of course, the only way to truly celebrate such a glorious occasion would be to rewatch the king of one-night tourneys, Igor Vovchanchyn, decimate three straight fighters during his epic performance in the 1996 Mr. Powerman tournament, which transpired on the night of January 23rd, 1996.

Vovchanchyn vs Sergei Bondarovich II – Semifinals

Vovchanchyn vs Roman Tikunov – Finals

Respect the legend, fools.

–J. Jones