The heartbreaking story of the beloved TV star who fought in the UFC’s first televised bout before dying aged 56
33 years ago, the UFC held its first ever televised event and one half of the opening fight went on to have a beloved TV career before passing away in a tragic story.
In 2026, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is now a household name and one of the biggest sports organisations in the world.
But when it held it's first event on November 12, 1993, it was far from the UFC we know now, with fighters competing in a tournament-style format that would see them compete several times in one night.
In total the tournament victor needed to win three fights that night to collect a $50,000 prize and among the hopefuls looking to secure that prize was sumo wrestler Teila Tuli.
The story of Teila Tuli: From the UFC to Hawaii Five-0
Tuli, real name Taylor Tuli Wily, faced Dutch striker Gerard Gordeau in the first televised bout in UFC history. 7,800 attended the event at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, with a reported 86,000 buys on pay-per-view.
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Prior to joining the UFC, he competed under the name Takamishu in professional sumo in Japan becoming the first foreign-born wrestler to win a championship in the makushita division, sumo’s third tier.
Unfortunately for Tuli, this experience didn't translate well to the UFC octagon, as he lost after just just 26 seconds when Gordeau kicked Tuli in the face while he was down near the fence, knocking a tooth out.
"It was so special. UFC 1 was the opportunity of a lifetime. How many people get that opportunity? I’m just happy that it happened, and I stepped up to it," Tuli told The Denver Post reflecting on the fight in 2018.
The bout ended up being his only professional MMA fight, leaving him with a record of 0–1.
After his sole UFC appearance, Wily gradually built a career in acting, with small roles in Marker and One West Waikiki during the 1990s, North Shore in 2004 before securing his breakthrough role as Kemo in Forgetting Sarah Marshall in 2008
However, by far the biggest role of his acting career came two years later as the beloved Kamekona Tupuola in the American police drama Hawaii Five-0.
Wily appeared in 171 episodes of the series between 2010 and 2020, while also featuring in several other movies and TV shows.
The tragic death of Taylor Wily
On June 20, 2024, Wily died at only 56 years old.
Initially his manager, Michael J. Henderson, said that he had died of natural causes, while his obituary added that health problems had increased during the final six years of his life.
He is by his wife Halona, daughter Tula and son Young.
Executive producer of Hawaii Five-O, Peter Lenkov, wrote on Instagram, "T, as I told you many times, I fell in love with you at the first audition.
"You came in with a towel on your head mopping up sweat, and I was smitten. You charmed me into making you a regular…on the show…and in my life. You were family. And I will miss you every day, brother."
Ben McCrum
