Ultimate Fighting Championship
Encyclopedia
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the largest mixed martial arts
(MMA) promotion company
in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport
and produces events worldwide. Based in the United States
, the UFC has seven weight-divisions and enforces the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Dana White
serves as the president of the UFC while Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta
control the UFC's parent company, Zuffa, LLC.
Inspired by vale tudo
tournaments in Brazil
, the UFC and the sport of MMA have roots in the ancient Olympic combat sport of Pankration
. In 1993, the UFC held its first competition in Denver, Colorado
. Showcasing fighters of different disciplines — including boxing
, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
, wrestling
, Muay Thai
, karate
and other styles — the UFC sought to identify the most effective martial art
in a real fight.
With a cable-television
deal and expansion into Canada
, Europe
, Australia
the Middle East
, Asia
and new markets within the United States, the UFC has gained in popularity, along with greater mainstream-media
coverage. viewers can access UFC programming on pay-per-view
television in the U.S., Brazil
, Australia
, Canada
, New Zealand
and Italy
. UFC programming can also be found on Spike, Versus
, and the Fox Network
in the U.S., on ESPN
in the United Kingdom
and Ireland
, as well as in 150 countries and 22 different languages worldwide. UFC also carries a mobile site for on-the-go users and a Sports Bars page for fans to find places showing the pay-per-view. It is also available on the Roku
streaming player.
proposed to Rorion Gracie
and John Milius
an eight man single-elimination tournament with a title of War of the Worlds. The tournament was inspired by the Gracies in Action video-series produced by the Gracie family
of Brazil which featured Gracie Jiu-Jitsu students defeating martial-arts masters of various disciplines such as karate
, kung fu and kickboxing
. The tournament would feature martial artists from different disciplines facing each other in no-holds-barred combat to determine the best martial art and would aim to replicate the excitement of the matches Davie had seen on the videos. Milius, a noted film director and screenwriter, as well as a Gracie student, agreed to be the event's creative director. Davie drafted the business plan and twenty-eight investors contributed the initial capital to start WOW Promotions with the intent to develop the tournament into a television franchise.
In 1993 WOW Promotions sought a television
partner and approached pay-per-view
producers TVKO (HBO), SET (Showtime) and the Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG). Both TVKO and SET declined, but SEG–a pioneer in pay-per-view television which had produced such off-beat events as a mixed-gender tennis match between Jimmy Connors
and Martina Navratilova–became WOW's partner in May 1993.
SEG contacted video and film art-director Jason Cusson in order to design the trademarked "Octagon," a signature piece for the event. Cusson remained the Production Designer through UFC 27
. SEG devised the name for the show as The Ultimate Fighting Championship
.
WOW Promotions and SEG produced the first event, later called UFC 1
, at McNichols Sports Arena
in Denver, Colorado
on November 12, 1993. Art Davie functioned as the show's booker and matchmaker.
The television broadcast featured kickboxers
Patrick Smith
and Kevin Rosier, savate
fighter Gerard Gordeau
, karate
expert Zane Frazier
, shootfighter
Ken Shamrock
, sumo wrestler Teila Tuli, boxer
Art Jimmerson
and 175 lb (79.4 kg) Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Royce Gracie
—younger brother of UFC co-founder Rorion who was hand-picked by Rorion himself to represent his family in the competition. The show became an instant success, drawing 86,592 television subscribers on pay-per-view.
The show was proposed to find an answer for sports fans to questions such as: "Can a wrestler beat a boxer?" As with most martial arts at the time, fighters typically had skills in just one discipline and had little experience against opponents with different skills. Royce Gracie's submission skills proved the most effective in the inaugural tournament, earning him the first ever UFC tournament championship.
However, the promoters did not intend for the event to become a precursor to a series. "That show was only supposed to be a one-off," eventual UFC president Dana White
said. "It did so well on pay-per-view they decided to do another, and another. Never in a million years did these guys think they were creating a sport."
With no weight classes, fighters often faced significantly larger or taller opponents. For example, Keith "The Giant Killer" Hackney
faced Emmanuel Yarborough
at UFC 3
with a 9 in (22.9 cm) height and 400 pounds (181.4 kg) weight disadvantage. Many martial artists believed that technique could overcome these size disadvantages, and that a skilled fighter could use an opponent's size and strength against him. With the 175 lb (79.4 kg) Royce Gracie winning three of the first four events, the UFC quickly proved that size does not always determine the outcome of the fight.
During this early part of the organization, the UFC would showcase a bevy of different styles and fighters. Aside from the aforementioned Royce Gracie
, Ken Shamrock
and Patrick Smith
, the competitions also featured competitors such as Hall of Famer Dan Severn
, Marco Ruas
, Gary Goodridge
, Don Frye
, Kimo Leopoldo
, Oleg Taktarov
and Tank Abbott
.
In April 1995, following UFC 5
in Charlotte, North Carolina
, Davie and Gracie sold their interest in the franchise to SEG and disbanded WOW Promotions. Davie continued with SEG as the show's booker and matchmaker, as well as the commissioner of Ultimate Fighting, until December 1997.
ing, groin strikes
and fish-hooking.
In fact, in a UFC 4
qualifying match, competitors Jason Fairn and Guy Mezger
agreed not to pull hair—as they both wore pony tails tied back for the match. Additionally, that same event saw a matchup between Keith Hackney
and Joe Son in which Hackney unleashed a series of groin shots against Son while on the ground.
The UFC had a reputation, especially in the early days, as an extremely violent event, as evidenced by a disclaimer in the beginning of the UFC 5
broadcast which warned audiences of the violent nature of the sport.
UFC 5 also introduced the first singles match, a rematch from the inaugural UFC featuring three time champion Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock, called "The Superfight." This was an important development because singles matches would feature fighters who suffered no prior damage from a previous fight in the same event, unlike tournament matches. Singles matches would also become a staple in the UFC for years to come.
"The Superfight" began as a non-tournament match that would determine the first reigning UFC Champion for tournament winners to face; it later evolved into a match that could feature either title matches or non-title matches. The "Superfight" would eventually completely phase out tournament matches; by UFC Brazil
, the UFC abandoned the tournament format for an entire card of singles matches (aside from a one time UFC Japan
tournament featuring Japanese fighters). UFC 6
was the first event to feature the crowning of the first non-tournament UFC Champion, Ken Shamrock
.
Senator John McCain
(R
-AZ
) saw a tape of the first UFC events and immediately found it abhorrent. McCain himself led a campaign to ban UFC, calling it "human cockfighting," and sending letters to the governors of all fifty U.S. states asking them to ban the event.
Thirty-six states enacted laws that banned "no-holds-barred" fighting, including New York
, which enacted the ban on the eve of UFC 12
, forcing a relocation of the event to Dothan, Alabama
. The UFC continued to air on DirecTV
PPV, though its audience remained minuscule compared to the larger cable pay-per-view platforms of the era.
In response to the criticism, the UFC increased its cooperation with state athletic commissions and redesigned its rules to remove the less palatable elements of fights while retaining the core elements of striking
and grappling
. UFC 12 saw the introduction of weight classes and the banning of fish-hooking. For UFC 14
gloves became mandatory, while kicks to the head of a downed opponent were banned. UFC 15
saw limitations on hair pulling, and the banning of strikes to the back of the neck and head, headbutting, small-joint manipulations, and groin strikes. With five-minute rounds introduced at UFC 21
, the UFC gradually re-branded itself as a sport rather than a spectacle.
As the UFC continued to work with state athletic commissions, events took place in smaller U.S. markets, including Iowa
, Mississippi
, Louisiana
, Wyoming
and Alabama
. SEG could not secure home-video releases for UFC 23
through UFC 29
. With other mixed martial arts promotions working towards U.S. sanctioning, the International Fighting Championships (IFC)
secured the first U.S. sanctioned mixed-martial-arts event, which occurred in New Jersey
on September 30, 2000. Just two months later, the UFC held its first sanctioned event, UFC 28
, under the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board
's "Unified Rules".
As the UFC's rules started to evolve, so too did its field of competitors. Notable UFC fighters to emerge in this era include Hall of Famers Mark Coleman
, Randy Couture
, Chuck Liddell
and Matt Hughes
, as well as notables Vitor Belfort
, Mark Kerr, Pedro Rizzo
, Tito Ortiz
, Murilo Bustamante
, Pat Miletich
, Frank Shamrock
, Mikey Burnett
, Jeremy Horn
, Pete Williams
, Jens Pulver
, Evan Tanner
, Andrei Arlovski
and Wanderlei Silva
, among others.
executives Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta
and their business partner Dana White
approached them in 2000, with an offer to purchase the UFC. A month later, in January 2001, the Fertittas bought the UFC for $2 million and created Zuffa, LLC
as the parent entity controlling the UFC.
"I had my attorneys tell me that I was crazy because I wasn't buying anything. I was paying $2 million and they were saying `What are you getting?" Lorenzo Fertitta
revealed to Fighter's Only magazine, recalling the lack of assets he acquired in the purchase. "And I said `What you don't understand is I'm getting the most valuable thing that I could possibly have, which is those three letters: UFC. That is what's going to make this thing work. Everybody knows that brand, whether they like it or they don't like it, they react to it.
With ties to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (Lorenzo Fertitta
was a former member of the NSAC), Zuffa secured sanctioning in Nevada in 2001. Shortly thereafter, the UFC returned to pay-per-view cable television with UFC 33
featuring three championship bouts.
releases.
With larger live gates at casino venues like the Trump Taj Mahal and the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the UFC secured its first television deal with Fox Sports Net
. The Best Damn Sports Show Period
aired the first mixed martial arts match on American cable television in June 2002, as well as the main event showcasing Chuck Liddell
vs. Vitor Belfort
at UFC 37.5
. Later, FSN would air highlight shows from the UFC, featuring one hour blocks of the UFC's greatest bouts.
UFC 40
proved to be the most critical event to date in the Zuffa era. The event sold out the MGM Grand Arena
and sold 150,000 pay per view buys, a rate over three times larger than the previous Zuffa events. The event featured a card
headlined by a highly anticipated championship grudge match between then-current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz
and former UFC Superfight Champion Ken Shamrock
, who had previously defected to professional wrestling
in the WWE
before returning to MMA. It was the first time the UFC hit such a high mark since being forced "underground" in 1997. UFC 40 also garnered mainstream attention from massive media outlets such as ESPN
and USA Today
, something that was unfathomable for mixed martial arts at that point in time. Many have suggested that the success of UFC 40 and the anticipation for Ortiz vs. Shamrock saved the UFC from bankruptcy; the buyrates of the previous Zuffa shows averaged a mere 45,000 buys per event and the company was suffering deep monetary losses. The success of UFC 40 provided a glimmer of hope for the UFC and kept alive the hope that mixed martial arts
could become big. Long time UFC referee "Big" John McCarthy said that he felt UFC 40 was the turning point in whether or not the sport of MMA would survive in America.
Despite the success of UFC 40
, the UFC was still experiencing financial deficits. By 2004, Zuffa had $34 million of losses since they purchased the UFC. Fighters who came into prominence after Zuffa's takeover include Georges St-Pierre, Rich Franklin
, B.J. Penn, Sean Sherk
, Matt Serra
, Ricco Rodriguez
, Robbie Lawler
, Frank Mir
, Karo Parisyan
and Nick Diaz
.
series, American Casino
, and seeing how well the series worked as a promotion vehicle, the Fertitta brothers developed the idea of the UFC having its own reality series.
Their idea, The Ultimate Fighter
(TUF)–a reality television show featuring up-and-coming MMA fighters in competition for a six-figure UFC contract, with fighters eliminated from competition via exhibition mixed martial arts matches–was pitched to several networks, each one rejecting the idea outright. Not until they approached Spike TV, with an offer to pay the $10 million production costs themselves, did they find an outlet.
In January 2005, Spike TV launched TUF in the timeslot following WWE Raw
. The show became an instant success, culminating with a notable season finale brawl featuring finalists Forrest Griffin
and Stephan Bonnar
going toe-to-toe for the right to earn the six-figure contract, an event that Dana White credits for saving the UFC.
On the heels of the Griffin/Bonnar finale, a second season of The Ultimate Fighter launched in August 2005, and two more seasons appeared in 2006. Spike and the UFC continue to create and air new seasons.
Following the success of The Ultimate Fighter, Spike also picked up UFC Unleashed
, an hour-long weekly show featuring select fights from previous events. Spike also signed on to broadcast live UFC Fight Night, a series of fight events debuting in August 2005, and Countdown specials to promote upcoming UFC pay-per-view cards.
After a very successful run on Spike and with the upcoming announcement of the UFC's new relationship with Fox
, Spike officials made a statement regarding the end of their partnership with the UFC, “The Ultimate Fighter season 14 in September will be our last... Our 6-year partnership with the UFC has been incredibly beneficial in building both our brands, and we wish them all the best in the future.”
With the announcement of UFC's partnership with Fox in August 2011, The Ultimate Fighter which enters its 14th season debuting in September, will move to the FX network and air on Friday nights starting with season 15 in the Spring of 2012. The new format will take the show in a completely different direction, which includes fighters being on the ‘Ultimate Fighter’ for 13 weeks total, with each elimination fight airing live on FX on Friday nights.
, the first event after the first season of The Ultimate Fighter featuring eventual-UFC Hall of Famer Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell
avenging his defeat to fellow eventual-Hall of Famer Randy Couture
, drew a pay-per-view audience of 300,000, doubling its previous benchmark of 150,000 set at UFC 40. Following the second season of The Ultimate Fighter, the UFC's much-hyped rubber match
between Liddell and Couture drew an estimated 410,000 pay-per-view buys at UFC 57
.
For the rest of 2006, pay-per-view buy rates continued to skyrocket, with 620,000 buys for UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie
—featuring Royce Gracie
's first UFC fight in 11 years—and 775,000 buys for UFC 61
featuring the highly anticipated rematch between Ken Shamrock
and Tito Ortiz
, the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter 3
. The organization hit a milestone with UFC 66
, pitting Ortiz in a rematch against Liddell with over 1 million buys.
The surge in popularity prompted the UFC to beef up its executive team. In March 2006, the UFC announced that it had hired Marc Ratner
, former Executive Director of the Nevada Athletic Commission
, as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. Ratner, once an ally of Senator McCain's
campaign against no holds barred fighting, became a catalyst for the emergence of sanctioned mixed martial arts in the United States. Ratner continues to educate numerous athletic commissions to help raise the UFC's media profile in an attempt to legalize mixed martial arts in jurisdictions inside and outside the United States that have yet to sanction the sport.
In December 2006, Zuffa acquired the northern California-based promotion World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)
in order to stop the International Fight League (IFL)
from making a deal with Versus
. At the time, the UFC had an exclusive deal with Spike, so the purchase of the WEC allowed Zuffa to block the IFL from Versus without violating their contract. The WEC showcased lighter weight classes in MMA, whereas the UFC featured heavier weight classes. Notable WEC fighters included Urijah Faber
, Jamie Varner
, Ben Henderson
, Donald Cerrone
, Anthony Pettis
, Eddie Wineland
, Miguel Angel Torres
, Mike Thomas Brown
, Leonard Garcia
, Brian Bowles, Dominick Cruz
and José Aldo
.
In December 2006, Zuffa also acquired their cross-town, Las Vegas rival World Fighting Alliance (WFA)
. In acquiring the WFA, they acquired the contracts of notable fighters including Quinton Jackson
, Lyoto Machida
and Martin Kampmann
.
The sport's popularity was also noticed by the sports betting community as BodogLife.com, an online gambling site, stated in July 2007 that in 2007 UFC would surpass boxing
for the first time in terms of betting revenues. In fact, the UFC had already broken the pay-per-view industry's all-time records for a single year of business, generating over $222,766,000 in revenue in 2006, surpassing both WWE
and boxing.
The UFC continued its rapid rise from near obscurity with Roger Huerta
gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated
and Chuck Liddell on the front of ESPN The Magazine
in May 2007.
UFC programming is now shown in 130 countries worldwide, and the UFC plans to continue expanding internationally, running shows regularly in Canada and the U.K., with an office established in the U.K. aimed to expand the European audience. UFC has also held events in Germany, Australia
and the United Arab Emirates
, while Afghanistan
, China
, Mexico
and the Philippines
are candidates for future events.
In August 2011, the UFC and Fox announced a multi-year, multi-media rights agreement which delivers four live events in prime time or late night each year to the Fox Broadcasting Company. The first live event airs November 12, 2011, dubbed UFC on Fox 1, where the main event saw Junior dos Santos
knock-out the then-undefeated UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez
and win the UFC Heavyweight Championship in what was considered (along with Cain Velasquez vs. Brock Lesnar at UFC 121
), the greatest fight in UFC heavyweight history. Additional programming on multiple Fox networks launches January 2012 and includes live fights, pre and post shows, countdown shows, UFC Unleashed, UFC Primetime, the UFC Knockout series, Best of Pride, weigh-in specials, and much more original content from extensive Zuffa archives. And in the spring of 2012, The Ultimate Fighter
will move to FX, Fox’s general entertainment cable network.
On March 27, 2007, the UFC and their Japan-based rival the Pride Fighting Championships announced an agreement in which the majority owners of the UFC, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta
, would purchase the Pride brand.
The acquisition of Pride was perceived by UFC officials as a watershed moment for mixed martial arts. "This is really going to change the face of MMA," Lorenzo Fertitta
declared. "Literally creating a sport that could be as big around the world as football. I liken it somewhat to when the NFC
and AFC
came together to create the NFL
."
Initial intentions were for both organizations to be run separately but aligned together with plans to co-promote cards featuring the champions and top contenders from both organizations. However, after purchasing Pride, Dana White felt that the Pride model was not sustainable and the organization would likely fold with many former Pride fighters such as Antônio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira
, Maurício "Shogun" Rua
, Dan Henderson
, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović
, Wanderlei Silva
and others already being realigned under the UFC brand. On October 4, 2007, Pride Worldwide closed its Japanese office, laying off 20 people who were working there since the closing of its parent company Dream Stage Entertainment
(DSE).
