UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan

The event was arranged in partnership with Kingdom Professional Wrestling to capitalize on the popularity of shoot wrestling and the rapidly-growing Japanese MMA market, amid the emergence of promotions such as PRIDE, and was intended to serve as the inaugural event of a planned “Ultimate Japan” sub-brand, with plans for an eventual "UFC Japan" ran by local promoters. Although the UFC subsequently returned to Japan for Ultimate Japan 2 (UFC 23) in 1999 and Ultimate Japan 3 (UFC 25) in 2000, the planned sub-brand never developed into a regular series amid the UFC's financial difficulties and the increasingly competitive Japanese MMA market.

The event featured a four-man heavyweight tournament, the first ever UFC Middleweight Championship bout, a Heavyweight Championship bout, a Superfight and an alternate bout. Ultimate Japan 1 featured the first UFC appearance of MMA legends Kazushi Sakuraba and Frank Shamrock.

The event was the first appearance of longtime UFC announcer Mike Goldberg, who replaced Bruce Beck as the play by play announcer. Another notable first was the use of unique entry music for each fighter, though this was not repeated in UFC 16. Also, this UFC event was the first to be located in a country other than the United States or its territories.

Sakuraba's Tale

In an attempt to gain attention for the Japanese Kingdom Pro Wrestling, Hiromitsu Kanehara and Yoji Anjo signed on to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's Ultimate Japan tournament. As fate would have it, Kanehara was injured in his training for the tournament, and Kazushi Sakuraba wound up as his late hour substitute. The tournament was intended for heavyweights, and Sakuraba, at 183 pounds, was nearly twenty pounds beneath the UFC's 200 pound designation for the weight class. Reporting himself as 203 pounds in order to gain entry, Sakuraba was paired off against the 243 pound Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt and former Extreme Fighting champion, Marcus Silveira.

Following a barrage of blows by Silveira, Sakuraba dropped for a low-single, only for the fight to be prematurely ended on a KO. Referee John McCarthy had mistakenly thought Sakuraba to have been knocked out. A loud protest followed from the crowd and an angry Sakuraba attempted unsuccessfully to take the microphone and address the Japanese audience. However, after reviewing tape, McCarthy changed his decision to a no-contest. Tank Abbott, who had earlier defeated Yoji Anjo, dropped from the tournament due to an injured hand, leaving Sakuraba and Silveira to face off once more that night in what would be the championship bout of the tournament. This time, Sakuraba claimed the victory, submitting Silveira with an armbar. Afterwards, Sakuraba famously stated, "In fact, professional wrestling is strong".

¹ Due to the NC, and Tank Abbott bowing out of the tournament, UFC officials ruled that a rematch between Sakuraba and Silveira would serve as the Heavyweight Tournament Finals.

The following fighters were honored in the October 2011 book titled UFC Encyclopedia.

• Fight of the Night: Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Marcus Silveira
• Submission of the Night: Frank Shamrock def. Kevin Jackson