UFC 2 featured a sixteen-man tournament format, the first and only one in UFC history, with the winner receiving $60,000. The first seven bouts were not aired on the live pay-per-view broadcast nor were they on the home video version (VHS). The tournament had no weight classes or weight limits. Matches had no time limit or rounds, therefore no judges were used.3 Competitors could only win a match by submission, by the opponent's corner throwing in the towel, or by knockout.
UFC 2 marked the debut of referee John McCarthy, arguably the most famous referee in the sport of MMA.4 Since this was the only 16-man tournament in UFC history, Royce Gracie is the only person to have ever fought and won four fights in one night in the UFC.5
Stuntman and co-creator of the UFC Ben Perry joined the announcing crew for the first time in UFC 2. He was quoted that evening as introducing Scott Morris into the ring by saying: "We don’t know much about Scott Morris, because he is a Ninja".6 This event did a buyrate of 300,000.7
1 Frank Hamaker was forced to withdraw due to injury. He was replaced by Fred Ettish.
The following fighters were honored in the October 2011 book titled UFC Encyclopedia.8
"UFC 2 - No Way Out". Sherdog.com. 1994-03-11. Retrieved 2012-07-08. http://www.sherdog.com/events/UFC-2-No-Way-Out-8 ↩
"UFC 2: No Way Out". Tapology. 1994-03-11. Retrieved 2012-07-08. http://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/events/ufc-2-no-way-out ↩
Sandomir, Richard (March 8, 1994). "TV SPORTS; Death Is Cheap: Maybe It's Just $14.95". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-08-17. https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/08/sports/tv-sports-death-is-cheap-maybe-it-s-just-14.95.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all ↩
"'Big' John McCarthy to referee UFC on Versus". USA Today. June 26, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2012. https://www.usatoday.com/sports/mma/post/2010/07/big-john-mccarthy-to-referee-ufc-on-versus/1 ↩
Gentry, Clyde (2005). No Holds Barred: Ultimate Fighting and the Martial Arts Revolution. Milo Books. ISBN 9781903854303. 9781903854303 ↩
"Prelude to UFC 100: Greatest Quotes In UFC History". Bleacher Report. July 10, 2009. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/215472-prelude-to-ufc-100-greatest-quotes-in-ufc-history ↩
"The Pay per View Revolution in Wrestling". 2015-06-17. http://www.wrestling20yrs.com/blog/the-pay-per-view-revolution-in-wrestling ↩
Gerbasi, Thomas (2011-10-17). UFC Encyclopedia - The Definitive Guide to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. New York: DK. p. 149. ISBN 978-0756683610. 978-0756683610 ↩