In 2008, the UFC announced two major exclusive sponsorship deals with Harley-Davidson
and Anheuser-Busch InBev
, making the brewer's Bud Light the official and exclusive beer sponsor of the UFC.
On June 18, 2008, Lorenzo Fertitta accommodated the UFC's growth by announcing his resignation from Station Casinos
in order to devote his energies to the international business development of Zuffa, particularly the UFC. The move proved to be pivotal, as Fertitta helped strike TV deals in China, France, Mexico and Germany as well as open alternative revenue streams with a new UFC video game and UFC action figures, among other projects.
Fighters exposed to the UFC audience—or who became prominent—in the post-Pride era include the likes of Anderson Silva
, Jon Fitch
, Lyoto Machida
, Cain Velasquez
and Jon Jones
, among others.
and the 10 events preceding it including UFC 90, 91, 92, 94 and 98. UFC 100 was a massive success garnering 1.7 million buys under the drawing power of former NCAA wrestling
champion and ex-WWE superstar Brock Lesnar
and his rematch with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir
, Canadian superstar Georges St-Pierre going head-to-head with Brazilian knockout artist Thiago Alves
, and Pride legend Dan Henderson opposing British middleweight Michael Bisping
; rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter: U.S.A. vs U.K..
UFC 100 was unique in that it drew significant interest from ESPN
, which provided extensive coverage of the event in the days preceding and following it. In fact, ESPN would eventually devote additional coverage of the UFC and other MMA news with the television debut of "MMA Live
" on ESPN2 in May 2010.
The buzz from UFC 100 was hampered significantly in the second half of 2009 after a rash of injuries and other health-related issues —including Brock Lesnar's life-threatening bout with diverticulitis
—forcing the organization to continuously scramble and reshuffle its lineup for several events.
However, the momentum gradually began to pick up in the first quarter of 2010 after victories from defending champions Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva, as well as Lyoto Machida's first career defeat to "Shogun" Rua for the UFC Light Heavyweight title. These fights segued into a very popular clash between former UFC Champions and rivals Rashad Evans
and Quinton Jackson
—rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 10: Heavyweights—at UFC 114
, featuring the UFC's first main event headlined by African-American fighters. The event scored over 1 million pay per view buys as Evans secured a unanimous decision victory.
This momentum carried into the summer of 2010 at UFC 116
, which featured the return of Brock Lesnar defending his UFC Heavyweight title against the undefeated interim-champion Shane Carwin
before 1.25 million PPV viewers. Lesnar survived an early barrage of Carwin's punches in a contest that was nearly stopped by referee Josh Rosenthal. However, Lesnar recovered in the second round to submit Carwin via arm triangle choke
to retain the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Championship. The event as a whole was critically acclaimed in the media for living up to the hype with a number of exciting fights that were featured on the televised card.
After a dramatic fifth round, last minute victory by UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva over Chael Sonnen
at UFC 117
, Lesnar finally surrendered his belt to the undefeated Cain Velasquez
via 1st round TKO at UFC 121
. The fight produced Velasquez's eighth knockout or technical knockout in his first nine MMA fights.
UFC 129
featured Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields
at the Rogers Centre
in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is currently the largest UFC event in North American history, which coincided with a two-day UFC Fan Expo at the Direct Energy Centre. The event sold out 55,000 tickets for gate revenues exceeding $11 million, shattering previous MMA attendance and gate records in North America.
in late 2006 and held the first WEC event under new ownership on January 20, 2007. Soon thereafter the WEC made its home on the Versus Network with its first event debuting on Versus in June 2007.
On October 28, 2010, Zuffa announced that its sister promotion, WEC would merge with the UFC. The WEC held its final card on December 16, 2010. As a result of the merger, the UFC absorbed WEC's bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight weight divisions and their respective fighters. The UFC also made the last WEC Featherweight and Bantamweight Champions, José Aldo
and Dominick Cruz
respectively, the inaugural UFC Champions of their new weight divisions.
Reed Harris, the man that started World Extreme Cagefighting with one of his coaches at SLO Kickboxing, Scott Adams, has remained with the promotion every step of the way, and has mixed emotions about his baby growing into a life of its own. “It’s kind of like when you’re kid goes off to college, at first you’re not happy, but after you think about it for a while, you’re really happy,” Harris told MMAWeekly.com in an exclusive interview immediately following the announcement. “At the end of the day, I never imagined this thing would be where we’re at today. I’m extremely proud and happy that I was involved with something that will now be part of what may be, some day, the largest sports organization in the world.”
revealed on AOL
to Ariel Helwani
that Zuffa had purchased rival MMA promotion Strikeforce
. White explained that Strikeforce would operate as an independent promotion and that Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker
would continue to run day-to-day operations.
"As we continue to grow and expand into these other countries, we need more fights," White explained in his interview with Helwani. "Let's face the facts: Strikeforce is a brand fans have come to like."
Similar to the acquisition of Pride Fighting Championships, the Strikeforce purchase was significant in Zuffa acquiring more top-ranked fighters. Zuffa also acquired Strikeforce champions Alistair Overeem
, Dan Henderson
, Ronaldo Souza, Nick Diaz
and Gilbert Melendez
, as well as Strikeforce's female division including notables Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos
, Marloes Coenen
and Gina Carano
.
It was first reported that Strikeforce fighters would stay in the promotion until their contracts were due to expire. "Once their contracts are up, it's fair game between us and Scott Coker," White also stated in the interview with Helwani. However, Nick Diaz became the first Strikeforce champion to make the move to the UFC after he signed to fight Georges St. Pierre for the UFC Welterweight title at UFC 137. His new contract enables him to fight in both Strikeforce and UFC but he has vacated his Strikeforce Welterweight title.
The UFC is following the same footsteps the NFL and NBA made when they were working to become accepted by the mainstream. The NFL also dabbled in the absorption game when they consumed the AFL in 1970, while the NBA absorbed and dismantled the ABA in 1976. In climbing to these positions of mainstream acceptance, both leagues had faced competition and absorbed the opposition to the fullest extent of the word, ultimately securing themselves as the premier organizations.
announced a seven-year broadcast deal through the Fox Sports subsidiary, effectively ending the UFC's Spike TV
and Versus
partnership. The deal includes four events on the main Fox network, 32 live Friday night fights per year on their cable network FX, 24 events following The Ultimate Fighter
reality show and six separate Fight Night events.
The promotion's first broadcast television event - UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos
- broke form by showcasing only one fight to television viewers. In the main event, Junior dos Santos
abruptly dethroned then-undefeated UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez
by knock-out at 1:04 in the first round. The telecast peaked with 8.8 million viewers tuning into the fight with an average audience of 5.7 million, making it by far the most watched MMA event of all-time and the most watched combat sports event since 2003's HBO bout between Lennox Lewis
and Vitaly Klitschko.
The Ultimate Fighter will change formats and now be live and air on Friday nights on FX, followed by a live fight card. Many of the preliminary fights before UFC pay-per-views and UFC Unleashed programming will be on Fuel TV
. Additional programming begins in January, including live fights, pre- and post-shows, Countdown shows, UFC Unleashed, UFC Primetime, UFC Knockout series, Best of Pride and weigh-in specials.
One of the other programming opportunities that is already in motion is a weekly UFC magazine-style show. When asked about the potential for a weekly magazine-style series, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta responded, “Not only weekly, but, potentially, multiple times per week you’ll have a UFC magazine (show).”
The UFC will maintain production control of its product, including the use of its broadcast team of Mike Goldberg
and Joe Rogan
. Fox Sports will produce the pre- and post-shows.
. The "Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts" that New Jersey established has been adopted in other states that regulate mixed martial arts, including Nevada, Louisiana, and California. These rules are also used by many other promotions within the United States, becoming mandatory for those states that have adopted the rules, and so have become the standard de facto set of rules for professional mixed martial arts across the country.
on November 5th, 2011, non-championship "main event" fights (ie. the final fight on the card), will also last for a maximum of five rounds. Bouts which are either on the preliminary card, or on the main card prior to the main event, last for a maximum of three rounds. There is a one-minute rest period between rounds.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
!rowspan="2"|Weight class name
!colspan="2"|Upper limit
|-
!in pounds
(lb)
!in kilogram
s (kg)
|-align="center"
|align="left"|Bantamweight
|135||61.2
|-align="center"
|align="left"|Featherweight
|145||65.8
|-align="center"
|align="left"|Lightweight
|155||70.3
|-align="center"
|align="left"|Welterweight
|170||77.1
|-align="center"
|align="left"|Middleweight
|185||83.9
|-align="center"
|align="left"|Light Heavyweight
|205||93.0
|-align="center"
|align="left"|Heavyweight
|265||120.2
Non-title fights have a one pound leniency. In addition, there are two other weight classes specified in the Unified Rules which the UFC does not currently use:
The UFC cage is an octagonal structure with walls of metal chain-link fence coated with black vinyl and a diameter of 32 ft (9.8 m), allowing 30 ft (9.1 m) of space from point to point. The fence is to height. The cage sits atop a platform, raising it 4 ft (1.2 m) from the ground. It has foam padding around the top of the fence and between each of the eight sections. It also has two entry-exit gates opposite each other. The mat, painted with sponsorship logos and art, is replaced for each event.
or long pants (including gi pants) are not allowed. Fighters must use approved light-weight open-fingered gloves, that include at least 1" of padding around the knuckles, (110 to 170 g / 4 to 6 ounces) that allow fingers to grab. These gloves enable fighters to punch with less risk of an injured or broken hand, while retaining the ability to grab and grapple.
Originally the attire for UFC was very open if controlled at all. Many fighters still chose to wear tight-fitting shorts or boxing-type trunks, while others wore long pants or singlets. Several wore wrestling shoes. Multi-time tournament Champion Royce Gracie
wore a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gi in all his early appearances in UFC, while Art Jimmerson appeared in UFC 1 wearing one standard boxing glove.
Note: In the event of a draw, it is not necessary that the fighters' total points be equal (see, e.g., UFC 41
Penn vs. Uno, or UFC 43
Freeman vs. White). However, in a unanimous or split draw, each fighter does score an equal number of win judgments from the three judges (0 or 1, respectively).
A fight can also end in a technical decision, technical submission, disqualification, forfeit, technical draw, or no contest. The latter two outcomes have no winners.
is in effect for all UFC fights; three judges score each round and the winner of each receives ten points, the loser nine points or fewer. There are no even rounds, unless a point is deducted for an illegal blow from the winner of that round, usually resulting in a 9-9 for that round. Scores of 10–8 are typically awarded for very dominant rounds, with scores of 10–7 reserved for extremely dominant rounds.
When a foul is charged, the referee in their discretion may deduct one or more points as a penalty. If a foul incapacitates a fighter, then the match may end in a disqualification if the foul was intentional, or a no contest if unintentional. If a foul causes a fighter to be unable to continue later in the bout, it ends with a technical decision win to the injured fighter if the injured fighter is ahead on points, otherwise it is a technical draw.
These exhibition matches variably have two or three rounds, depending on the rules used for each season. In most seasons, preliminary matches (before the semi-final bouts) were two rounds; in season two, all matches had three rounds. For two-round matches, if there is a draw after two rounds, an extra five-minute round ("sudden victory") is contested. If the extra round concludes without a stoppage, the judges' decision will be based on that final round. All matches past the first round use three rounds as per standard UFC bouts. During the finales for each series, the division finals have the standard three rounds, plus a fourth round if the judges score a tie.
and play-by-play announcer Mike Goldberg
provide commentary during broadcasts of nearly all UFC events. The "Veteran Voice of the Octagon" is announcer Bruce Buffer
. Arianny Celeste
, Brittney Palmer and Chandella Powell are Octagon girls
. Each fighter is assigned a cutman
by the promotion who cares for the fighter before the fight and in between rounds. Jacob "Stitch" Duran
is one of the best known cutmen working for the organization. Matches are made by matchmaker, and VP of Talent Relations, Joe Silva. Burt Watson is the production manager for all UFC events, including fighter weigh-ins and other public events held before fights that frequently draw crowds of fans and reporters.
|-
!Division!!Upper weight limit!!Champion!!Since!!Title defenses
|-
|Heavyweight
||265 lb (120.2 kg; 18.9 st)||
Junior dos Santos
||November 12, 2011 (UFC on Fox)||style="text-align:right;"|0
|-
|Light Heavyweight
||205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)||
Jon Jones
||March 19, 2011 (UFC 128
)||style="text-align:right;"|1
|-
|Middleweight
||185 lb (83.9 kg; 13.2 st)|| Anderson Silva
|| October 14, 2006 (UFC 64
)||style="text-align:right;"|9
|-
|Welterweight
||170 lb (77.1 kg; 12.1 st)||
Georges St-Pierre||April 19, 2008 (UFC 83
)||style="text-align:right;"|6
|-
|Lightweight
||155 lb (70.3 kg; 11.1 st)|| Frankie Edgar||April 10, 2010 (UFC 112
)||style="text-align:right;"|2
|-
|Featherweight
||145 lb (65.8 kg; 10.4 st)|| José Aldo
||November 20, 2010 (UFC 123
)||style="text-align:right;"|2
|-
|Bantamweight
||135 lb (61.2 kg; 9.6 st)|| Dominick Cruz
||December 16, 2010 (WEC 53
)||style="text-align:right;"|2
|}
|November 21, 2003 (UFC 45
)
| Ken Shamrock
|November 21, 2003 (UFC 45
)
| Dan Severn
|(UFC 50
)
| Mark Coleman
|
| Randy Couture
|
| Chuck Liddell
|
| Matt Hughes
|May 29, 2010 (UFC 114
)
| Charles Lewis Jr., aka MASK |
In January 2007, Zuffa and video game developer/publisher THQ
announced a license agreement giving THQ worldwide rights to develop titles under the UFC brand. The agreement gives THQ exclusive rights to current and next-generation consoles as well as to PC and handheld titles. Also included are "certain wireless rights" which were not detailed. The licensing agreement is to expire in 2011. UFC Undisputed 2009 became the first game released under this agreement on May 19, 2009.
The first UFC action figure collectibles were released by Round 5 Corporation in May 2008. Series one of their figures includes Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Matt Hughes
, Tito Ortiz
, and Randy Couture
. Series two (released on November 10, 2008) includes Wanderlei Silva
, Sean Sherk
, Rich Franklin
and Anderson Silva
.
In July 2009, Round 5 acquired the UFC license through Jakks Pacific and subsequently released 5 more series under the UFC and Pride brands. 2 packs were released in August 2010 and includes a UFC Octagon cage and Pride ring display stand. Limited edition versions include fabric walk out tees or paint variations and are limited in number with foil and holographic packaging variances. Special edition and exclusive versions have been released at various UFC Fan Expo events.
Jakks Pacific
On June 10, 2008, it was announced that UFC had signed an exclusive four-year contract with Jakks Pacific
to create action figures for UFC. the schedule envisages the release of these figures in November 2009. They have currently been 8 series released and they feature special Lgends, PRIDE, and WEC style figures as well. Three 2 packs series have also been released, as well as several expo and internet exclusives. There are also several different octagon cage playsets that have been released, including the "Octagon Playset", "Official Scale Octagon Playset", and "Electronic Reaction Octagon Playset". A PRIDE style ring playset was also originally planned, however no news have been given on it's status or release date since then.
Jakks Pacific UFC Deluxe Figure Lineups:
Series 0:
Royce Gracie
(Legends Packaging),
Brock Lesnar
,
Frank Mir
,
Rashad Evans
,
Keith Jardine
,
Houston Alexander
,
Kendall Grove
, and
Miguel Angel Torres
(WEC Packaging)
Series 1:
Chuck Liddell
,
Anderson Silva
,
Forrest Griffin
,
Michael Bisping
,
Evan Tanner
(Legends Packaging),
Kevin Randleman
(PRIDE Packaging),
Cheick Kongo
, and
Mike Swick
Series 2:
Nate Marquardt,
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
,
Mike Thomas Brown (WEC Packaging),
Bas Rutten
(Unreleased in this series, moved to series 6),
Georges St-Pierre (Unreleased in this series, moved to series 6),
Lyoto Machida
(Unreleased in this series, moved to series 5),
Quinton Jackson
(Unreleased in this series, moved to series 8), and
Thiago Alves
(Unreleased in this series, moved to series 6)
Series 3:
Chuck Liddell
(Legends Packaging),
Karo Parisyan
,
B.J. Penn,
Jon Fitch
,
Mark Coleman
(Legends Packaging),
Thiago Silva
, and
Mauricio Rua
(PRIDE Packaging)
Series 4:
Wanderlei Silva
,
Sean Sherk
,
Rich Franklin
,
Matt Hughes
,
Kimbo Slice
,
Jamie Varner
(WEC Packaging),
Don Frye
(Legends Packaging), and
Andrei Arlovski
(Unreleased in this series, later released in series 7)
Series 5:
Lyoto Machida
(1 of 100 inserts were also released randomly and contained a special die casted version of the UFC belt),
Quinton Jackson
(PRIDE Packaging),
Matt Hamill
,
Dan Severn
(Legends),
Kenny Florian
,
Matt Serra
, and
Stephan Bonnar
Series 6:
Thiago Alves
,
Randy Couture
(Unreleased, was originally supposed to be a 1 of 100 inserts that was to be released randomly and contain a special die casted version of the UFC belt),
Georges St-Pierre,
Clay Guida
,
Frank Mir
,
Tito Ortiz
,
Jens Pulver
(WEC Packaging), and
Bas Rutten
(Legends)
Series 7 (If bought at Target, each of them, except for Nogueira, also came with a replica UFC event mini-poster):
B.J. Penn (Legends Packaging),
Anderson Silva
,
Andrei Arlovski
,
Forrest Griffin
(Legends Packaging),
Diego Sanchez
, and
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
(PRIDE Packaging, 1 of 100 inserts were also released randomly and contained a special die casted version of the PRIDE belt)
Series 8:
Matt Hughes
(Legends Packaging),
Chuck Liddell
(PRIDE Packaging),
Frankie Edgar (1 of 100 inserts were also released randomly and contained a special die casted version of the UFC belt),
Nate Diaz, and
Quinton Jackson
Jakks Pacific UFC Deluxe 2 Packs Figures Lineups:
Series 1:
Chuck Liddell vs Wanderlei Silva
Frank Mir vs Brock Lesnar
Anderson Silva vs Rich Franklin
Series 2:
Lyoto Machida vs Shogun Rua
Georges St-Pierre vs Matt Hughes
Randy Couture vs Chuck Liddell (Was supposed to be canceled due to copyright issues, however only 1,000 packs managed to make it to several K-Mart stores)
Series 3:
Chuck Liddell vs Tito Ortiz
B.J. Penn vs Kenny Florian
Dan Severn vs Royce Gracie (Legends Packaging)
Expos Exclusives:
Georges St-Pierre (Boston Expo 2010, 1 of 500)
Ringside Collectibles Internet Exclusives:
Forrest Griffin vs Stephan Bonnar: The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 Final
Dana White
Quinton Rampage Jackson 1 of 1000
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
(MMA) promotion company
Promoter (entertainment)
An entertainment promoter i.e. music, wrestling, boxing etc is a person or company in the business of marketing and promoting live events such as concerts/gigs, boxing matches, sports entertainment , festivals, raves, and nightclubs.- Business model :Promoters are typically hired as independent...
in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport
and produces events worldwide. Based in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the UFC has seven weight-divisions and enforces the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Dana White
Dana White
Dana White is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.- Biography :...
serves as the president of the UFC while Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta
Lorenzo Fertitta
Lorenzo Joseph Fertitta is an American businessman, casino executive, sports promoter and entrepreneur. Fertitta resides in Las Vegas with his wife Teresa and three children.- Education :...
control the UFC's parent company, Zuffa, LLC.
