''UFC 8: David vs. Goliath'' was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

event held by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

on February 16, 1996, at Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in

Bayamón, Puerto Rico Bayamón (, ) is a Bayamón barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico. Located on the northeastern coastal plain, it is bounded by Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Guaynabo to the east, Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, Toa A ...

. It is the only

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

event held in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

and was later released on

home video Home video is recorded media sold or Video rental shop, rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. ...

History

UFC 8 was the first UFC event located outside of the

Continental United States The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The te ...

. It featured an eight-man tournament, and a UFC Superfight Championship fight between reigning

champion

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock ( né Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract, under the ring name Ken Shamrock. He is best known ...

and Kimo Leopoldo. The event also featured one alternate fight, which was not shown on the live pay-per-view broadcast. The tournament had no weight classes, or weight limits. A 10-minute time limit was imposed for all matches in the tournament except Superfight and final (15 minutes). The event's matchups pitted larger fighters against smaller fighters, hence the term "David vs. Goliath". Local promoter for the historical first and only professional mixed martial arts event was Richy Miranda-Cortese, whose company Sports & Entertainment Ltd had to take local Government officials to Federal Court in order to avoid cancellation of the event by the Government. Among those government officials was Governor

Pedro Rosselló Pedro Juan Rosselló González (; born April 5, 1944) is a Puerto Rican physician and politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001. He was President of the New Progressive Party from 1991 to 1999 and 2003 to 2008, an ...

and Sports and Recreation Director Erick Labrador. The presentation of the event developed into a new boxing commission rules and regulations and Imposition of a banning Law that was later overturned after Miranda-Cortese fought it in court. The tournament championship fight featured

Don Frye Donald Frye (born November 23, 1965) is an American former mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, and actor. In MMA, he was one of the sport's earliest well-rounded fighters and won the '' UFC 8'' and '' David vs. Goliath 96'' tournament ...

against

Gary Goodridge Gary Goodridge (born January 17, 1966), is a Trinidadian-Canadian former heavyweight kickboxer and mixed martial artist fighting out of Barrie, Ontario. Prior to kickboxing and MMA, he was also one of the top ranked contenders in the world of pr ...

, with Frye taking the victory when Goodridge tapped out. Just days before the show, the Puerto Rican government made a ruling banning the event. Two days before the card,

Cablevision Cablevision Systems Corporation was an American cable television company with systems serving areas surrounding New York City. It was the fifth-largest cable provider and ninth-largest television provider in the United States. Throughout its ex ...

became the first major carrier, of what over the next few years would become nearly every major cable system in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, to ban the show, stating it never expected to air

or similar type of programming ever again. The event is also notable as being the first

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

event to draw criticism, including

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

politician Calvin McCard’s on site protests at UFC 8. These protests would spark the nationwide movement against MMA in 1996, spearheaded by

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

, which would later temporarily push the sport in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

underground in 1997.

Results

''UFC 8'' bracket

* Due to injury sustained in this fight, Varelans was unable to continue in the tournament and was replaced by Sam Adkins.

Encyclopedia awards

The following fighters were honored in the October 2011 book titled '' UFC Encyclopedia''. *Fight of the Night: Gary Goodridge vs. Jerry Bohlander *Knockout of the Night: Gary Goodridge *Submission of the Night: Jerry Bohlander

References

External links