Editor’s note: This is the first installment in a multi-part series on the first modern MMA show held in Australia, billed the “Australasian Ultimate Fighting Championship.” Prologue | Part 1
A UFC event you never heard of took place at the Darling Harbor Exhibition and Convention Center in Sydney on March 22, 1997. Eight fighters from the United States, Brazil, Canada, Australia and New Zealand converged under the bright lights of the Sydney metropolis for a $25,000 winner-take-all openweight tournament. The last man standing would receive a novelty check and a belt emblazoned with three words: “Ultimate Fighting Championship.