The UFC has come a long way since its debut in 1993. It started operations at a time when people around the world had no idea what Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) was. The first-ever fight in the cage was a catchweight bout between Gerard Gordeau and Teila Tuli. The MMA community was deeply saddened by the news of Teila Tuli’s passing on June 20th at the age of 56.
MMA Fans Pay tribute to Teila Tuli
The UFC 1 was conducted on the 12th of November 1993 at the legendary McNichols Sports Arena in Denver. The first-ever fighters to get into a scrap were Gerard Gordeau and Teila Tuli, who etched their iconic status in the MMA world.
The duo started a phenomenon that is currently followed worldwide. Fans paid tribute to UFC’s first-ever star, Teila, whose real name is Taylor Wily.
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Taylor Wily fought only once in his career at UFC 1. He was quite a versatile human being, as he was an actor, sumo wrestler, and MMA fighter. Tuli was of Samoan descent and belonged to the famous islands of Hawaii. He was known for his role as Kamekona Tupuola on Hawaii Five-0, which was also a recurring character on Magnum, P.I.
The UFC has come a long way since UFC 1. It is currently worth a massive $11 billion and is all set to conduct its first ever event in Saudi Arabia.
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