Inspired by vale tudo
Vale tudo
Vale tudo are full-contact unarmed combat events, with a limited number of rules, that became popular in Brazil during the 20th century. Vale tudo has been considered a combat sport by some observers...
tournaments in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, the UFC and the sport of MMA have roots in the ancient Olympic combat sport of Pankration
Pankration
Pankration was a martial art introduced into the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC and founded as a blend of boxing and wrestling but without any rules. The term comes from the Greek , literally meaning "all powers" from "all" + "strength, power". Spartans were taught to use this ancient...
. In 1993, the UFC held its first competition in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. Showcasing fighters of different disciplines — including boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...
, wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
, Muay Thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
, karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
and other styles — the UFC sought to identify the most effective martial art
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
in a real fight.
With a cable-television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
deal and expansion into Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and new markets within the United States, the UFC has gained in popularity, along with greater mainstream-media
Mainstream media
Mainstream media are those media disseminated via the largest distribution channels, which therefore represent what the majority of media consumers are likely to encounter...
coverage. viewers can access UFC programming on pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
television in the U.S., Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. UFC programming can also be found on Spike, Versus
Versus (TV channel)
Versus is a sports-oriented cable television channel in the United States. It was previously known as Outdoor Life Network and was launched on July 1, 1995, focusing on fishing, hunting, and other outdoor sports...
, and the Fox Network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in the U.S., on ESPN
ESPN (UK)
ESPN is a sports television channel in the United Kingdom and Ireland owned by American sports broadcaster ESPN Inc. The channel launched on 3 August 2009...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, as well as in 150 countries and 22 different languages worldwide. UFC also carries a mobile site for on-the-go users and a Sports Bars page for fans to find places showing the pay-per-view. It is also available on the Roku
Roku
Roku , is an American, privately held, consumer electronics company that sells home digital media products. The Company is based in Saratoga, California.- Company profile and products :...
streaming player.
Early competition
Art DavieArt Davie
Art Davie is a business executive and entrepreneur formerly active in Southern California advertising circles. In 1993, he created and co-produced the tournament which became the televised Ultimate Fighting Championship. In 1998, Davie, as vice-president of K-1 USA, brought the successful K-1...
proposed to Rorion Gracie
Rorion Gracie
Rorion Gracie is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and instructor, a prominent member of the Gracie family, and a founder of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the oldest son of Hélio Gracie and one of the few people in the world to hold a 9th degree red belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,...
and John Milius
John Milius
John Frederick Milius is an American screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures.-Early life:Milius was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Elizabeth and William Styx Milius, who was a shoe manufacturer. Milius attempted to join the Marine Corps in the late 1960s, but was rejected...
an eight man single-elimination tournament with a title of War of the Worlds. The tournament was inspired by the Gracies in Action video-series produced by the Gracie family
Gracie family
The Gracie family is a prominent sporting family from Brazil known for their founding of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu . They have been successful in combat sport competitions including mixed martial arts, vale tudo and submission wrestling events...
of Brazil which featured Gracie Jiu-Jitsu students defeating martial-arts masters of various disciplines such as karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
, kung fu and kickboxing
Kickboxing
Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....
. The tournament would feature martial artists from different disciplines facing each other in no-holds-barred combat to determine the best martial art and would aim to replicate the excitement of the matches Davie had seen on the videos. Milius, a noted film director and screenwriter, as well as a Gracie student, agreed to be the event's creative director. Davie drafted the business plan and twenty-eight investors contributed the initial capital to start WOW Promotions with the intent to develop the tournament into a television franchise.
In 1993 WOW Promotions sought a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
partner and approached pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
producers TVKO (HBO), SET (Showtime) and the Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG). Both TVKO and SET declined, but SEG–a pioneer in pay-per-view television which had produced such off-beat events as a mixed-gender tennis match between Jimmy Connors
Jimmy Connors
James Scott "Jimmy" Connors is an American former world no. 1 tennis player....
and Martina Navratilova–became WOW's partner in May 1993.
SEG contacted video and film art-director Jason Cusson in order to design the trademarked "Octagon," a signature piece for the event. Cusson remained the Production Designer through UFC 27
UFC 27
UFC 27: Ultimate Bad Boyz was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 22, 2000 at Lake Front Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana.-History:...
. SEG devised the name for the show as The Ultimate Fighting Championship
UFC 1
The Ultimate Fighting Championship was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship , held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, on November 12, 1993...
.
WOW Promotions and SEG produced the first event, later called UFC 1
UFC 1
The Ultimate Fighting Championship was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship , held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, on November 12, 1993...
, at McNichols Sports Arena
McNichols Sports Arena
McNichols Sports Arena was an indoor arena, in Denver, Colorado, USA, adjacent to Mile High Stadium. Completed in 1975, at a cost of $10 million, it seated 16,061, for hockey games, 17,171, for basketball games and contained 27 luxury suites, which were installed as part of the 1986 renovation. It...
in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
on November 12, 1993. Art Davie functioned as the show's booker and matchmaker.
The television broadcast featured kickboxers
Kickboxing
Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....
Patrick Smith
Patrick Smith (fighter)
Patrick Smith is a retired American kickboxer, boxer and mixed martial artist. He started his mixed martial arts career by participating in the first two Ultimate Fighting Championship events....
and Kevin Rosier, savate
Savate
Savate , also known as boxe française, French boxing, French kickboxing or French footfighting, is a French martial art which uses the hands and feet as weapons combining elements of western boxing with graceful kicking techniques. Only foot kicks are allowed unlike some systems such as Muay...
fighter Gerard Gordeau
Gerard Gordeau
Gerard Gordeau is a retired Dutch savateur, karateka, and mixed martial artist. He is the 1991 World Champion Savate and holder of the Dutch Champion Kyokushin Karate title for 8 consecutive years, but foremost known internationally for his fight against Teila Tuli in the first televised Ultimate...
, karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
expert Zane Frazier
Zane Frazier
"Nasty" Zane Frazier is an American former Karateka, kickboxer and mixed martial artist. Notably, he took part at the inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship event in 1993.-Career:...
, shootfighter
Shootfighting
Shootfighting is a combat sport and martial art, with competitions governed by the International Shootfighting Association . Shootfighting incorporates techniques from a multitude of traditional martial arts, the most principle of these being Muay Thai and Catch Wrestling.Shootfighting was...
Ken Shamrock
Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...
, sumo wrestler Teila Tuli, boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
Art Jimmerson
Art Jimmerson
Art Jimmerson is a retired boxer who competed at super middleweight, light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight. As an amateur, Jimmerson was the 1983 National Golden Gloves Middleweight champion. He finished his boxing career in 2002, with a record of 33–18.-Biography:In November 1993,...
and 175 lb (79.4 kg) Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...
—younger brother of UFC co-founder Rorion who was hand-picked by Rorion himself to represent his family in the competition. The show became an instant success, drawing 86,592 television subscribers on pay-per-view.
The show was proposed to find an answer for sports fans to questions such as: "Can a wrestler beat a boxer?" As with most martial arts at the time, fighters typically had skills in just one discipline and had little experience against opponents with different skills. Royce Gracie's submission skills proved the most effective in the inaugural tournament, earning him the first ever UFC tournament championship.
However, the promoters did not intend for the event to become a precursor to a series. "That show was only supposed to be a one-off," eventual UFC president Dana White
Dana White
Dana White is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.- Biography :...
said. "It did so well on pay-per-view they decided to do another, and another. Never in a million years did these guys think they were creating a sport."
With no weight classes, fighters often faced significantly larger or taller opponents. For example, Keith "The Giant Killer" Hackney
Keith Hackney
Keith Hackney , is a retired American mixed martial arts fighter. He competed in two Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments.-Biography:...
faced Emmanuel Yarborough
Emmanuel Yarborough
Emanuel 'Manny' Yarborough is an amateur sumo wrestler and mixed martial arts competitor, also having competed in judo, wrestling, and American football. He is 6 ft 8 in tall and has weighed up to 800+ lb . He holds the Guinness World Record for the largest athlete. Emanuel wears a size 21...
at UFC 3
UFC 3
UFC 3: The American Dream was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 9, 1994, at Grady Cole Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United States, and was later released on home video.-History:UFC 3 used an...
with a 9 in (22.9 cm) height and 400 pounds (181.4 kg) weight disadvantage. Many martial artists believed that technique could overcome these size disadvantages, and that a skilled fighter could use an opponent's size and strength against him. With the 175 lb (79.4 kg) Royce Gracie winning three of the first four events, the UFC quickly proved that size does not always determine the outcome of the fight.
During this early part of the organization, the UFC would showcase a bevy of different styles and fighters. Aside from the aforementioned Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...
, Ken Shamrock
Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...
and Patrick Smith
Patrick Smith (fighter)
Patrick Smith is a retired American kickboxer, boxer and mixed martial artist. He started his mixed martial arts career by participating in the first two Ultimate Fighting Championship events....
, the competitions also featured competitors such as Hall of Famer Dan Severn
Dan Severn
Daniel DeWayne Severn is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, notable for his success in the early years of Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments. Severn has fought and wrestled for many mixed martial arts and professional wrestling promotions, including King of the...
, Marco Ruas
Marco Ruas
Marco Antônio de Lima Ruas is a retired mixed martial arts fighter and instructor. Most notably, he was the UFC 7 Tournament Champion and is considered one of the earliest examples of the complete mixed martial artist, highly skilled in both striking and grappling.-Biography:Ruas is famous for...
, Gary Goodridge
Gary Goodridge
Gary Goodridge , nicknamed "Big Daddy", is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian-Canadian former super heavyweight kickboxer and heavyweight mixed martial artist fighting out of Barrie, Ontario. Goodridge is known for his hard-hitting fighting style and showmanship...
, Don Frye
Don Frye
Donald Frye is a retired American mixed martial artist, actor, and professional wrestler. Frye rose to fame fighting in early Ultimate Fighting Championship events, winning the UFC 8 and Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournaments...
, Kimo Leopoldo
Kimo Leopoldo
Kimo Leopoldo , or simply Kimo, is an American mixed martial artist. He made his MMA debut at UFC 3 in 1994 losing to Royce Gracie by submission. Kimo's fighting style has been described as freestyle, with a mixture of striking and grappling techniques.He was credited with a black belt in Taekwondo...
, Oleg Taktarov
Oleg Taktarov
Oleg Nikolaevich Taktarov is a retired Russian mixed martial artist and actor. He is a practitioner of Sambo and Judo and has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride Fighting Championships. Taktarov was the UFC 6 tournament champion and holds notable wins over Marco Ruas and David...
and Tank Abbott
Tank Abbott
David Lee Abbott is an American mixed martial arts fighter and former professional wrestler. He has described his fighting style, which he developed brawling in the bars and streets of Huntington Beach, California, as "street fighting"...
.
In April 1995, following UFC 5
UFC 5
UFC 5: The Return of the Beast was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 7, 1995, at the Independence Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.-History:UFC 5 used an...
in Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
, Davie and Gracie sold their interest in the franchise to SEG and disbanded WOW Promotions. Davie continued with SEG as the show's booker and matchmaker, as well as the commissioner of Ultimate Fighting, until December 1997.
Emergence of stricter rules
Although UFC used the tagline "There are no rules!" in the early 1990s, the UFC did in fact operate with limited rules. There was no biting, no eye gouging, and the system frowned on (but allowed) techniques such as hair pulling, headbuttHeadbutt
A headbutt is a strike with the head, typically involving the use of robust parts of the cranium as areas of impact. Effective headbutting revolves around striking a sensitive area with a less sensitive area, such as striking the nose of an opponent with the forehead...
ing, groin strikes
Groin attack
A groin attack is an attempt to cause pain to the groin area of one's opponent. The technique can be quickly debilitating, due to the large number of sensitive nerve endings in the penis and testicles of males, as well as the highly innervated vulva of females. A sufficiently powerful blow may...
and fish-hooking.
In fact, in a UFC 4
UFC 4
UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 16, 1994, at the Expo Center Pavilion in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The event was seen live on pay-per-view, and later released on home video.-History:UFC 4 used an eight-man tournament...
qualifying match, competitors Jason Fairn and Guy Mezger
Guy Mezger
Guy Mezger is a retired American martial artist who competed in professional combat sports ranging from full contact karate, kickboxing, and boxing, but is most recognized as a mixed martial arts fighter . He is associated with Lion's Den Dallas...
agreed not to pull hair—as they both wore pony tails tied back for the match. Additionally, that same event saw a matchup between Keith Hackney
Keith Hackney
Keith Hackney , is a retired American mixed martial arts fighter. He competed in two Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments.-Biography:...
and Joe Son in which Hackney unleashed a series of groin shots against Son while on the ground.
The UFC had a reputation, especially in the early days, as an extremely violent event, as evidenced by a disclaimer in the beginning of the UFC 5
UFC 5
UFC 5: The Return of the Beast was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 7, 1995, at the Independence Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.-History:UFC 5 used an...
broadcast which warned audiences of the violent nature of the sport.
UFC 5 also introduced the first singles match, a rematch from the inaugural UFC featuring three time champion Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock, called "The Superfight." This was an important development because singles matches would feature fighters who suffered no prior damage from a previous fight in the same event, unlike tournament matches. Singles matches would also become a staple in the UFC for years to come.
"The Superfight" began as a non-tournament match that would determine the first reigning UFC Champion for tournament winners to face; it later evolved into a match that could feature either title matches or non-title matches. The "Superfight" would eventually completely phase out tournament matches; by UFC Brazil
UFC Brazil
UFC Brazil: Ultimate Brazil was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship in São Paulo, Brazil on October 16th, 1998...
, the UFC abandoned the tournament format for an entire card of singles matches (aside from a one time UFC Japan
UFC 23
UFC 23: Ultimate Japan 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 19, 1999 at Tokyo Bay NK Hall in Tokyo, Japan.-History:...
tournament featuring Japanese fighters). UFC 6
UFC 6
UFC 6: Clash of the Titans was the sixth mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 14, 1995, at the Casper Events Center in Casper, Wyoming. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.-History:UFC 6 featured the...
was the first event to feature the crowning of the first non-tournament UFC Champion, Ken Shamrock
Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...
.
Controversy and reform
The violent nature of the burgeoning sport quickly drew the attention of the U.S. authorities.John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
(R
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
-AZ
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
) saw a tape of the first UFC events and immediately found it abhorrent. McCain himself led a campaign to ban UFC, calling it "human cockfighting," and sending letters to the governors of all fifty U.S. states asking them to ban the event.
Thirty-six states enacted laws that banned "no-holds-barred" fighting, including New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, which enacted the ban on the eve of UFC 12
UFC 12
UFC 12: Judgement Day was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 7, 1997 at the Dothan Civic Center in Dothan, Alabama...
, forcing a relocation of the event to Dothan, Alabama
Dothan, Alabama
Dothan is a city located in the southeastern corner of the US state of Alabama, situated approximately west of the Georgia state line and north of Florida. It is the seat of Houston County, with portions extending into nearby Dale County and Henry County...
. The UFC continued to air on DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
PPV, though its audience remained minuscule compared to the larger cable pay-per-view platforms of the era.
Strike (attack)
A strike is an attack with an inanimate object, such as a weapon, or with a part of the human body intended to cause an effect upon an opponent or to simply cause harm to an opponent. There are many different varieties of strikes...
and grappling
Grappling
Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial...
. UFC 12 saw the introduction of weight classes and the banning of fish-hooking. For UFC 14
UFC 14
-External links:***...
gloves became mandatory, while kicks to the head of a downed opponent were banned. UFC 15
UFC 15
UFC 15: Collision Course was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 17, 1997, in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.-History:...
saw limitations on hair pulling, and the banning of strikes to the back of the neck and head, headbutting, small-joint manipulations, and groin strikes. With five-minute rounds introduced at UFC 21
UFC 21
UFC 21: Return of the Champions was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 16, 1999 at the Five Seasons Events Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa...
, the UFC gradually re-branded itself as a sport rather than a spectacle.
As the UFC continued to work with state athletic commissions, events took place in smaller U.S. markets, including Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
and Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. SEG could not secure home-video releases for UFC 23
UFC 23
UFC 23: Ultimate Japan 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 19, 1999 at Tokyo Bay NK Hall in Tokyo, Japan.-History:...
through UFC 29
UFC 29
UFC 29: Defense of the Belts was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 16, 2000 at Differ Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.-History:...
