The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company and the largest in the world.[3] It hosts most of the top-ranked fighters [4] and produces numerous events worldwide.[5] The UFC has seven weight-divisions and enforces the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.[6] Dana White serves as the president of the UFC; Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta control its parent company, Zuffa, LLC.[7][8][9]
Inspired by vale tudo tournaments in Brazil,[10] the UFC and the sport of MMA have roots in the ancient Olympic combat sport of Pankration in 648 BC.[11] 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[12] the Middle East,[13] Asia[14] and new markets within the United States, the UFC as of 2011 has gained in popularity, along with greater mainstream-media coverage. As of 2001 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 [15] in the U.S., on ESPN in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as in 150 countries and 22 different languages worldwide.[16]
Art Davie 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.[17] 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.[18]
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.[19] 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.[17] SEG devised the name for the show as The Ultimate Fighting Championship.[20]
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.[21] 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 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?"[22] 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.[23] Royce Gracie's submission skills proved the most effective in the inaugural tournament, earning him the first ever UFC tournament championship.[24]
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."[25]
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 (23 cm) height and 400 pounds (180 kg) weight disadvantage.[26] 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 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.
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, headbutting, 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;[27] 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.
The violent nature of the burgeoning sport quickly drew the attention of the U.S. authorities.[28]
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.[29]
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.[30] 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.[31]
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".[32]
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.
After the long battle to secure sanctioning, SEG stood on the brink of bankruptcy when Station Casinos 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.'"[33]
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.
The UFC slowly, but steadily, rose in popularity after the Zuffa purchase, due partly to greater advertising,[34] corporate sponsorship, the return to cable pay-per-view and subsequent home video and DVD 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.[35] 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.[36] 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.[37] 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.[37] 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.[38] 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.
| “ | "When that show (UFC 40) happened, I honestly felt like it was going to make it. Throughout the years, things were happening, and everything always looked bleak. It always looked like, this is it, this is going to be the last time. This is going to be the last year. But, when I was standing in the Octagon at UFC 40, I remember standing there before the Ortiz/Shamrock fight and looking around. The energy of that fight, it was phenomenal, and it was the first time I honestly said, it’s going to make it." -"Big" John McCarthy[39] | ” |
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.[40] 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.
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 television series, American Casino,[41] 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.[40]
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.[42]
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.[43]
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.”[44]
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.[45]
With increased visibility, the UFC's pay-per-view buy numbers exploded. UFC 52, 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,[46] 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.[47] The organization hit a milestone with UFC 66, pitting Ortiz in a rematch against Liddell with over 1 million buys.[48]
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,[49] 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[50] 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.[51] The WEC showcased lighter weight classes in MMA, whereas the UFC featured heavier weight classes.[52] 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.[53] 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.[54]
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.[55]
UFC programming is now shown in 130 countries worldwide,[16] 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.[56] 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.[57][58]
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.[59]
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.[60][61]
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."[60]
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[62] 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.[63] 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).[64]
In 2008, the UFC announced two major exclusive sponsorship deals with Harley-Davidson[65] and Anheuser-Busch InBev,[66] 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.[67]
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.
Popularity took another major surge in 2009 with UFC 100 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[68] 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.[69] 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.[70]
The buzz from UFC 100 was hampered significantly in the second half of 2009 after a rash of injuries and other health-related issues [71][72]—including Brock Lesnar's life-threatening bout with diverticulitis [73]—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.[74] The event scored over 1 million pay per view buys[75] 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.[76] Lesnar survived an early barrage of Carwin's punches in a contest that was nearly stopped by referee Josh Rosenthal.[77] 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[78][79][80] 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.[81]
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,[82][83] which coincided with a two-day UFC Fan Expo at the Direct Energy Centre.[84][85] The event sold out 55,000 tickets for gate revenues exceeding $11 million,[86] shattering previous MMA attendance and gate records in North America.[86]
Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, purchased World Extreme Cagefighting in late 2006 and held the first WEC event under new ownership on January 20, 2007.[87] Soon thereafter the WEC made its home on the Versus Network with its first event debuting on Versus in June 2007.[88]
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.[89]
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.”[90]
On March 12, 2011, UFC president Dana White 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.[91]
"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.[92] 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.[93]
On August 18, 2011, The Ultimate Fighting Championship and Fox announced a major 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 fights a year on Friday night on cable network FX, 24 events following The Ultimate Fighter reality show and six separate Fight Night events.
