Ultimate Fight Night Tickets

About the UFC

The UFC, or Ultimate Fighting Championship was developed by advertising executive Art Davie in conjunction with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master Rorion Gracie. Davie proposed a tournament where fighters from different disciplines would match up in a no-holds-barred style event. The early UFC also tossed out weight classes, so that two fighters of vastly different sizes and weights might end up fighting together. One example of this was at UCF 3 where 200 lb. Tae Kwon Do and karate black belt Keith Hackney faced 616 lb. sumo wrestler Emmanuel Yarborough. According to Sherdog, Hackney won that match. In the intervening years, weight classes have been imposed. The two men partnered with television producer Semaphore Entertainment Group in order to get the event on air as a pay-per-view event. The first UFC event attracted over 86,000 viewers.

As the UFC's popularity rose so did the scrutiny of it. In particular, Arizona Senator John McCain, among others, launched a campaign to get the sport banned after being sent a tape of early matches and criticizing what he saw as too violent of a sport. The UFC found itself dropped from most major pay-per-view providers and banned in a number of states. Its viewership dwindled, and then-parent company SEG could not secure video distribution deals for several of the tournaments. However, event organizers worked with state athletic commissions, such as those in New Jersey and Nevada, to impose more rules on the championship. According to Complete Martial Arts, some of the previously more violent techniques were banned, weight classes were created, and time limits were imposed.

While the new rules decreased scrutiny they did not increase viewership. To that extent, a concerted effort to get the word about the UFC out was employed. Two television series, a reality competition show called The Ultimate Fighter, and a program showcasing past tournaments, UFC Unleashed, were created, according to the official UFC website and CNN Money. With these programs out in the market, pay-per-view viewership of tournaments started to grow rapidly. Television purchases eventually grew to a over one million for UFC 66, and UFC ticket purchases also rose. The UFC can now be viewed in countries all over the world, has re-emerged into most pay-per-view markets, and is enjoying renewed prosperity.

UFC - Resources

• Official UFC Website
• Official UFC YouTube Channel
• The UFC at Spike TV
• FightStalker
• UFC Betting

UFC Trivia

• The UFC has been portrayed in an episode of the television series Friends and the 1995 film Vituosity.
• Despite its "no holds barred" billing, the UFC did originally have a few rules and several techniques which were discouraged, such as eye gouging and fish-hooking, according to Wikipedia.
• The stage of UFC matches is an eight-sided cage known appropriately as the Octagon.

Browse Sports Categories