. With other mixed martial arts promotions working towards U.S. sanctioning, the International Fighting Championships (IFC)
International Fighting Championships
International Fighting Championships is an American mixed martial arts organization. Founded in 1996, the IFC was the vision of longtime martial artist and kickboxing promoter, Howard Petschler. Howard recognized that MMA would finally solve a lot of the problemsassociated with martial arts as a...
secured the first U.S. sanctioned mixed-martial-arts event, which occurred in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
on September 30, 2000. Just two months later, the UFC held its first sanctioned event, UFC 28
UFC 28
UFC 28: High Stakes was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 17, 2000 at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey.-History:...
, under the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board
New Jersey State Athletic Control Board
The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New Jersey, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxers, mixed martial arts fighters, seconds, ring officials, managers, and matchmakers...
's "Unified Rules".
As the UFC's rules started to evolve, so too did its field of competitors. Notable UFC fighters to emerge in this era include Hall of Famers Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman is an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, former NCAA collegiate wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. In MMA, he was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion, and the Pride Fighting...
, Randy Couture
Randy Couture
Randy Duane Couture is a retired American mixed martial artist, Greco-Roman wrestler, actor, a three-time former heavyweight champion, two-time former light-heavyweight champion, former interim light heavyweight champion and UFC 13 tournament winner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
, Chuck Liddell
Chuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
and Matt Hughes
Matt Hughes (fighter)
Matthew Allen Hughes is an American mixed martial artist, UFC Hall of Famer, and former two-time UFC Welterweight Champion. Hughes put together two separate six-fight winning streaks in the UFC, won the welterweight title on two occasions, defended the belt a record seven times, and holds the...
, as well as notables Vitor Belfort
Vitor Belfort
Vítor Vieira Belfort is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Belfort was born in Rio de Janeiro and studied jiu-jitsu with the Gracie family, namely Carlson Gracie. He received a black belt under Carlson and currently trains with Xtreme Couture, fighting in...
, Mark Kerr, Pedro Rizzo
Pedro Rizzo
Pedro Augusto Rizzo is an Brazilian mixed martial artist and Muay Thai fighter. He has a professional MMA record of 19–9–0 as of July 17, 2010. He holds notable victories over former UFC Champions Mark Coleman, Dan Severn, Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Ricco Rodriguez and Ken Shamrock.-Mixed...
, Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
, Murilo Bustamante
Murilo Bustamante
Murilo Bustamante |Lion's Den]], Ikuhisa Minowa, Ryuta Sakurai , Dave Menne and undefeated top ranked Middleweight Matt Lindland .-Instructor lineage:Mitsuyo "Count Koma" Maeda → Carlos Gracie, Sr...
, Pat Miletich
Pat Miletich
Patrick Jay Miletich is a retired American mixed martial artist and a current sports commentator. He is known for his fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he became the first UFC Welterweight Champion and UFC 16 tournament champion....
, Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock is a retired mixed martial arts fighter. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship and retired as the four-time defending undefeated champion...
, Mikey Burnett
Mikey Burnett
Michael Wayne Burnett is a former American mixed martial artist who was a member of the legendary fight team the Lion's Den...
, Jeremy Horn
Jeremy Horn
Jeremy Graham Horn is an American mixed martial artist. He is one of the most experienced fighters in the sport with a professional record of 88–21–5...
, Pete Williams
Pete Williams (fighter)
Peter Alan Williams is a former American mixed martial arts fighter who fought out of Ken Shamrock's fight team the Lion's Den...
, Jens Pulver
Jens Pulver
Jens Johnnie Pulver is an American mixed martial artist . He was the first Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion and was a coach on the The Ultimate Fighter 5 reality show, which aired on Spike TV. He was formerly signed as a featherweight with World Extreme Cagefighting , which is...
, Evan Tanner
Evan Tanner
Evan Loyd Tanner was an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. He was a former UFC Middleweight and USWF Heavyweight champion with a professional record of 32 wins and 8 losses...
, Andrei Arlovski
Andrei Arlovski
Andrei Valeryevich Arlovski is a Belarusian kickboxer, mixed martial artist and a former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion.-Biography:...
and Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei César da Silva , nicknamed "The Axe Murderer", is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who has competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American based Ultimate Fighting Championship . Silva is known for his aggressive fighting style with the majority of his fights ending in...
, among others.
The Zuffa era
After the long battle to secure sanctioning, SEG stood on the brink of bankruptcy when Station CasinosStation Casinos
Station Casinos Inc. is a gaming company based in the Las Vegas suburb of Summerlin, Nevada, founded by Frank Fertitta Jr.Station Casinos along with Boyd Gaming, Cannery Casino Resorts, American Casino & Entertainment Properties, and Herbst Gaming, dominate the Locals market in Las Vegas.The...
executives Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta
Lorenzo Fertitta
Lorenzo Joseph Fertitta is an American businessman, casino executive, sports promoter and entrepreneur. Fertitta resides in Las Vegas with his wife Teresa and three children.- Education :...
and their business partner Dana White
Dana White
Dana White is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.- Biography :...
approached them in 2000, with an offer to purchase the UFC. A month later, in January 2001, the Fertittas bought the UFC for $2 million and created Zuffa, LLC
Zuffa, LLC
Zuffa, LLC is an American sports promotion company specializing in mixed martial arts. It was founded in January 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada by Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta to be the parent entity of the Ultimate Fighting Championship after they purchased it...
as the parent entity controlling the UFC.
"I had my attorneys tell me that I was crazy because I wasn't buying anything. I was paying $2 million and they were saying `What are you getting?" Lorenzo Fertitta
Lorenzo Fertitta
Lorenzo Joseph Fertitta is an American businessman, casino executive, sports promoter and entrepreneur. Fertitta resides in Las Vegas with his wife Teresa and three children.- Education :...
revealed to Fighter's Only magazine, recalling the lack of assets he acquired in the purchase. "And I said `What you don't understand is I'm getting the most valuable thing that I could possibly have, which is those three letters: UFC. That is what's going to make this thing work. Everybody knows that brand, whether they like it or they don't like it, they react to it.
With ties to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (Lorenzo Fertitta
Lorenzo Fertitta
Lorenzo Joseph Fertitta is an American businessman, casino executive, sports promoter and entrepreneur. Fertitta resides in Las Vegas with his wife Teresa and three children.- Education :...
was a former member of the NSAC), Zuffa secured sanctioning in Nevada in 2001. Shortly thereafter, the UFC returned to pay-per-view cable television with UFC 33
UFC 33
UFC 33: Victory in Vegas was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 28, 2001. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home...
featuring three championship bouts.
Struggle for survival and turnaround
The UFC slowly, but steadily, rose in popularity after the Zuffa purchase, due partly to greater advertising, corporate sponsorship, the return to cable pay-per-view and subsequent home video and DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
releases.
With larger live gates at casino venues like the Trump Taj Mahal and the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the UFC secured its first television deal with Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Net
The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net , are a collection of cable TV regional sports networks in the United States owned and operated by News Corporation.- Beginnings :...
. The Best Damn Sports Show Period
The Best Damn Sports Show Period
The Best Damn Sports Show Period is an American sports television show on Fox Sports Net and Comcast SportsNet. The show regularly featured irreverent and opinionated interviews with top athletes, coaches, celebrities, and entertainers. It also aired Top 50 countdown shows and other sports...
aired the first mixed martial arts match on American cable television in June 2002, as well as the main event showcasing Chuck Liddell
Chuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
vs. Vitor Belfort
Vitor Belfort
Vítor Vieira Belfort is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Belfort was born in Rio de Janeiro and studied jiu-jitsu with the Gracie family, namely Carlson Gracie. He received a black belt under Carlson and currently trains with Xtreme Couture, fighting in...
at UFC 37.5
UFC 37.5
UFC 37.5: As Real As It Gets was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 22, 2002.-Background:...
. Later, FSN would air highlight shows from the UFC, featuring one hour blocks of the UFC's greatest bouts.
UFC 40
UFC 40
UFC 40: Vendetta was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 22, 2002, at the MGM Grand Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada...
proved to be the most critical event to date in the Zuffa era. The event sold out the MGM Grand Arena
MGM Grand Arena
MGM Grand Garden Arena is located in the MGM Grand in Paradise, Nevada, USA, and is patterned after New York's Madison Square Garden. The arena has a seating capacity of 16,800 people and is located at 3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South.-Notable events hosted:...
and sold 150,000 pay per view buys, a rate over three times larger than the previous Zuffa events. The event featured a card
Card (sports)
In sports, a card comprises a listing of the matches taking place in a title-match combat-sport event. Organizers divide overall cards into a main-event match and the undercard, which encompasses the rest of the matches. One can also further subdivide the undercard into midcard and lower card,...
headlined by a highly anticipated championship grudge match between then-current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
and former UFC Superfight Champion Ken Shamrock
Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...
, who had previously defected to professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
in the WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
before returning to MMA. It was the first time the UFC hit such a high mark since being forced "underground" in 1997. UFC 40 also garnered mainstream attention from massive media outlets such as ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
and USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, something that was unfathomable for mixed martial arts at that point in time. Many have suggested that the success of UFC 40 and the anticipation for Ortiz vs. Shamrock saved the UFC from bankruptcy; the buyrates of the previous Zuffa shows averaged a mere 45,000 buys per event and the company was suffering deep monetary losses. The success of UFC 40 provided a glimmer of hope for the UFC and kept alive the hope that mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
could become big. Long time UFC referee "Big" John McCarthy said that he felt UFC 40 was the turning point in whether or not the sport of MMA would survive in America.
Despite the success of UFC 40
UFC 40
UFC 40: Vendetta was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 22, 2002, at the MGM Grand Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada...
, the UFC was still experiencing financial deficits. By 2004, Zuffa had $34 million of losses since they purchased the UFC. Fighters who came into prominence after Zuffa's takeover include Georges St-Pierre, Rich Franklin
Rich Franklin
Rich Jay Franklin II is an American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion.-Background:...
, B.J. Penn, Sean Sherk
Sean Sherk
Sean Keith Sherk is an American mixed martial arts fighter currently fighting for the UFC. He currently holds a professional mixed martial arts record of thirty-six wins, four losses and one draw. Sherk has fought in both the UFC and Pride FC, and is a former UFC Lightweight Champion...
, Matt Serra
Matt Serra
Matthew John Serra is an American mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion and an ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship silver medalist. He began practicing martial arts at an early age, first studying kung fu...
, Ricco Rodriguez
Ricco Rodriguez
Ricco Rodriguez is an American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion. He has also competed in Pride Fighting Championship, EliteXC, International Fight League, BAMMA, World Extreme Cagefighting and King of the Cage.-Early life:Rodriguez grew up in the...
, Robbie Lawler
Robbie Lawler
Robert Glen "Robbie" Lawler is an American mixed martial artist Lawler was the EliteXC middleweight champion before EliteXC filed for bankruptcy. Lawler has recently signed with Strikeforce. He is a member of Team Hughes fighting out of H.I.T...
, Frank Mir
Frank Mir
Francisco Santos Miranda is an American mixed martial artist, as well as a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kenpō Karate, who competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and a former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion...
, Karo Parisyan
Karo Parisyan
Karapet Parisyan is an Armenian-American mixed martial artist. From his days as a UFC mainstay Karo holds notable wins over Ryo Chonan, Shonie Carter, Drew Fickett, Matt Serra, Nick Thompson, Chris Lytle, Nick Diaz and Antonio McKee.- Early life:...
and Nick Diaz
Nick Díaz
Nicholas Robert Diaz is an American mixed martial artist. He is the former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion, WEC and IFC Welterweight Champion. He has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Pride Fighting Championships and Elite Xtreme Combat. Diaz was promoted to black belt in Brazilian...
.
The Ultimate Fighter and mainstream emergence
Faced with the prospect of folding, the UFC stepped outside the bounds of pay-per-view and made a foray into television. After being featured in a reality televisionReality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series, American Casino
American Casino
American Casino is an American reality television series which tracks the daily events of the managers and employees of the Green Valley Ranch Casino resort in Henderson, Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas. The show originally aired on the Discovery Channel, but in June 2005, it was moved to the Travel...
, and seeing how well the series worked as a promotion vehicle, the Fertitta brothers developed the idea of the UFC having its own reality series.
Their idea, The Ultimate Fighter
The Ultimate Fighter
The Ultimate Fighter is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts competition produced by Spike TV and the Ultimate Fighting Championship , and soon to be shown on FX. The show features unknown, professional MMA fighters living together in Las Vegas, Nevada, and follows them as...
(TUF)–a reality television show featuring up-and-coming MMA fighters in competition for a six-figure UFC contract, with fighters eliminated from competition via exhibition mixed martial arts matches–was pitched to several networks, each one rejecting the idea outright. Not until they approached Spike TV, with an offer to pay the $10 million production costs themselves, did they find an outlet.
In January 2005, Spike TV launched TUF in the timeslot following WWE Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
. The show became an instant success, culminating with a notable season finale brawl featuring finalists Forrest Griffin
Forrest Griffin
Forrest Griffin is an American mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC light heavyweight champion....
and Stephan Bonnar
Stephan Bonnar
Stephan Patrick Bonnar is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes for the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
going toe-to-toe for the right to earn the six-figure contract, an event that Dana White credits for saving the UFC.
On the heels of the Griffin/Bonnar finale, a second season of The Ultimate Fighter launched in August 2005, and two more seasons appeared in 2006. Spike and the UFC continue to create and air new seasons.
Following the success of The Ultimate Fighter, Spike also picked up UFC Unleashed
UFC Unleashed
UFC Unleashed is a television series produced by Spike TV and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It features matches from past UFC events. Episodes are one hour in length, showing several UFC bouts and "best of" compilations of popular fighters such as Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture.-Overview:In...
, an hour-long weekly show featuring select fights from previous events. Spike also signed on to broadcast live UFC Fight Night, a series of fight events debuting in August 2005, and Countdown specials to promote upcoming UFC pay-per-view cards.
After a very successful run on Spike and with the upcoming announcement of the UFC's new relationship with Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, Spike officials made a statement regarding the end of their partnership with the UFC, “The Ultimate Fighter season 14 in September will be our last... Our 6-year partnership with the UFC has been incredibly beneficial in building both our brands, and we wish them all the best in the future.”
With the announcement of UFC's partnership with Fox in August 2011, The Ultimate Fighter which enters its 14th season debuting in September, will move to the FX network and air on Friday nights starting with season 15 in the Spring of 2012. The new format will take the show in a completely different direction, which includes fighters being on the ‘Ultimate Fighter’ for 13 weeks total, with each elimination fight airing live on FX on Friday nights.
Surging popularity and growth
With increased visibility, the UFC's pay-per-view buy numbers exploded. UFC 52UFC 52
UFC 52: Couture vs. Liddell 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 16, 2005, at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States and Canada, and later released on DVD.-History:Headlining the...
, the first event after the first season of The Ultimate Fighter featuring eventual-UFC Hall of Famer Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell
Chuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
avenging his defeat to fellow eventual-Hall of Famer Randy Couture
Randy Couture
Randy Duane Couture is a retired American mixed martial artist, Greco-Roman wrestler, actor, a three-time former heavyweight champion, two-time former light-heavyweight champion, former interim light heavyweight champion and UFC 13 tournament winner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
, drew a pay-per-view audience of 300,000, doubling its previous benchmark of 150,000 set at UFC 40. Following the second season of The Ultimate Fighter, the UFC's much-hyped rubber match
Rubber match
According to Paul Dickson's The New Dickson's Baseball Dictionary , a "rubber game" is "The last and deciding game of a series when the previous games have been split; e.g., the seventh game of the World Series." This tie-breaking sense of "rubber" apparently originated in the English game of...
between Liddell and Couture drew an estimated 410,000 pay-per-view buys at UFC 57
UFC 57
UFC 57: Liddell vs. Couture 3 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 4, 2006. It was held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, and broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States.Headlining the card was an anticipated...
.
For the rest of 2006, pay-per-view buy rates continued to skyrocket, with 620,000 buys for UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie
UFC 60
UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 27, 2006. The event took place at the Staples Center, in Los Angeles, California and was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States and Canada.-Background:Headlining the card was a...
—featuring Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...
's first UFC fight in 11 years—and 775,000 buys for UFC 61
UFC 61
UFC 61: Bitter Rivals was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, July 8, 2006. The event took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada and was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States.-Background:The main event was a...
featuring the highly anticipated rematch between Ken Shamrock
Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...
and Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
, the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter 3
The Ultimate Fighter 3
The Ultimate Fighter 3 was the third season of the mixed martial arts reality television series The Ultimate Fighter. It premiered on April 6, 2006, immediately after the conclusion of Ultimate Fight Night 4. The season featured sixteen fighters with still-feuding former champion Tito Ortiz and...
. The organization hit a milestone with UFC 66
UFC 66
UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 30, 2006 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada .-Background:...
, pitting Ortiz in a rematch against Liddell with over 1 million buys.
The surge in popularity prompted the UFC to beef up its executive team. In March 2006, the UFC announced that it had hired Marc Ratner
Marc Ratner
Marc Ratner is the current Vice President of Regulatory Affairs with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Formerly, he was the Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission....
, former Executive Director of the Nevada Athletic Commission
Nevada Athletic Commission
The Nevada Athletic Commission regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of Nevada, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxers, mixed martial arts fighters, seconds, ring officials, managers, and matchmakers...
, as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. Ratner, once an ally of Senator McCain's
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
campaign against no holds barred fighting, became a catalyst for the emergence of sanctioned mixed martial arts in the United States. Ratner continues to educate numerous athletic commissions to help raise the UFC's media profile in an attempt to legalize mixed martial arts in jurisdictions inside and outside the United States that have yet to sanction the sport.
In December 2006, Zuffa acquired the northern California-based promotion World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)
World Extreme Cagefighting
World Extreme Cagefighting was an American mixed martial arts promotion. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship , in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was made up of 3 weight classes: 135, 145 and 155 lbs. To accommodate the smaller...
in order to stop the International Fight League (IFL)
International Fight League
The International Fight League was an American mixed martial arts promotion billed as the world's first MMA league. It was founded on January 7, 2006 and closed on July 31, 2008...
from making a deal with Versus
Versus (TV channel)
Versus is a sports-oriented cable television channel in the United States. It was previously known as Outdoor Life Network and was launched on July 1, 1995, focusing on fishing, hunting, and other outdoor sports...
