January 29 – death of Ulrike Maier (26), Austrian skier, who broke her neck when she crashed during a World Cup downhill race at Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Note: It is the fourth consecutive Super Bowl appearance by the Bills as well as their fourth consecutive loss. This is also the first (and thus far only) time that the same two teams have met in consecutive Super Bowls.
October 23 – in a game where the New Orleans Saints beat the Los Angeles Rams 37–34 Robert Bailey of the Rams sets the NFL record for longest punt return (103 yards) and Tyrone Hughes of the Saints sets the NFL single game record for kickoff return yards (304) and most return yards (347) and ties the single game record for kickoff returns returned for touchdown (2).
October 31 – In a rainy and windy game at Soldier Field on Monday Night Football, Dick Buktus' and Gale Sayers' Jerseys were retired at Halftime, but the Bears were blown away by Brett Favre and the Packers, 6–33.
February 20 – in Boston, Massachusetts, Ireland's 41-year-old Eamonn Coghlan becomes the first man over the age of forty to run a sub-four minute mile when he clocks 3min.58.15sec.
June 22 – OFKen Griffey Jr. leads the Mariners to a 12–3 win over the Angels by stroking his 31st home run of the season. In doing so, Griffey Jr. breaks Babe Ruth's record for most home runs before the end of June.
September 14 – A labor strike by Major League Baseball players results in the premature termination of the season, and the cancellation of the World Series for the first time since 1904. The Montreal Expos were the league-leading team up to the strike, with a 74–40 record.
January 29 – Frankie Randall causes Julio César Chávez his first defeat in 91 professional bouts, winning the WBC world Jr. Welterweight title in the process, by a split decision in 12 rounds.
October 1 – The NHL locked out its players and the regular season was put on hold for the next 3½ months and the season began under a 48-game schedule through 1995.
The following is a list of major noteworthy MMA events during 1994 in chronological order.
Before 1997, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was considered the only major MMA organization in the world and featured many fewer rules than are used in modern MMA.
Date
Event
Alternate Name/s
Location
Attendance
PPV Buyrate
Notes
March 11
UFC 2: No Way Out
UFC 2 The Ultimate Fighting Championship 2
Denver, Colorado, US
2,000
300,000
UFC rule change, time limits were dropped. Groin strikes became legal again, however still illegal to grab the genitals. Cage design was modified. The first and only sixteen-man tournament in UFC history.
September 9
UFC 3: The American Dream
—
Charlotte, North Carolina, US
—
—
UFC rule change, referee is officially given the right to stop a fight. Kicking with shoes is banned, however this rule was quickly discarded.
December 16
UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors
—
Tulsa, Oklahoma, US
5,857
—
UFC rule change, After tournament alternate Steve Jennum won UFC 3 by winning only one bout, alternates (replacements) were required to win a pre-tournament bout to qualify for the role of an alternate.
15 November – 1994 Ashes are retained by Australia in the third and deciding game of the three–match series against Great Britain at Elland Road before 39,468
4 December – Béziers, France: Australian captain Mal Meninga plays the last game of his illustrious career, leading Australia to a 74–0 victory over France and scoring the final try of the game
Federation Cup – In the last event to be called the "Federation Cup", Spain wins 3–0 over the USA. The following year would see the event renamed the Fed Cup.