The First PPV Success For UFC

The first UFC in itself was a success but I'm talking about the first solid PPV numbers for the UFC. I remember being at a table at dinner when I was a kid with one of the NY lawyers taht co owned UFC and he was saying he couldn't believe it, their NHB fight had netted 14 mill on a PPV and they where shocked. Thats how the sport was born, some NY lawyers had an idea and netted nutty numbers. Why not go from their?

With the help of the Gracies several tournaments into the UFC they where able to produce a super fight.

This is big, it means 2 fighters are popular enough to draw numbers and a crowd for a UFC fight.
UFC 5 Ken Shamrock fought Royce Gracie for the Superfight Title which became the lineage for the UFC HW Title that Brock holds today.
255,000 people bought the PPV, it was a record number for UFC and a huge success. The fight was anti climatic, yes. But many under look the fact that Ken Shamrock sat in the dangerous "Gracie Guard" for 35 minutes head butting and pot shotting Gracie for basically the entire match. Had their been judges this would not have been a draw, but a win for Ken Shamrock. Gracie would leave the rink virtually carried out by the Gracie Clan with a broken eye socket, nasty cuts and broken ribs that no one seemed to ever talk about. He wouldnt fight in the UFC for another decade.

All the fighters that fought in the UFC tournament ran out to the octagon including some Lions Den fighters and lifted Ken up. It was ovious they all knew it, he had beaten Royce Gracie for 35 minutes. Its funny the like Pernell Whitaker, Ken Shamrocks greatest win may have benn a fight that was declared a draw.

Ken Vs tito 1 also showed UFC could still be sucessful during the dark ages.

no muay, Ken vs Tito 1 saved UFC in the dark days. did 155,000 buys
when the previous UFC did under 30,000