. At the time, the UFC had an exclusive deal with Spike, so the purchase of the WEC allowed Zuffa to block the IFL from Versus without violating their contract. The WEC showcased lighter weight classes in MMA, whereas the UFC featured heavier weight classes. Notable WEC fighters included Urijah Faber
Urijah Faber
Urijah Christopher Faber is an American mixed martial artist currently fighting as a bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization. Faber won the WEC featherweight championship at WEC 19 on March 17, 2006 and held the title for over two years until his loss to Mike Brown at WEC...
, Jamie Varner
Jamie Varner
James Christopher Varner is a mixed martial artist who fought for World Extreme Cagefighting. He is a former WEC Lightweight champion.-Ultimate Fighting Championship:...
, Ben Henderson
Ben Henderson (fighter)
Benson Henderson is an American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a lightweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Henderson, a former WEC Lightweight Champion, is known for his aggressive style and his ability to escape from deep submission attempts...
, Donald Cerrone
Donald Cerrone
Donald Anthony Cerrone is an American mixed martial artist and Muay Thai kickboxer who fights out of Albuquerque, New Mexico and currently competes as a lightweight in the UFC...
, Anthony Pettis
Anthony Pettis
Anthony Pettis is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Pettis has made a name for himself mainly fighting in his home state of Wisconsin. He is a former fighter for the World Extreme Cagefighting , where he was the...
, Eddie Wineland
Eddie Wineland
Eddie Wineland is an American professional mixed martial artist from Highland, Indiana who fights in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Wineland is a former World Extreme Cagefighting Bantamweight Champion...
, Miguel Angel Torres
Miguel Torres (fighter)
Miguel Angel Torres is an American mixed martial artist who fights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization. He is a former WEC Bantamweight champion. Prior to fighting with the WEC, Torres also held the bantamweight title for the US Shooto organization, as well as for the Ironheart Crown...
, Mike Thomas Brown
Mike Brown (fighter)
Mike Thomas Brown is an American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization and is a former WEC Featherweight Champion...
, Leonard Garcia
Leonard Garcia
Leonard Garcia is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He previously fought for the UFC in the lightweight division before moving down to the featherweight division in the World Extreme Cagefighting...
, Brian Bowles, Dominick Cruz
Dominick Cruz
Dominick Cruz is an American mixed martial artist of Mexican descent, who competes as a bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is the current UFC Bantamweight Champion...
and José Aldo
Jose Aldo
José Aldo is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who competes as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is the first and current UFC Featherweight Champion...
.
In December 2006, Zuffa also acquired their cross-town, Las Vegas rival World Fighting Alliance (WFA)
World Fighting Alliance
The World Fighting Alliance was a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.Originally owned and organized by MMA Legend and trainer John Lewis and nightclub operator and "Club Rubber" promoter John Huntington along with Lawyer Louis Palazzo , the WFA began promoting events after...
. In acquiring the WFA, they acquired the contracts of notable fighters including Quinton Jackson
Quinton Jackson
Quinton Ramone Jackson ;, also known as Rampage Jackson, is an American mixed martial artist and actor. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Jackson rose to prominence in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships where he was noted for his powerful body slams including a knockout victory over...
, Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Carvalho Machida is a Japanese-Brazilian mixed martial artist from Belém, Brazil who fights as a light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
and Martin Kampmann
Martin Kampmann
Martin Kampmann Frederiksen is a Danish mixed martial artist who is currently fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. and trains at the Xtreme Couture gym. He is known for his precise strikes and his quick submissions...
.
The sport's popularity was also noticed by the sports betting community as BodogLife.com, an online gambling site, stated in July 2007 that in 2007 UFC would surpass boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
for the first time in terms of betting revenues. In fact, the UFC had already broken the pay-per-view industry's all-time records for a single year of business, generating over $222,766,000 in revenue in 2006, surpassing both WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
and boxing.
The UFC continued its rapid rise from near obscurity with Roger Huerta
Roger Huerta
Roger Huerta , is an American mixed martial artist. He initially gained exposure by competing in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and later Bellator Fighting Championships.-Early life:...
gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
and Chuck Liddell on the front of ESPN The Magazine
ESPN The Magazine
ESPN The Magazine is a bi-weekly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut in the United States. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998....
in May 2007.
UFC programming is now shown in 130 countries worldwide, and the UFC plans to continue expanding internationally, running shows regularly in Canada and the U.K., with an office established in the U.K. aimed to expand the European audience. UFC has also held events in Germany, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, while Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
are candidates for future events.
In August 2011, the UFC and Fox announced a multi-year, multi-media rights agreement which delivers four live events in prime time or late night each year to the Fox Broadcasting Company. The first live event airs November 12, 2011, dubbed UFC on Fox 1, where the main event saw Junior dos Santos
Junior dos Santos
Junior dos Santos Almeida, also known as Junior Cigano , is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and the current UFC Heavyweight Champion. Dos Santos fights in the Heavyweight division, under the tutelage of former UFC and Pride Heavyweight Champion Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and UFC...
knock-out the then-undefeated UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez
Cain Velasquez
Cain Ramirez Velasquez is an American mixed martial artist fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He is a two-time All-American collegiate wrestler from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, and a Junior College National Champ at Iowa...
and win the UFC Heavyweight Championship in what was considered (along with Cain Velasquez vs. Brock Lesnar at UFC 121
UFC 121
UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 23, 2010 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, United States...
), the greatest fight in UFC heavyweight history. Additional programming on multiple Fox networks launches January 2012 and includes live fights, pre and post shows, countdown shows, UFC Unleashed, UFC Primetime, the UFC Knockout series, Best of Pride, weigh-in specials, and much more original content from extensive Zuffa archives. And in the spring of 2012, The Ultimate Fighter
The Ultimate Fighter
The Ultimate Fighter is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts competition produced by Spike TV and the Ultimate Fighting Championship , and soon to be shown on FX. The show features unknown, professional MMA fighters living together in Las Vegas, Nevada, and follows them as...
will move to FX, Fox’s general entertainment cable network.
Pride acquisition and integration
Lorenzo Fertitta
Lorenzo Joseph Fertitta is an American businessman, casino executive, sports promoter and entrepreneur. Fertitta resides in Las Vegas with his wife Teresa and three children.- Education :...
, would purchase the Pride brand.
The acquisition of Pride was perceived by UFC officials as a watershed moment for mixed martial arts. "This is really going to change the face of MMA," Lorenzo Fertitta
Lorenzo Fertitta
Lorenzo Joseph Fertitta is an American businessman, casino executive, sports promoter and entrepreneur. Fertitta resides in Las Vegas with his wife Teresa and three children.- Education :...
declared. "Literally creating a sport that could be as big around the world as football. I liken it somewhat to when the NFC
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
and AFC
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
came together to create the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
."
Initial intentions were for both organizations to be run separately but aligned together with plans to co-promote cards featuring the champions and top contenders from both organizations. However, after purchasing Pride, Dana White felt that the Pride model was not sustainable and the organization would likely fold with many former Pride fighters such as Antônio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira is a Brazilian mixed martial artist known for his technical mastery of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is a former UFCInterim Heavyweight Champion...
, Maurício "Shogun" Rua
Mauricio Rua
Maurício Milani Rua is a Brazilian mixed martial artist fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion...
, Dan Henderson
Dan Henderson
Daniel Jeffery Henderson, is an American mixed martial artist and former Olympic wrestler, who competes as a middleweight and light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion and was the last Welterweight and Middleweight champion...
, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović
Mirko Filipovic
Mirko Filipović is a former Croatian heavyweight kickboxer, mixed martial artist, politician, and law enforcement officer. Filipović was a member of the Croatian Parliament from 2003 through 2007...
, Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei César da Silva , nicknamed "The Axe Murderer", is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who has competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American based Ultimate Fighting Championship . Silva is known for his aggressive fighting style with the majority of his fights ending in...
and others already being realigned under the UFC brand. On October 4, 2007, Pride Worldwide closed its Japanese office, laying off 20 people who were working there since the closing of its parent company Dream Stage Entertainment
Dream Stage Entertainment
Dream Stage Entertainment was a Japanese company that promoted various wrestling and mixed martial arts events, most notably mixed martial arts Pride Fighting Championship and Hustle professional wrestling events....
(DSE).
In 2008, the UFC announced two major exclusive sponsorship deals with Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson , often abbreviated H-D or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression...
and Anheuser-Busch InBev
Anheuser-Busch InBev
Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V. is a Belgian-Brazilian publicly-traded company, based in Leuven, Belgium. It is the largest global brewer with nearly 25% global market share and one of the world's top five consumer products companies by EBITA....
, making the brewer's Bud Light the official and exclusive beer sponsor of the UFC.
On June 18, 2008, Lorenzo Fertitta accommodated the UFC's growth by announcing his resignation from Station Casinos
Station Casinos
Station Casinos Inc. is a gaming company based in the Las Vegas suburb of Summerlin, Nevada, founded by Frank Fertitta Jr.Station Casinos along with Boyd Gaming, Cannery Casino Resorts, American Casino & Entertainment Properties, and Herbst Gaming, dominate the Locals market in Las Vegas.The...
in order to devote his energies to the international business development of Zuffa, particularly the UFC. The move proved to be pivotal, as Fertitta helped strike TV deals in China, France, Mexico and Germany as well as open alternative revenue streams with a new UFC video game and UFC action figures, among other projects.
Fighters exposed to the UFC audience—or who became prominent—in the post-Pride era include the likes of Anderson Silva
Anderson Silva
Anderson da Silva is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He is the current UFC Middleweight Champion and the promotion's longest reigning champion. With 14 consecutive wins, Silva holds the longest winning streak and title defense streak in UFC history...
, Jon Fitch
Jon Fitch
Jonathan Parker Fitch is an American mixed martial artist. He is currently ranked as the No. 2 welterweight in the world by Sherdog, as well as many other publications.-Background:...
, Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Carvalho Machida is a Japanese-Brazilian mixed martial artist from Belém, Brazil who fights as a light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
, Cain Velasquez
Cain Velasquez
Cain Ramirez Velasquez is an American mixed martial artist fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He is a two-time All-American collegiate wrestler from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, and a Junior College National Champ at Iowa...
and Jon Jones
Jon Jones (fighter)
Jonathan Dwight Jones is an American mixed martial artist from Endicott, New York. He is the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion....
, among others.
UFC 100
Popularity took another major surge in 2009 with UFC 100UFC 100
UFC 100 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 11, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...
and the 10 events preceding it including UFC 90, 91, 92, 94 and 98. UFC 100 was a massive success garnering 1.7 million buys under the drawing power of former NCAA wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
champion and ex-WWE superstar Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar
Brock Edward Lesnar is an American mixed martial artist, actor and a former professional and amateur wrestler. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is ranked the No.5 Heavyweight in the world by Sherdog...
and his rematch with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir
Frank Mir
Francisco Santos Miranda is an American mixed martial artist, as well as a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kenpō Karate, who competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and a former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion...
, Canadian superstar Georges St-Pierre going head-to-head with Brazilian knockout artist Thiago Alves
Thiago Alves
Thiago Alves d'Araujo is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He started training in Muay Thai when he was 15 and mixed martial arts at 17. He is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has been described as a "Muay Thai wrecking machine". As of July 2011, He is currently ranked the #10 welterweight...
, and Pride legend Dan Henderson opposing British middleweight Michael Bisping
Michael Bisping
Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping is an English mixed martial artist born in Cyprus but living in Clitheroe, Lancashire. He currently fights as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is the former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion, former Cage Rage light...
; rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter: U.S.A. vs U.K..
UFC 100 was unique in that it drew significant interest from ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, which provided extensive coverage of the event in the days preceding and following it. In fact, ESPN would eventually devote additional coverage of the UFC and other MMA news with the television debut of "MMA Live
MMA Live
MMA Live is a sports show about mixed martial arts. It is seen on ESPN2. The show features analysts such as Franklin McNeil, Pat Miletich, Kenny Florian and Rashad Evans. MMA Live was originally an Internet show, but made the move to television after positive reception...
" on ESPN2 in May 2010.
The buzz from UFC 100 was hampered significantly in the second half of 2009 after a rash of injuries and other health-related issues —including Brock Lesnar's life-threatening bout with diverticulitis
Diverticulitis
Diverticulitis is a common digestive disease particularly found in the large intestine. Diverticulitis develops from diverticulosis, which involves the formation of pouches on the outside of the colon...
—forcing the organization to continuously scramble and reshuffle its lineup for several events.
However, the momentum gradually began to pick up in the first quarter of 2010 after victories from defending champions Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva, as well as Lyoto Machida's first career defeat to "Shogun" Rua for the UFC Light Heavyweight title. These fights segued into a very popular clash between former UFC Champions and rivals Rashad Evans
Rashad Evans
Rashad Anton Evans is an American mixed martial artist from Niagara Falls, New York, currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Evans won the heavyweight division of The Ultimate Fighter 2. Evans lost the UFC Light Heavyweight...
and Quinton Jackson
Quinton Jackson
Quinton Ramone Jackson ;, also known as Rampage Jackson, is an American mixed martial artist and actor. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Jackson rose to prominence in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships where he was noted for his powerful body slams including a knockout victory over...
—rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 10: Heavyweights—at UFC 114
UFC 114
UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 29, 2010 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The UFC Fan Expo took place at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center....
, featuring the UFC's first main event headlined by African-American fighters. The event scored over 1 million pay per view buys as Evans secured a unanimous decision victory.
This momentum carried into the summer of 2010 at UFC 116
UFC 116
UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 3, 2010 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States...
, which featured the return of Brock Lesnar defending his UFC Heavyweight title against the undefeated interim-champion Shane Carwin
Shane Carwin
Shane Bannister Carwin is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , where he was previously the UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion...
before 1.25 million PPV viewers. Lesnar survived an early barrage of Carwin's punches in a contest that was nearly stopped by referee Josh Rosenthal. However, Lesnar recovered in the second round to submit Carwin via arm triangle choke
Arm triangle choke
Arm triangle choke, side choke, or head and arm choke are generic terms describing blood chokeholds in which the opponent is strangled in between his or her own shoulder and the practitioner's arm. This is as opposed to the regular triangle choke, which denotes a chokehold using the legs, albeit...
to retain the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Championship. The event as a whole was critically acclaimed in the media for living up to the hype with a number of exciting fights that were featured on the televised card.
After a dramatic fifth round, last minute victory by UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva over Chael Sonnen
Chael Sonnen
Chael Patrick Sonnen is an American mixed martial artist who competes as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was an NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at the University of Oregon, a two-time University Greco national champion as well as the 85.0 kg silver medalist at...
at UFC 117
UFC 117
UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 7, 2010 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, United States.-Background:...
, Lesnar finally surrendered his belt to the undefeated Cain Velasquez
Cain Velasquez
Cain Ramirez Velasquez is an American mixed martial artist fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He is a two-time All-American collegiate wrestler from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, and a Junior College National Champ at Iowa...
via 1st round TKO at UFC 121
UFC 121
UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 23, 2010 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, United States...
. The fight produced Velasquez's eighth knockout or technical knockout in his first nine MMA fights.
UFC 129
UFC 129
UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, April 30, 2011 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario.-Background:...
featured Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields
Jake Shields
Jake Shields is an American mixed martial artist who is currently fighting in the welterweight division of the UFC. He is the last Rumble on the Rock 175 lb champion. He is the first and last Elite XC Welterweight Champion. He is also the former Shooto Middleweight Champion and is the former...
at the Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...
in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is currently the largest UFC event in North American history, which coincided with a two-day UFC Fan Expo at the Direct Energy Centre. The event sold out 55,000 tickets for gate revenues exceeding $11 million, shattering previous MMA attendance and gate records in North America.
WEC merger
Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, purchased World Extreme CagefightingWorld Extreme Cagefighting
World Extreme Cagefighting was an American mixed martial arts promotion. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship , in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was made up of 3 weight classes: 135, 145 and 155 lbs. To accommodate the smaller...
in late 2006 and held the first WEC event under new ownership on January 20, 2007. Soon thereafter the WEC made its home on the Versus Network with its first event debuting on Versus in June 2007.
On October 28, 2010, Zuffa announced that its sister promotion, WEC would merge with the UFC. The WEC held its final card on December 16, 2010. As a result of the merger, the UFC absorbed WEC's bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight weight divisions and their respective fighters. The UFC also made the last WEC Featherweight and Bantamweight Champions, José Aldo
Jose Aldo
José Aldo is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who competes as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is the first and current UFC Featherweight Champion...
and Dominick Cruz
Dominick Cruz
Dominick Cruz is an American mixed martial artist of Mexican descent, who competes as a bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is the current UFC Bantamweight Champion...
respectively, the inaugural UFC Champions of their new weight divisions.
Reed Harris, the man that started World Extreme Cagefighting with one of his coaches at SLO Kickboxing, Scott Adams, has remained with the promotion every step of the way, and has mixed emotions about his baby growing into a life of its own. “It’s kind of like when you’re kid goes off to college, at first you’re not happy, but after you think about it for a while, you’re really happy,” Harris told MMAWeekly.com in an exclusive interview immediately following the announcement. “At the end of the day, I never imagined this thing would be where we’re at today. I’m extremely proud and happy that I was involved with something that will now be part of what may be, some day, the largest sports organization in the world.”
Strikeforce purchase
On March 12, 2011, UFC president Dana WhiteDana White
Dana White is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.- Biography :...
revealed on AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
to Ariel Helwani
Ariel Helwani
- Biography :Helwani was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, he grew up in a Jewish family in the Town of Mount Royal and Westmount and attended the Akiva School and Herzliah High School. In 2004, he graduated from Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. He works for...
that Zuffa had purchased rival MMA promotion Strikeforce
Strikeforce
Strikeforce is a U.S.-based mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization based in San Jose, California. It is headed by CEO Scott Coker and owned by Zuffa, LLC...