The first live event on Fox aired November 12 and was dubbed UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos, where (in the main event) Junior dos Santos (the challenger, who had avenged all his losses) dethroned then-undefeated UFC Heavyweight Champion: Cain Velasquez by knock-out in just over a minute to make Velasquez taste defeat for the first time in his career, and win the UFC Heavyweight Championship in what was (along with Cain Velasquez vs. Brock Lesnar UFC 121) one of the biggest fights in UFC heavyweight history. 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, the 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).” [94]
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 current rules for the Ultimate Fighting Championship were originally established by the New Jersey Athletic Control Board.[95] 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.
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 138 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.
The UFC currently uses seven weight classes:
| Weight class name | Upper limit | |
|---|---|---|
| in pounds (lb) | in kilograms (kg) | |
| Bantamweight | 135 | 61.2 |
| Featherweight | 145 | 65.8 |
| Lightweight | 155 | 70.3 |
| Welterweight | 170 | 77.1 |
| Middleweight | 185 | 83.9 |
| Light Heavyweight | 205 | 93.0 |
| 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 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".[97]
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 5 ft 6 in to 5 ft 8 in 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.[98] The mat, painted with sponsorship logos and art, is replaced for each event.
All competitors must fight in approved shorts, without shoes. Shirts, gis 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.
Matches usually end via:
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.
The ten-point must system 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.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission currently lists the following as fouls:[99]
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.[100]
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.
Comedian and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt[104] Joe Rogan 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.[105] Arianny Celeste, Brittney Palmer[106] and Chandella Powell are Octagon girls.[107] 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.[108] Matches are made by matchmaker, and VP of Talent Relations, Joe Silva.[109] 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.[110][111]
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.[112] Contracted amounts generally have to be declared to the State Athletic commission however the UFC also pays undisclosed locker-room bonuses to fighters.[113]
| 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) | 0 |
| Light Heavyweight | 205 lb (93.0 kg; 14.6 st) |  Jon Jones |
March 19, 2011 (UFC 128) | 1 |
| Middleweight | 185 lb (83.9 kg; 13.2 st) | Anderson Silva |
October 14, 2006 (UFC 64) | 9 |
| Welterweight | 170 lb (77.1 kg; 12.1 st) |  Georges St-Pierre |
April 19, 2008 (UFC 83) | 6 |
| Lightweight | 155 lb (70.3 kg; 11.1 st) | Frankie Edgar |
April 10, 2010 (UFC 112) | 3 |
| Featherweight | 145 lb (65.8 kg; 10.4 st) | José Aldo |
November 20, 2010 (UFC 123) | 2 |
| Bantamweight | 135 lb (61.2 kg; 9.6 st) | Dominick Cruz |
December 16, 2010 (WEC 53) | 2 |
Inductees:
| Royce Gracie |November 21, 2003 (UFC 45)-first fighter to introduce Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu into MMA
| Ken Shamrock |November 21, 2003 (UFC 45)-first fighter to blend all fighting styles together into MMA and making the UFC evolve the way it has
| Dan Severn |(UFC 50)-first world-class athlete to enter the UFC
| Mark Coleman |-innovator of wrestling and "ground-and-pound"
| Randy Couture |-first multi-time champion in UFC history and 6-time UFC champion overall
| Chuck Liddell |-first fighter to become known on his return
| Matt Hughes |May 29, 2010 (UFC 114)-most wins in the UFC, one of the only two fighters to beat Georges St-Pierre
| Charles "Mask" Lewis Jr. |-tribute to his untimely death and was an innovator to MMA promoters everywhere
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.[114] UFC Undisputed 2009 became the first game released under this agreement on May 19, 2009.
Round 5 The first UFC action figure collectibles were released by Round 5 Corporation in May 2008.[115] 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. As of 2009 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, inlcuding 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.[116] [117] [118]
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) [119]
