the climax and a small, sand-covered area surrounded by wooden posts to contain sparring matches.) "I had no martial arts background. The reason there's an Octagon is because of Chuck Norris."

Weeks after Cusson built the Octagon, eight fighters proceeded to bleed profusely inside of it on live television, igniting what would briefly become a cultural sensation before being politically snuffed out and later resurrected by public demand.

Through nearly 20 years of evolution and a revolving door of fighters, styles and rules, the only constant for the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been its eight-sided chain-link enclosure, virtually unchanged since it first appeared in Denver on Nov. 12, 1993 -- the mixed martial arts version of a baseball diamond.

While Cusson credits Norris for that inspiration, not everyone credits Cusson. Hewas handed the job by proxy, through associate and production designer Greg Harrison. And Harrison's recollection of events is substantially different. The Octagon was conceived solely by him, he asserts, and owes its existence to the need for a safe, contained fighting arena that would favor no one style while simultaneously working for a television production.

"I'm not a Chuck Norris fan," Harrison said.

One requirement: A change of scenery from the norm

A June 1993 sketch by promoter Art Davie envisioned netting being lowered from the arena rafters. Courtesy of Gregory W. Harrison

Rorion Gracie, who witnessed his father test the family art of jiu-jitsu in challenge matches countless times in Brazil, arrived in America in the late 1970s as a martial arts missionary: slugging it out like John Wayne was