. White explained that Strikeforce would operate as an independent promotion and that Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker
Scott Coker
Scott Coker is the founder and CEO of Strikeforce, a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.Scott Coker is an Ernie Reyes protege and full-contact fight promoter covering Kickboxing, K-1, and MMA...
would continue to run day-to-day operations.
"As we continue to grow and expand into these other countries, we need more fights," White explained in his interview with Helwani. "Let's face the facts: Strikeforce is a brand fans have come to like."
Similar to the acquisition of Pride Fighting Championships, the Strikeforce purchase was significant in Zuffa acquiring more top-ranked fighters. Zuffa also acquired Strikeforce champions Alistair Overeem
Alistair Overeem
Alistair Cees Overeem is a British born Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer, signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Interim Heavyweight Champion, K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, and made history by being the only fighter in combat...
, Dan Henderson
Dan Henderson
Daniel Jeffery Henderson, is an American mixed martial artist and former Olympic wrestler, who competes as a middleweight and light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion and was the last Welterweight and Middleweight champion...
, Ronaldo Souza, Nick Diaz
Nick Díaz
Nicholas Robert Diaz is an American mixed martial artist. He is the former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion, WEC and IFC Welterweight Champion. He has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Pride Fighting Championships and Elite Xtreme Combat. Diaz was promoted to black belt in Brazilian...
and Gilbert Melendez
Gilbert Melendez
Gilbert Melendez is an American mixed martial artist of Mexican descent. Currently fighting out of San Francisco, California, he formerly competed in the lightweight division of PRIDE Fighting Championships and now competes in Strikeforce...
, as well as Strikeforce's female division including notables Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos
Cristiane Santos
Cristiane Justino Venancio Santos is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and the Strikeforce Women's Featherweight Champion . Santos won the title on August 15, 2009 by defeating Gina Carano via TKO...
, Marloes Coenen
Marloes Coenen
Marloes Coenen is a Dutch mixed martial artist. She has competed professionally since 2000 and is a former Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion....
and Gina Carano
Gina Carano
Gina Joy Carano is an American model, actress, and mixed martial arts fighter. Carano appeared as the Gladiator "Crush" on American Gladiators...
.
It was first reported that Strikeforce fighters would stay in the promotion until their contracts were due to expire. "Once their contracts are up, it's fair game between us and Scott Coker," White also stated in the interview with Helwani. However, Nick Diaz became the first Strikeforce champion to make the move to the UFC after he signed to fight Georges St. Pierre for the UFC Welterweight title at UFC 137. His new contract enables him to fight in both Strikeforce and UFC but he has vacated his Strikeforce Welterweight title.
The UFC is following the same footsteps the NFL and NBA made when they were working to become accepted by the mainstream. The NFL also dabbled in the absorption game when they consumed the AFL in 1970, while the NBA absorbed and dismantled the ABA in 1976. In climbing to these positions of mainstream acceptance, both leagues had faced competition and absorbed the opposition to the fullest extent of the word, ultimately securing themselves as the premier organizations.
Fox partnership
On August 18, 2011, The Ultimate Fighting Championship and FoxFox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
announced a seven-year broadcast deal through the Fox Sports subsidiary, effectively ending the UFC's Spike TV
Spike TV
Spike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
and Versus
Versus (TV channel)
Versus is a sports-oriented cable television channel in the United States. It was previously known as Outdoor Life Network and was launched on July 1, 1995, focusing on fishing, hunting, and other outdoor sports...
partnership. The deal includes four events on the main Fox network, 32 live Friday night fights per year on their cable network FX, 24 events following The Ultimate Fighter
The Ultimate Fighter
The Ultimate Fighter is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts competition produced by Spike TV and the Ultimate Fighting Championship , and soon to be shown on FX. The show features unknown, professional MMA fighters living together in Las Vegas, Nevada, and follows them as...
reality show and six separate Fight Night events.
The promotion's first broadcast television event - UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos
UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos
UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The event was the fifth that the UFC has hosted in Anaheim.-Background:This card marked the UFC's debut on the Fox Network...
- broke form by showcasing only one fight to television viewers. In the main event, Junior dos Santos
Junior dos Santos
Junior dos Santos Almeida, also known as Junior Cigano , is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and the current UFC Heavyweight Champion. Dos Santos fights in the Heavyweight division, under the tutelage of former UFC and Pride Heavyweight Champion Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and UFC...
abruptly dethroned then-undefeated UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez
Cain Velasquez
Cain Ramirez Velasquez is an American mixed martial artist fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He is a two-time All-American collegiate wrestler from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, and a Junior College National Champ at Iowa...
by knock-out at 1:04 in the first round. The telecast peaked with 8.8 million viewers tuning into the fight with an average audience of 5.7 million, making it by far the most watched MMA event of all-time and the most watched combat sports event since 2003's HBO bout between Lennox Lewis
Lennox Lewis
Lennox Claudius Lewis, CM, CBE is a retired boxer and the most recent British undisputed world heavyweight champion. He holds dual British and Canadian citizenship...
and Vitaly Klitschko.
The Ultimate Fighter will change formats and now be live and air on Friday nights on FX, followed by a live fight card. Many of the preliminary fights before UFC pay-per-views and UFC Unleashed programming will be on Fuel TV
Fuel TV
Fuel TV is a U.S. cable and satellite specialty channel that launched on July 1, 2003. It focuses on the cultures of such extreme sports as skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, motocross, surfing, BMX and FMX. It is a unit of Fox Cable Networks and is currently available to 26-million...
. Additional programming begins in January, including live fights, pre- and post-shows, Countdown shows, UFC Unleashed, UFC Primetime, UFC Knockout series, Best of Pride and weigh-in specials.
One of the other programming opportunities that is already in motion is a weekly UFC magazine-style show. When asked about the potential for a weekly magazine-style series, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta responded, “Not only weekly, but, potentially, multiple times per week you’ll have a UFC magazine (show).”
The UFC will maintain production control of its product, including the use of its broadcast team of Mike Goldberg
Mike Goldberg
Mike Goldberg is an American play-by-play commentator, mainly known for his work with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.-Broadcasting career:...
and Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan
Joseph James "Joe" Rogan is an American comedian, video blogger, actor, writer, podcaster, and martial artist. He is best known for his work on NewsRadio, his work as color commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and his hosting work on Fear Factor.-Acting:In 1994, Rogan co-starred on...
. Fox Sports will produce the pre- and post-shows.
Rules
The current rules for the Ultimate Fighting Championship were originally established by the New Jersey Athletic Control BoardNew Jersey State Athletic Control Board
The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New Jersey, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxers, mixed martial arts fighters, seconds, ring officials, managers, and matchmakers...
. The "Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts" that New Jersey established has been adopted in other states that regulate mixed martial arts, including Nevada, Louisiana, and California. These rules are also used by many other promotions within the United States, becoming mandatory for those states that have adopted the rules, and so have become the standard de facto set of rules for professional mixed martial arts across the country.
Rounds
UFC matches vary in maximum length, depending on whether the match is for a Championship title, or is a fight card's "main event" fight. In all fights, each round can be no longer than five minutes. Championship fights last for a maximum of five rounds. Beginning with UFC 138UFC 138
UFC 138: Leben vs. Muñoz was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 5, 2011 at LG Arena in Birmingham, England. The event aired on the same day, via tape delay, on Spike TV in the U.S. and live on Sportsnet in Canada...
on November 5th, 2011, non-championship "main event" fights (ie. the final fight on the card), will also last for a maximum of five rounds. Bouts which are either on the preliminary card, or on the main card prior to the main event, last for a maximum of three rounds. There is a one-minute rest period between rounds.
Weight divisions
The UFC currently uses seven weight classes:{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
!rowspan="2"|Weight class name
!colspan="2"|Upper limit
|-
!in pounds
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
(lb)
!in kilogram
Kilogram
The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...
s (kg)
|-align="center"
|align="left"|Bantamweight
Bantamweight (MMA)
The bantamweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*The King of the Cage bantamweight class with upper limit at 145 lb...
|135||61.2
|-align="center"
|align="left"|Featherweight
Featherweight (MMA)
The featherweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*UFC's & Pancrase's featherweight division, which groups competitors within 136 to 145 lb...
|145||65.8
|-align="center"
|align="left"|Lightweight
Lightweight (MMA)
The lightweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:* The UFC & Strikeforce lightweight division with upper limit at 155 lb...
|155||70.3
|-align="center"
|align="left"|Welterweight
Welterweight (MMA)
The welterweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*The UFC's & Strikeforce's welterweight division, which groups competitors within 156 to 170 lb...
|170||77.1
|-align="center"
|align="left"|Middleweight
Middleweight (MMA)
The middleweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*UFC's & Strikeforce's middleweight division, which groups competitors within 171 to 185 lb...
|185||83.9
|-align="center"
|align="left"|Light Heavyweight
Light Heavyweight (MMA)
The light heavyweight division in mixed martial arts generally refers to competitors weighing between 186 and 205 lb . It sits between the lighter middleweight division, and the heavyweight division....
|205||93.0
|-align="center"
|align="left"|Heavyweight
Heavyweight (MMA)
The heavyweight division in mixed martial arts generally groups fighters between .Although many ambiguities exist within the lower weight classes regarding division naming and weight limits, the Heavyweight division is, for the most part, uniform...
|265||120.2
Non-title fights have a one pound leniency. In addition, there are two other weight classes specified in the Unified Rules which the UFC does not currently use:
- FlyweightFlyweight (MMA)The flyweight division in mixed martial arts – as defined by the Nevada State Athletic Commission combat sports doctrine – groups together all competitors 125 lb and below...
: up to 125 lb (56.7 kg); expected to be added to UFC in 2012 - Super HeavyweightSuper Heavyweight (MMA)The super heavyweight division in mixed martial arts has no weight limit but generally refers to competitors weighing above 265 lb .Across Europe and Asia, there are numerous promotions that feature open-weight competitions that can qualify as super heavyweight bouts.One such example is in Japan,...
: 265+ (no weight limits)
Cage
The UFC stages bouts in an eight-sided enclosure officially named "The Octagon". Originally, SEG trademarked the concept as well as the term and prevented other mixed martial arts promotions from using the same type of cage, but in 2001 Zuffa gave permission for other promotions to use octagonal cages, reasoning that the young sport needed uniformity to continue to win official sanctioning. Today Zuffa reserves exclusive use of the name "The Octagon".The UFC cage is an octagonal structure with walls of metal chain-link fence coated with black vinyl and a diameter of 32 ft (9.8 m), allowing 30 ft (9.1 m) of space from point to point. The fence is to height. The cage sits atop a platform, raising it 4 ft (1.2 m) from the ground. It has foam padding around the top of the fence and between each of the eight sections. It also has two entry-exit gates opposite each other. The mat, painted with sponsorship logos and art, is replaced for each event.
Attire
All competitors must fight in approved shorts, without shoes. Shirts, gisKeikogi
or dōgi is a uniform for training, used in martial arts derived from Japan, or budō. . The prototype for the modern keikogi emerged in the late 19th century. The keikogi was developed by judo founder Kano Jigoro...
or long pants (including gi pants) are not allowed. Fighters must use approved light-weight open-fingered gloves, that include at least 1" of padding around the knuckles, (110 to 170 g / 4 to 6 ounces) that allow fingers to grab. These gloves enable fighters to punch with less risk of an injured or broken hand, while retaining the ability to grab and grapple.
Originally the attire for UFC was very open if controlled at all. Many fighters still chose to wear tight-fitting shorts or boxing-type trunks, while others wore long pants or singlets. Several wore wrestling shoes. Multi-time tournament Champion Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...
wore a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gi in all his early appearances in UFC, while Art Jimmerson appeared in UFC 1 wearing one standard boxing glove.
Match outcome
Matches usually end via:- SubmissionSubmission (combat sport term)A submission is a combat sports term for yielding to the opponent, and hence resulting in an immediate defeat...
: a fighter clearly taps the mat or his opponent, or verbally submits. Also a technical submission may be called when a fighter either loses consciousness or is on the verge of serious injury while in a hold. - KnockoutKnockoutA knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
: a fighter is put into a state of unconsciousness resulting from any legal strike. - Technical Knockout (TKO): If the referee decides a fighter cannot continue, the fight is ruled as a technical knockout. Technical knockouts can be classified into three categories:
- referee stoppage (the referee ends the fight because one fighter is unable to intelligently defend himself)
- doctor stoppage (a ring side doctor decides that it is unsafe for the fighter to continue the bout due to excessive bleeding or physical injuries)
- corner stoppage (a fighter's cornerman signals defeat for their own fighter)
- Judges' Decision: Depending on scoring, a match may end as:
- unanimous decision (all three judges score a win for fighter A)
- majority decision (two judges score a win for fighter A, one judge scores a draw)
- split decision (two judges score a win for fighter A, one judge scores a win for fighter B)
- unanimous draw (all three judges score a draw)
- majority draw (two judges score a draw, one judge scoring a win)
- split draw (one judge scores a win for fighter A, one judge scores a win for fighter B, and one judge scores a draw)
Note: In the event of a draw, it is not necessary that the fighters' total points be equal (see, e.g., UFC 41
UFC 41
- External links:* * * *...
Penn vs. Uno, or UFC 43
UFC 43
UFC 43: Meltdown was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 6, 2003, at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas...
Freeman vs. White). However, in a unanimous or split draw, each fighter does score an equal number of win judgments from the three judges (0 or 1, respectively).
A fight can also end in a technical decision, technical submission, disqualification, forfeit, technical draw, or no contest. The latter two outcomes have no winners.
Judging criteria
The ten-point must system10-point must system
The 10-point must system is a method of scoring a fighting match .Under the system, the judges must give the winner of a round 10 points, and the loser 9 points or fewer...
is in effect for all UFC fights; three judges score each round and the winner of each receives ten points, the loser nine points or fewer. There are no even rounds, unless a point is deducted for an illegal blow from the winner of that round, usually resulting in a 9-9 for that round. Scores of 10–8 are typically awarded for very dominant rounds, with scores of 10–7 reserved for extremely dominant rounds.
Fouls
The Nevada State Athletic Commission currently lists the following as fouls:- ButtingHeadbuttA headbutt is a strike with the head, typically involving the use of robust parts of the cranium as areas of impact. Effective headbutting revolves around striking a sensitive area with a less sensitive area, such as striking the nose of an opponent with the forehead...
with the head - Eye gougingEye-gougingEye-gouging is the act of pressing or tearing the eye using the fingers, other bodyparts, or instruments. Eye-gouging involves a very high risk of eye injury, such as permanent eye loss. It is disallowed in combat sports, but some self-defense systems teach it...
of any kind - Biting
- Hair pulling
- Fish hookingFish-hookingFish-hooking is the act of inserting a finger or fingers of one or both hands into the mouth, nostrils or other orifices of a person, and pulling away from the centerline of the body; in most cases with the intention of pulling, tearing, or lacerating the surrounding tissue. Forceful fish-hooking...
- Groin attackGroin attackA groin attack is an attempt to cause pain to the groin area of one's opponent. The technique can be quickly debilitating, due to the large number of sensitive nerve endings in the penis and testicles of males, as well as the highly innervated vulva of females. A sufficiently powerful blow may...
s of any kind - Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent (see Fish-hookingFish-hookingFish-hooking is the act of inserting a finger or fingers of one or both hands into the mouth, nostrils or other orifices of a person, and pulling away from the centerline of the body; in most cases with the intention of pulling, tearing, or lacerating the surrounding tissue. Forceful fish-hooking...
) - Small joint manipulationSmall joint manipulationSmall joint manipulation, in grappling, refers to twisting, pulling or bending fingers or toes to cause joint locks in the various joints in those appendages...
- Striking to the spine or the back of the head (see Rabbit punchRabbit punchA rabbit punch is a blow to the neck or to the base of the skull. It is considered especially dangerous because it can damage the cervical vertebrae and subsequently the spinal cord, which may lead to serious spinal cord injury or even death.-Boxing:...
) - Striking downward using the point of the elbow (see Elbow (strike)Elbow (strike)An elbow strike is a strike with the point of the elbow, the part of the forearm nearest to the elbow, or the part of the upper arm nearest to the elbow...
) - ThroatThroatIn vertebrate anatomy, the throat is the anterior part of the neck, in front of the vertebral column. It consists of the pharynx and larynx...
strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the tracheaVertebrate tracheaIn tetrapod anatomy the trachea, or windpipe, is a tube that connects the pharynx or larynx to the lungs, allowing the passage of air. It is lined with pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium cells with goblet cells that produce mucus... - Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh (see Purple Nurple)
- Grabbing the clavicleClavicleIn human anatomy, the clavicle or collar bone is a long bone of short length that serves as a strut between the scapula and the sternum. It is the only long bone in body that lies horizontally...
- KickingSoccer kickA soccer kick is a reference to a kick that is similar to kicks used in association football. For short distanced passes, the instep or the outside of the foot can be used...
the head of a grounded opponent - KneeingKnee (strike)A knee strike is a strike with the knee, either with the kneecap or the surrounding area. Kneeing is a disallowed practice in many combat sports, especially to the head of a downed opponent...
the head of a grounded opponent - StompingStomp (strike)A stomp is a downwards strike with the heel of the foot from the stand-up position, and is usually directed at the head or body of a downed opponent...
a grounded opponent - KickKickIn combat sports and hand-to-hand combat, a kick is a physical strike using the foot, leg, or knee . This type of attack is used frequently, especially in stand-up fighting...
ing to the kidney with the heel - Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck (see PiledriverPiledriver (professional wrestling)A piledriver is a professional wrestling driver move in which the wrestler grabs his opponent, turns him upside-down, and drops into a sitting or kneeling position, driving the opponent head-first into the mat. The most common piledrivers are the basic belly-to-back, or Texas piledriver, and the...
