His ideas for production had only a brief shelf life: a moat with alligators, electrified fencing, men in togas. Davie, meanwhile, thought of netting that could be lowered from the ceiling. But if the pulley got stuck, there wouldn't be a show.

For much of 1993, fliers were circulated to gyms and magazines that claimed fighters would compete in a "pit designed by famed film director John Milius," echoing the sunken death trap seen in "Conan." Someone mentioned Plexiglas, and someone else thought about how blood would look smeared across it. None of these ideas fit Pillot's need for something that could be covered by a camera crew.

"In the end," Pillot said, "it was a television production."

Production designer Greg Harrison believes it was his sketches -- and his alone-- that led to the design of the UFC's Octagon in 1993. Courtesy of Greg Harrison

In the fall of 1993, only weeks prior to the event, Pillot reached out to Harrison. Because of Pillot's background in the music business, the two had worked together producing videos for Will Smith and Cyndi Lauper. The Smith video had landed Harrison an MTV Video Music Award nomination. Pillot trusted Harrison's design sense.

"The basic problem I encountered was getting something that would work for both mixed fighting and live TV production," Harrison said. "It needed to contain these fighters as well as provide protection for the camera operators. He told me it was going to be all these different types of athletes, including a Sumo wrestler. So I came up with about