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". ==Results==