) - ThrowingThrow (grappling)A throw is a martial arts term for a grappling technique that involves off-balancing or lifting an opponent, and tossing them to the ground in Japanese martial arts referred to as nage-waza, 投げ技, "throwing technique"...
an opponent out of the ring or fenced area - Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent
- Spitting at an opponent
- Engaging in unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to an opponent
- Holding the ropes or the fence
- Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area
- Attacking an opponent on or during the break
- Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee
- Attacking an opponent after the bell (horn) has sounded the end of a round
- Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee
- Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury
- Interference by the corner
- Throwing in the towel during competition
When a foul is charged, the referee in their discretion may deduct one or more points as a penalty. If a foul incapacitates a fighter, then the match may end in a disqualification if the foul was intentional, or a no contest if unintentional. If a foul causes a fighter to be unable to continue later in the bout, it ends with a technical decision win to the injured fighter if the injured fighter is ahead on points, otherwise it is a technical draw.
Match conduct
- After a verbal warning the referee can stop the fighters and stand them up if they reach a stalemate on the ground (where neither are in a dominant positionGrappling positionA grappling position refers to the positioning and holds of combatants engaged in grappling. Combatants are said to be in a neutral position if neither is in a more favourable position. If one party has a clear advantage such as in the mount they are said to be in a "dominant position"...
or working towards one). This rule is codified in Nevada as the stand-up rule. - If the referee pauses the match, it is resumed with the fighters in their prior positions.
- Grabbing the cage brings a verbal warning, followed by an attempt by the referee to release the grab by pulling on the grabbing hand. If that attempt fails or if the fighter continues to hold the cage, the referee may charge a foul.
- Early UFC events disregarded verbal sparring / "trash-talking" during matches. Under unified rules, antics are permitted before events to add to excitement and allow fighters to express themselves, but abusive language during combat is prohibited.
Evolution of the rules
- UFC 1UFC 1The Ultimate Fighting Championship was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship , held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, on November 12, 1993...
– Although the advertising said there are no rules, there were in fact some rules: no biting, no eye-gouging, and no small joint manipulation. Fights ended only in the event of a knockoutKnockoutA knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
, a submissionSubmission (combat sport term)A submission is a combat sports term for yielding to the opponent, and hence resulting in an immediate defeat...
, usually signaled by tapping the hand three times on the mat or opponent, or by the corner throwing in the towel. Despite this, the first match in UFC 1 was won by referee stoppage, even though it was not officially recognized as such at the time. - UFC 2UFC 2UFC 2: No Way Out was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 11, 1994, at Mammoth Gardens in Denver, Colorado...
– Time limits were dropped. Groin strikes were unbanned, though it was still illegal to attempt to grab the genitals. Modifications to the cage were added (higher fences and less floor padding). - UFC 3UFC 3UFC 3: The American Dream was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 9, 1994, at Grady Cole Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United States, and was later released on home video.-History:UFC 3 used an...
– The referee was officially given the authority to stop a fight in case of a fighter being unable to defend himself. A fighter could not kick if he was wearing shoes. This rule would later be discarded, then changed to 'no kicking with shoes while on the ground' and then reinstated, before finally being discarded. - UFC 4UFC 4UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 16, 1994, at the Expo Center Pavilion in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The event was seen live on pay-per-view, and later released on home video.-History:UFC 4 used an eight-man tournament...
– After tournament alternate Steve JennumSteve JennumSteve Jennum is a retired American mixed martial artist and Nebraska police officer. He was the winner of the UFC 3 tournament in 1994.-Mixed martial arts career:...
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. - UFC 5UFC 5UFC 5: The Return of the Beast was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 7, 1995, at the Independence Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.-History:UFC 5 used an...
– The organizers introduced a 30-minute time limit. UFC 5 also saw the first Superfight, a one-off bout between two competitors selected by the organizers with the winner being crowned 'Superfight champion' and having the duty of defending his title at the next UFC. - UFC 6UFC 6UFC 6: Clash of the Titans was the sixth mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 14, 1995, at the Casper Events Center in Casper, Wyoming. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.-History:UFC 6 featured the...
– The referee was given the authority to restart the fight. If two fighters were entangled in a position where there was a lack of action, the referee could stop the fight and restart the competitors on their feet, in their own corner. In UFC 6 they officially adopted the 5 minute extension to the 30 minute rule which had been used in UFC 5. - UFC 8UFC 8UFC 8: David vs. Goliath was a mixed martial arts event held by Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 16, 1996, at Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in Bayamon, Puerto Rico...
– Time limit changed to 10 minutes in the first two rounds of the tournament, 15 minutes in the tournament final and Superfight. Fights could now be decided by a judges decision if the fight reached the end of the time limit. The panel was made up of three judges who simply raised a card with the name of the fighter they considered to be the winner. In this fashion, a draw was not possible since the only two possible outcomes of a decision were 3 to 0 or 2 to 1 in favor of the winner. - UFC 9UFC 9UFC 9: Motor City Madness was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 17, 1996, at the Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan...
– To appease local authorities, closed fisted strikes to the head were banned for this event only. The commentators were not aware of this last minute rule that was made to prevent the cancellation of the event due to local political pressures. Referee "Big John" McCarthyJohn McCarthy (referee)John Michael McCarthy, the 'Octagon's ninth side', is the first head referee for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a retired Los Angeles Police Officer, and a Tactical Self-Defense Instructor at the Los Angeles Police Academy. He formerly provided commentary and analysis for The Fight Network's...
made repeated warnings to the fighters to "open the hand" when this rule was violated. However, not one fighter was reprimanded. - Ultimate Ultimate 1996 – This event was the first to introduce the "no grabbing of the fence" rule.
- UFC 12UFC 12UFC 12: Judgement Day was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 7, 1997 at the Dothan Civic Center in Dothan, Alabama...
– The main tournament split into a heavyweight and lightweight division; and the eight-man tournament ceased. Fighters now needed to win only two fights to win the competition. The Heavyweight Champion title (and title bouts) was introduced, replacing the Superfight title (albeit matches were still for a time branded as "Superfights"). - UFC 14UFC 14-External links:***...
– The wearing of padded gloves, weighing 110 to 170 g (4 to 6 ounces), becomes mandatory. Gloves were to be approved by the UFC. - UFC 15UFC 15UFC 15: Collision Course was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 17, 1997, in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.-History:...
– Limits on permissible striking areas were introduced. Headbutts, groin strikes, elbow strikes to the back of the neck and head, kicks to a downed opponent, small joint manipulation, pressure point strikes, and hair-pulling became illegal. - UFC 21UFC 21UFC 21: Return of the Champions was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 16, 1999 at the Five Seasons Events Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa...
– Five minute rounds were introduced, with preliminary bouts consisting of two rounds, regular non-title bouts at three rounds, and title bouts at five rounds. The "ten point must system" was introduced for scoring fights (identical to the system widely used in boxing). - UFC 28UFC 28UFC 28: High Stakes was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 17, 2000 at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey.-History:...
– The New Jersey Athletic Control Board sanctions its first UFC event, using the newly developed Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Major changes to the UFC's rules included barring knee strikes to the head of a downed opponent, elbow strikes to the spine and neck and punches to the back of the neck and head. Limits on permissible ring attire, stringent medical requirements, and regulatory oversight were also introduced. A new weight class system was also introduced. This new set of rules is currently the de facto standard for MMA events held in the U.S. and is still in use by the UFC. - UFC 31UFC 31UFC 31: Locked and Loaded was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey on May 4, 2001...
– Weight classes are re-aligned to the current standard. Bantamweight moves from 150 to 155 and becomes known as lightweightLightweight (MMA)The lightweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:* The UFC & Strikeforce lightweight division with upper limit at 155 lb...
. Lightweight becomes known as welterweightWelterweight (MMA)The welterweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*The UFC's & Strikeforce's welterweight division, which groups competitors within 156 to 170 lb...
, middleweight becomes light heavyweightLight Heavyweight (MMA)The light heavyweight division in mixed martial arts generally refers to competitors weighing between 186 and 205 lb . It sits between the lighter middleweight division, and the heavyweight division....
, and a new middleweightMiddleweight (MMA)The middleweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*UFC's & Strikeforce's middleweight division, which groups competitors within 171 to 185 lb...
class is introduced at 185 pounds. - UFC 43UFC 43UFC 43: Meltdown was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 6, 2003, at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas...
– In the event of a stoppage fights restart in the position the fight was stopped. - UFC 94UFC 94UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2 was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 31, 2009. The card featured five televised MMA bouts, as well as five un-aired preliminary bouts...
– After an incident where George St. Pierre was accused of putting vaselineVaselineVaseline is a brand of petroleum jelly based products owned by Anglo-Dutch company Unilever. Products include plain petroleum jelly and a selection of skin creams, soaps, lotions, cleansers, deodorants and personal lubricants....
on his back, corner men were disallowed from bringing vaseline into The Octagon. Lubricant may now only be applied outside The Octagon before the commencement of the first round. - UFC 133UFC 133UFC 133: Evans vs. Ortiz was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 6, 2011 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.-Background:...
- Speedo style trunks are banned. - UFC 138UFC 138UFC 138: Leben vs. Muñoz was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 5, 2011 at LG Arena in Birmingham, England. The event aired on the same day, via tape delay, on Spike TV in the U.S. and live on Sportsnet in Canada...
- First 5 round non-title main event.
The Ultimate Fighter
Fights that occur on The Ultimate Fighter are classified as exhibition matches under NSAC sanctioning, and thus do not count toward the professional record of a fighter. Match outcomes also do not need to be immediately posted publicly, which allows for fight results to be unveiled as the series progresses.These exhibition matches variably have two or three rounds, depending on the rules used for each season. In most seasons, preliminary matches (before the semi-final bouts) were two rounds; in season two, all matches had three rounds. For two-round matches, if there is a draw after two rounds, an extra five-minute round ("sudden victory") is contested. If the extra round concludes without a stoppage, the judges' decision will be based on that final round. All matches past the first round use three rounds as per standard UFC bouts. During the finales for each series, the division finals have the standard three rounds, plus a fourth round if the judges score a tie.
Production team
Comedian and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt Joe RoganJoe Rogan
Joseph James "Joe" Rogan is an American comedian, video blogger, actor, writer, podcaster, and martial artist. He is best known for his work on NewsRadio, his work as color commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and his hosting work on Fear Factor.-Acting:In 1994, Rogan co-starred on...
and play-by-play announcer Mike Goldberg
Mike Goldberg
Mike Goldberg is an American play-by-play commentator, mainly known for his work with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.-Broadcasting career:...
provide commentary during broadcasts of nearly all UFC events. The "Veteran Voice of the Octagon" is announcer Bruce Buffer
Bruce Buffer
Bruce Anthony Buffer is the main octagon announcer for Zuffa main events. On UFC broadcasts, he is introduced as the "Veteran Voice of the Octagon." He is the half brother of the well-known boxing and wrestling ring announcer Michael Buffer, and is President and CEO of their company "The Buffer...
. Arianny Celeste
Arianny Celeste
Arianny Celeste is an American ring girl and model. She is best known for being an Octagon girl for the UFC.-Early life:...
, Brittney Palmer and Chandella Powell are Octagon girls
Ring girl
A ring girl is the common name for a woman who enters the ring between rounds of a combat sport event such as boxing, kickboxing, or mixed martial arts, carrying a sign that displays the number of the upcoming round.-Boxing:...
. Each fighter is assigned a cutman
Cutman
A cutman is a person responsible for preventing and treating physical damage to a fighter during the breaks between rounds of a full contact match such as a boxing, kickboxing or a mixed martial arts bout. Cutmen typically handle swelling, nosebleeds and lacerations...
by the promotion who cares for the fighter before the fight and in between rounds. Jacob "Stitch" Duran
Jacob Duran
Jacob "Stitch" Duran is a professional cutman who works in boxing and mixed martial arts fights.. He grew up in Planada, California..In boxing, Duran works on the Klitschko brothers....
is one of the best known cutmen working for the organization. Matches are made by matchmaker, and VP of Talent Relations, Joe Silva. Burt Watson is the production manager for all UFC events, including fighter weigh-ins and other public events held before fights that frequently draw crowds of fans and reporters.
Fighter salaries
A UFC fighter generally does not have a salary. They are paid per fight, with amounts depending on how well-known the fighters are and how well sponsored a fighter and an event is. Fighters will typically get paid money to fight with an additional bonus if they win. Cash bonuses are also typically awarded for "Fight of the Night", "Knockout of the Night", and "Submission of the Night." The size of these bonuses varies by event, but, for less well-known fighters, they can be several times larger than the contracted amount for the fight. Contracted amounts generally have to be declared to the State Athletic commission however the UFC also pays undisclosed locker-room bonuses to fighters.Current champions
{| class="wikitable"|-
!Division!!Upper weight limit!!Champion!!Since!!Title defenses
|-
|Heavyweight
Heavyweight (MMA)
The heavyweight division in mixed martial arts generally groups fighters between .Although many ambiguities exist within the lower weight classes regarding division naming and weight limits, the Heavyweight division is, for the most part, uniform...
||265 lb (120.2 kg; 18.9 st)||
Junior dos SantosJunior dos Santos
Junior dos Santos Almeida, also known as Junior Cigano , is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and the current UFC Heavyweight Champion. Dos Santos fights in the Heavyweight division, under the tutelage of former UFC and Pride Heavyweight Champion Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and UFC...
||November 12, 2011 (UFC on Fox)||style="text-align:right;"|0
|-
|Light Heavyweight
Light Heavyweight (MMA)
The light heavyweight division in mixed martial arts generally refers to competitors weighing between 186 and 205 lb . It sits between the lighter middleweight division, and the heavyweight division....
||205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)||
Jon JonesJon Jones
Jon Jones is a British television director and screenwriter whose works include the ITV drama series Cold Feet, the Channel 4 drama A Very Social Secretary and the 2007 ITV adaptation of Northanger Abbey. His work on Cold Feet led to a nomination for New Director at the BAFTA Television Craft...
||March 19, 2011 (UFC 128
UFC 128
UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 19, 2011, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.-Background:...
)||style="text-align:right;"|1
|-
|Middleweight
Middleweight (MMA)
The middleweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*UFC's & Strikeforce's middleweight division, which groups competitors within 171 to 185 lb...
||185 lb (83.9 kg; 13.2 st)||
Anderson SilvaAnderson Silva
Anderson da Silva is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He is the current UFC Middleweight Champion and the promotion's longest reigning champion. With 14 consecutive wins, Silva holds the longest winning streak and title defense streak in UFC history...
|| October 14, 2006 (UFC 64
UFC 64
UFC 64: Unstoppable was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, October 14, 2006. The event took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada and was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States and...
)||style="text-align:right;"|9
|-
|Welterweight
Welterweight (MMA)
The welterweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*The UFC's & Strikeforce's welterweight division, which groups competitors within 156 to 170 lb...
||170 lb (77.1 kg; 12.1 st)||
Georges St-Pierre||April 19, 2008 (UFC 83UFC 83
UFC 83: Serra vs St-Pierre 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event was held on April 19, 2008, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. UFC 83 was the UFC's first event in Canada...
)||style="text-align:right;"|6
|-
|Lightweight
Lightweight (MMA)
The lightweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:* The UFC & Strikeforce lightweight division with upper limit at 155 lb...
||155 lb (70.3 kg; 11.1 st)||
Frankie Edgar||April 10, 2010 (UFC 112UFC 112
UFC 112: Invincible was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 10, 2010, on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates...
)||style="text-align:right;"|2
|-
|Featherweight
Featherweight (MMA)
The featherweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*UFC's & Pancrase's featherweight division, which groups competitors within 136 to 145 lb...
||145 lb (65.8 kg; 10.4 st)||
José AldoJose Aldo
José Aldo is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who competes as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is the first and current UFC Featherweight Champion...
||November 20, 2010 (UFC 123
UFC 123
UFC 123: Rampage vs. Machida was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 20, 2010 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan...
)||style="text-align:right;"|2
|-
|Bantamweight
Bantamweight (MMA)
The bantamweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*The King of the Cage bantamweight class with upper limit at 145 lb...
||135 lb (61.2 kg; 9.6 st)||
Dominick CruzDominick Cruz
Dominick Cruz is an American mixed martial artist of Mexican descent, who competes as a bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is the current UFC Bantamweight Champion...
||December 16, 2010 (WEC 53
WEC 53
WEC 53: Henderson vs. Pettis was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on December 16, 2010 at Jobing.com Arena in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. The event was the first time that Zuffa has hosted an event in Arizona...
)||style="text-align:right;"|2
|}
UFC Hall of Fame
| Royce GracieRoyce Gracie
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...
|November 21, 2003 (UFC 45
UFC 45
UFC 45: Revolution was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on 21 November 2003, at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut...
)
| Ken Shamrock
Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...
|November 21, 2003 (UFC 45
UFC 45
UFC 45: Revolution was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on 21 November 2003, at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut...
)
| Dan Severn
Dan Severn
Daniel DeWayne Severn is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, notable for his success in the early years of Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments. Severn has fought and wrestled for many mixed martial arts and professional wrestling promotions, including King of the...
|(UFC 50
UFC 50
UFC 50: The War of '04 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 22, 2004, at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and later released on DVD.-History:Headlining the card were Tito...
)
| Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman is an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, former NCAA collegiate wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. In MMA, he was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion, and the Pride Fighting...
|
| Randy Couture
Randy Couture
Randy Duane Couture is a retired American mixed martial artist, Greco-Roman wrestler, actor, a three-time former heavyweight champion, two-time former light-heavyweight champion, former interim light heavyweight champion and UFC 13 tournament winner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
|
| Chuck Liddell
Chuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
|
| Matt Hughes
Matt Hughes
Matt Hughes may refer to:* Matt Hughes , Canadian science fiction writer* Matt Hughes , American professional mixed martial artist* Matt Hughes , American Olympic rower...
|May 29, 2010 (UFC 114
UFC 114
UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 29, 2010 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The UFC Fan Expo took place at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center....
)
| Charles Lewis Jr., aka MASK |
Music
- UFC: Ultimate Beat Downs, Vol. 1, an album of music featured in and inspired by the UFC.
Video games
- Ultimate Fighting ChampionshipUltimate Fighting Championship (video game)Ultimate Fighting Championship is the first video game based on the Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts tournament.- Fighters :* Mikey Burnett* Mark Coleman* Gary Goodridge* Jeremy Horn* Matt Hughes* Eugene Jackson* Tsuyoshi Kosaka...
(Dreamcast and PlayStationPlayStationThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
) - UFC: TapoutUFC: TapoutUFC: Tapout is a video game in the fighting genre based upon the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The game was released in North America on February 28, 2002 for the Xbox console....
(XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
) - UFC: ThrowdownUFC: ThrowdownUFC: Throwdown, known in Japan as UFC: Tapout 2 on the PlayStation 2 and UFC 2 Tapout Final Spec. on the GameCube, is a video game of the fighting game genre released in 2002 by Genki / Capcom Production Studio 3...
(Gamecube, PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
) - UFC: Tapout 2 (Xbox)
- UFC: Sudden ImpactUFC: Sudden ImpactUFC: Sudden Impact is a mixed martial arts video game featuring Ultimate Fighting Championship properties and fighters developed by Opus and published by Global Star. It was released on April 21, 2004, for the PlayStation 2...
(PlayStation 2) - UFC Undisputed 2009 (PlayStation 3PlayStation 3The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Xbox 360Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
) - UFC Undisputed 2010UFC Undisputed 2010UFC Undisputed 2010 is a mixed martial arts video game featuring Ultimate Fighting Championship properties and fighters developed by Yuke's and published by THQ. It was released on May 25, 2010, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and for the first time PlayStation Portable...
(PlayStation PortablePlayStation PortableThe is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360) - UFC TrainerUFC Personal Trainer (video game)UFC Personal Trainer is a fighting and fitness video game created by THQ. The game is a sequel to the UFC Undisputed series but differs from it in its playability in that it requires the Kinect accessory for the Xbox 360 version and the PlayStation Move for the PlayStation 3 version. There is also...
(PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, WiiWiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
) - UFC Undisputed 3UFC Undisputed 3UFC Undisputed 3 is an upcoming mixed martial arts video game featuring Ultimate Fighting Championship properties and fighters developed by Yuke's and published by THQ. It will be released February 14, 2012 in North America and February 17, 2012 in Europe for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is...
(PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii) (in production)
In January 2007, Zuffa and video game developer/publisher THQ
THQ
THQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices...
announced a license agreement giving THQ worldwide rights to develop titles under the UFC brand. The agreement gives THQ exclusive rights to current and next-generation consoles as well as to PC and handheld titles. Also included are "certain wireless rights" which were not detailed. The licensing agreement is to expire in 2011. UFC Undisputed 2009 became the first game released under this agreement on May 19, 2009.
Action figures
Round 5The first UFC action figure collectibles were released by Round 5 Corporation in May 2008. Series one of their figures includes Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Matt Hughes
Matt Hughes (fighter)
Matthew Allen Hughes is an American mixed martial artist, UFC Hall of Famer, and former two-time UFC Welterweight Champion. Hughes put together two separate six-fight winning streaks in the UFC, won the welterweight title on two occasions, defended the belt a record seven times, and holds the...
, Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
, and Randy Couture
Randy Couture
Randy Duane Couture is a retired American mixed martial artist, Greco-Roman wrestler, actor, a three-time former heavyweight champion, two-time former light-heavyweight champion, former interim light heavyweight champion and UFC 13 tournament winner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
. Series two (released on November 10, 2008) includes Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei César da Silva , nicknamed "The Axe Murderer", is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who has competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American based Ultimate Fighting Championship . Silva is known for his aggressive fighting style with the majority of his fights ending in...
, Sean Sherk
Sean Sherk
Sean Keith Sherk is an American mixed martial arts fighter currently fighting for the UFC. He currently holds a professional mixed martial arts record of thirty-six wins, four losses and one draw. Sherk has fought in both the UFC and Pride FC, and is a former UFC Lightweight Champion...
, Rich Franklin
Rich Franklin
Rich Jay Franklin II is an American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion.-Background:...
and Anderson Silva
Anderson Silva
Anderson da Silva is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He is the current UFC Middleweight Champion and the promotion's longest reigning champion. With 14 consecutive wins, Silva holds the longest winning streak and title defense streak in UFC history...
.
In July 2009, Round 5 acquired the UFC license through Jakks Pacific and subsequently released 5 more series under the UFC and Pride brands. 2 packs were released in August 2010 and includes a UFC Octagon cage and Pride ring display stand. Limited edition versions include fabric walk out tees or paint variations and are limited in number with foil and holographic packaging variances. Special edition and exclusive versions have been released at various UFC Fan Expo events.
Jakks Pacific
On June 10, 2008, it was announced that UFC had signed an exclusive four-year contract with Jakks Pacific
Jakks Pacific
JAKKS Pacific, Inc. is a designer and marketer of toys and consumer products, with a range of products that feature numerous children's toy licenses...
to create action figures for UFC. the schedule envisages the release of these figures in November 2009. They have currently been 8 series released and they feature special Lgends, PRIDE, and WEC style figures as well. Three 2 packs series have also been released, as well as several expo and internet exclusives. There are also several different octagon cage playsets that have been released, including the "Octagon Playset", "Official Scale Octagon Playset", and "Electronic Reaction Octagon Playset". A PRIDE style ring playset was also originally planned, however no news have been given on it's status or release date since then.
Jakks Pacific UFC Deluxe Figure Lineups:
Series 0:
Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...
(Legends Packaging),
Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar
Brock Edward Lesnar is an American mixed martial artist, actor and a former professional and amateur wrestler. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is ranked the No.5 Heavyweight in the world by Sherdog...
,
Frank Mir
Frank Mir
Francisco Santos Miranda is an American mixed martial artist, as well as a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kenpō Karate, who competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and a former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion...
,
Rashad Evans
Rashad Evans
Rashad Anton Evans is an American mixed martial artist from Niagara Falls, New York, currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Evans won the heavyweight division of The Ultimate Fighter 2. Evans lost the UFC Light Heavyweight...
,
Keith Jardine
Keith Jardine
Keith Hector Jardine is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division and is best known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
,
Houston Alexander
Houston Alexander
Houston Alexander is an American professional mixed martial artist, who fights as a light heavyweight and heavyweight. He also works as a DJ in North Omaha, Nebraska...
,
Kendall Grove
Kendall Grove
Kendall Kekoa Grove is an American mixed martial artist. He was the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 3 on Spike TV.- Early life :...
, and
Miguel Angel Torres
Miguel Torres (fighter)
Miguel Angel Torres is an American mixed martial artist who fights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization. He is a former WEC Bantamweight champion. Prior to fighting with the WEC, Torres also held the bantamweight title for the US Shooto organization, as well as for the Ironheart Crown...
(WEC Packaging)
Series 1:
Chuck Liddell
Chuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
,
Anderson Silva
Anderson Silva
Anderson da Silva is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He is the current UFC Middleweight Champion and the promotion's longest reigning champion. With 14 consecutive wins, Silva holds the longest winning streak and title defense streak in UFC history...
,
Forrest Griffin
Forrest Griffin
Forrest Griffin is an American mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC light heavyweight champion....
,
Michael Bisping
Michael Bisping
Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping is an English mixed martial artist born in Cyprus but living in Clitheroe, Lancashire. He currently fights as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is the former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion, former Cage Rage light...
,
Evan Tanner
Evan Tanner
Evan Loyd Tanner was an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. He was a former UFC Middleweight and USWF Heavyweight champion with a professional record of 32 wins and 8 losses...
(Legends Packaging),
Kevin Randleman
Kevin Randleman
Kevin Christopher Randleman is a retired American mixed martial arts fighter and a former UFC heavyweight champion. Randleman's background is in Collegiate wrestling. Wrestling at 177 pounds, Randleman was a two time Division I NCAA Champion for The Ohio State University...
(PRIDE Packaging),
Cheick Kongo
Cheick Kongo
Cheick Guillaume Ouedraogo , more commonly known as Cheick Kongo, is a professional French heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer currently fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
, and
Mike Swick
Mike Swick
Mike Swick is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship as a welterweight....
Series 2:
Nate Marquardt,
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira is a Brazilian mixed martial artist known for his technical mastery of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is a former UFCInterim Heavyweight Champion...
,
Mike Thomas Brown (WEC Packaging),
Bas Rutten
Bas Rutten
Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten is a retired Dutch mixed martial artist, Karate and Taekwondo blackbelt, and kickboxer. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak...
(Unreleased in this series, moved to series 6),
Georges St-Pierre (Unreleased in this series, moved to series 6),
Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Carvalho Machida is a Japanese-Brazilian mixed martial artist from Belém, Brazil who fights as a light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
(Unreleased in this series, moved to series 5),
Quinton Jackson
Quinton Jackson
Quinton Ramone Jackson ;, also known as Rampage Jackson, is an American mixed martial artist and actor. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Jackson rose to prominence in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships where he was noted for his powerful body slams including a knockout victory over...
(Unreleased in this series, moved to series 8), and
Thiago Alves
Thiago Alves
Thiago Alves d'Araujo is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He started training in Muay Thai when he was 15 and mixed martial arts at 17. He is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has been described as a "Muay Thai wrecking machine". As of July 2011, He is currently ranked the #10 welterweight...
(Unreleased in this series, moved to series 6)
Series 3:
Chuck Liddell
Chuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
(Legends Packaging),
Karo Parisyan
Karo Parisyan
Karapet Parisyan is an Armenian-American mixed martial artist. From his days as a UFC mainstay Karo holds notable wins over Ryo Chonan, Shonie Carter, Drew Fickett, Matt Serra, Nick Thompson, Chris Lytle, Nick Diaz and Antonio McKee.- Early life:...
,
B.J. Penn,
Jon Fitch
Jon Fitch
Jonathan Parker Fitch is an American mixed martial artist. He is currently ranked as the No. 2 welterweight in the world by Sherdog, as well as many other publications.-Background:...
,
Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman is an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, former NCAA collegiate wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. In MMA, he was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion, and the Pride Fighting...
(Legends Packaging),
Thiago Silva
Thiago Silva
Thiago Anderson Ramos da Silva is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who got his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Jorge Patino. Silva currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championships...
, and
Mauricio Rua
Mauricio Rua
Maurício Milani Rua is a Brazilian mixed martial artist fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion...
(PRIDE Packaging)
Series 4:
Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei César da Silva , nicknamed "The Axe Murderer", is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who has competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American based Ultimate Fighting Championship . Silva is known for his aggressive fighting style with the majority of his fights ending in...
,
Sean Sherk
Sean Sherk
Sean Keith Sherk is an American mixed martial arts fighter currently fighting for the UFC. He currently holds a professional mixed martial arts record of thirty-six wins, four losses and one draw. Sherk has fought in both the UFC and Pride FC, and is a former UFC Lightweight Champion...
,
Rich Franklin
Rich Franklin
Rich Jay Franklin II is an American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion.-Background:...
,
Matt Hughes
Matt Hughes (fighter)
Matthew Allen Hughes is an American mixed martial artist, UFC Hall of Famer, and former two-time UFC Welterweight Champion. Hughes put together two separate six-fight winning streaks in the UFC, won the welterweight title on two occasions, defended the belt a record seven times, and holds the...
,
Kimbo Slice
Kimbo Slice
Kevin Ferguson , better known as Kimbo Slice, is a Bahamian-American boxer, mixed martial artist and occasional actor...
,
Jamie Varner
Jamie Varner
James Christopher Varner is a mixed martial artist who fought for World Extreme Cagefighting. He is a former WEC Lightweight champion.-Ultimate Fighting Championship:...
(WEC Packaging),
Don Frye
Don Frye
Donald Frye is a retired American mixed martial artist, actor, and professional wrestler. Frye rose to fame fighting in early Ultimate Fighting Championship events, winning the UFC 8 and Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournaments...
(Legends Packaging), and
Andrei Arlovski
Andrei Arlovski
Andrei Valeryevich Arlovski is a Belarusian kickboxer, mixed martial artist and a former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion.-Biography:...
(Unreleased in this series, later released in series 7)
Series 5:
Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Carvalho Machida is a Japanese-Brazilian mixed martial artist from Belém, Brazil who fights as a light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
(1 of 100 inserts were also released randomly and contained a special die casted version of the UFC belt),
Quinton Jackson
Quinton Jackson
Quinton Ramone Jackson ;, also known as Rampage Jackson, is an American mixed martial artist and actor. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Jackson rose to prominence in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships where he was noted for his powerful body slams including a knockout victory over...
(PRIDE Packaging),
Matt Hamill
Matt Hamill
Matthew S. Hamill is a retired American wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is a three-time NCAA Division III National Champion in wrestling while attending the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York...
,
Dan Severn
Dan Severn
Daniel DeWayne Severn is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, notable for his success in the early years of Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments. Severn has fought and wrestled for many mixed martial arts and professional wrestling promotions, including King of the...
(Legends),
Kenny Florian
Kenny Florian
Kenneth Alan Florian is a Peruvian-American mixed martial artist who competes as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He has a background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai, and is known for his cerebral approach to the sport based on his meticulous game plans and...
,
Matt Serra
Matt Serra
Matthew John Serra is an American mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion and an ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship silver medalist. He began practicing martial arts at an early age, first studying kung fu...
, and
Stephan Bonnar
Stephan Bonnar
Stephan Patrick Bonnar is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes for the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
Series 6:
Thiago Alves
Thiago Alves
Thiago Alves d'Araujo is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He started training in Muay Thai when he was 15 and mixed martial arts at 17. He is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has been described as a "Muay Thai wrecking machine". As of July 2011, He is currently ranked the #10 welterweight...
,
Randy Couture
Randy Couture
Randy Duane Couture is a retired American mixed martial artist, Greco-Roman wrestler, actor, a three-time former heavyweight champion, two-time former light-heavyweight champion, former interim light heavyweight champion and UFC 13 tournament winner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
(Unreleased, was originally supposed to be a 1 of 100 inserts that was to be released randomly and contain a special die casted version of the UFC belt),
Georges St-Pierre,
Clay Guida
Clay Guida
Clayton Charles Guida is an American mixed martial artist and currently fighting in the UFC as a lightweight. Guida was the first Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and held the title until being defeated by Gilbert Melendez at Strikeforce: Revenge...
,
Frank Mir
Frank Mir
Francisco Santos Miranda is an American mixed martial artist, as well as a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kenpō Karate, who competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and a former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion...
,
Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
,
Jens Pulver
Jens Pulver
Jens Johnnie Pulver is an American mixed martial artist . He was the first Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion and was a coach on the The Ultimate Fighter 5 reality show, which aired on Spike TV. He was formerly signed as a featherweight with World Extreme Cagefighting , which is...
(WEC Packaging), and
Bas Rutten
Bas Rutten
Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten is a retired Dutch mixed martial artist, Karate and Taekwondo blackbelt, and kickboxer. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak...
(Legends)
Series 7 (If bought at Target, each of them, except for Nogueira, also came with a replica UFC event mini-poster):
B.J. Penn (Legends Packaging),
Anderson Silva
Anderson Silva
Anderson da Silva is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He is the current UFC Middleweight Champion and the promotion's longest reigning champion. With 14 consecutive wins, Silva holds the longest winning streak and title defense streak in UFC history...
,
Andrei Arlovski
Andrei Arlovski
Andrei Valeryevich Arlovski is a Belarusian kickboxer, mixed martial artist and a former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion.-Biography:...
,
Forrest Griffin
Forrest Griffin
Forrest Griffin is an American mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC light heavyweight champion....
(Legends Packaging),
Diego Sanchez
Diego Sánchez
Diego J. Sanchez is an American mixed martial artist of Mexican descent, with a background in wrestling and Gaidojutsu, system of submission wrestling developed by his longtime trainer Greg Jackson...
, and
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira is a Brazilian mixed martial artist known for his technical mastery of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is a former UFCInterim Heavyweight Champion...
(PRIDE Packaging, 1 of 100 inserts were also released randomly and contained a special die casted version of the PRIDE belt)
Series 8:
Matt Hughes
Matt Hughes (fighter)
Matthew Allen Hughes is an American mixed martial artist, UFC Hall of Famer, and former two-time UFC Welterweight Champion. Hughes put together two separate six-fight winning streaks in the UFC, won the welterweight title on two occasions, defended the belt a record seven times, and holds the...
(Legends Packaging),
Chuck Liddell
Chuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
(PRIDE Packaging),
Frankie Edgar (1 of 100 inserts were also released randomly and contained a special die casted version of the UFC belt),
Nate Diaz, and
Quinton Jackson
Quinton Jackson
Quinton Ramone Jackson ;, also known as Rampage Jackson, is an American mixed martial artist and actor. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Jackson rose to prominence in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships where he was noted for his powerful body slams including a knockout victory over...
Jakks Pacific UFC Deluxe 2 Packs Figures Lineups:
Series 1:
Chuck Liddell vs Wanderlei Silva
Frank Mir vs Brock Lesnar
Anderson Silva vs Rich Franklin
Series 2:
Lyoto Machida vs Shogun Rua
Georges St-Pierre vs Matt Hughes
Randy Couture vs Chuck Liddell (Was supposed to be canceled due to copyright issues, however only 1,000 packs managed to make it to several K-Mart stores)
Series 3:
Chuck Liddell vs Tito Ortiz
B.J. Penn vs Kenny Florian
Dan Severn vs Royce Gracie (Legends Packaging)
Expos Exclusives:
Georges St-Pierre (Boston Expo 2010, 1 of 500)
Ringside Collectibles Internet Exclusives:
Forrest Griffin vs Stephan Bonnar: The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 Final
Dana White
Quinton Rampage Jackson 1 of 1000
DVD
Every pay-per-view UFC event has been released onto DVD. UFC 23 through UFC 29 were not released in the US on home video or DVD by SEG. They have since been released onto boxsets which feature around 10 events each set, in chronological order.Xbox Live
UFC on Xbox Live will launch on December 20, 2011, being delayed from it's December 1 launch, possibly due to the December 6 release of the next firmware update. Xbox Live subscribers will be able to view pay-per-view events in high definition (720p), access a library of live and on-demand video content, connect with friends to predict fight results and have the ability to compare fighter statistics and records. Other functions are also available.See also
- List of UFC champions
- List of UFC events
- List of current UFC fighters
- List of UFC bonus award recipients
- List of current mixed martial arts champions