Information AboutUfc |
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is a U.S. -based Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organization, currently recognized as the major MMA promotion in North America . The UFC is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada and is owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC . The UFC was started as a tournament to find the world's best fighters irrespective of their style, and was based upon Brazilian Vale Tudo fighting. Although there was a limited number of rules, the UFC was initially known as ''no holds barred'' fighting and contests were often violent and brutal. Early UFC fights were less sport than spectacle, which led to accusations of brutality and "human cockfighting" by opponents. Political pressures eventually led the UFC into the underground, as pay-per-view providers nixed UFC programming, nearly extinguishing the UFC's public visibility. As political pressure mounted, the UFC reformed itself, slowly embracing stricter rules, becoming sanctioned by athletic commissions, and marketing itself as a legitimate sporting event. Dropping the ''no holds barred'' label and carrying the banner of ''mixed martial arts,'' the UFC has emerged from its political isolation to become more socially acceptable, regaining its position in pay-per-view television. With a cable television deal and legalization of MMA in California, a hotbed for MMA fandom, the UFC is currently undergoing a remarkable surge in popularity, along with heightened media coverage. UFC programming can now be seen on Spike TV in the United States , as well as in 35 other countries worldwide without a satellite dish and all countries worldwide with a satellite dish. HISTORY Origins The concept for a Tournament to discover the world's best fighting style was the brainchild of Art Davie , a Southern California based advertising executive. Friend, Tad, ''Getting Medieval'', New York Magazine, February 19, 1993, page 43. Davie met Rorion Gracie in 1991 while researching martial arts for a marketing client. Gracie operated a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school in Torrance, California and the Gracie Family had a long history of Vale-tudo matches – a precursor of mixed martial arts – in Brazil. Davie became Gracie's student. In 1992, inspired by the ''Gracies in Action'' video series produced by the Gracies featuring various martial arts masters being defeated using Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, Davie proposed an eight-man, single-elimination tournament with a working title of ''War of the Worlds'' to Rorion Gracie and with the intent to develop the tournament into a television franchise. Gentry III, Clyde, ''No Holds Barred: Evolution'', Archon Publishing, 2001, 1st Edition, ISBN 0-9711479-0-6, pages 24-29. In in Denver, Colorado on November 12 , 1993 . Davie functioned as the show's booker and matchmaker.Newport, John Paul, ''Blood Sport'', Details, March 1995, pages 70-72. The television broadcast featured two Kickboxers , Patrick Smith and Kevin Rosier; a Savate fighter, Gerard Gordeau ; a Karate expert, Zane Frazier; a Shootfighter , Ken Shamrock ; a sumo wrestler, Teila Tuli ; a professional Boxer , Art Jimmerson ; and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Royce Gracie —Rorion's younger brother who was hand-picked by Rorion himself to represent his family. The show was an instant success, drawing 86,592 television subscribers on pay-per-view to witness Royce Gracie take the first UFC crown. 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. A core proposition for the show was to find an answer for sports fans: "Can a wrestler beat a boxer?"Willoughby, David P., ''The Super Athletes'', A.S. Barnes & Co., Inc., 1970, ISBN 0-498-06651-7, page 380. As was the case with most martial arts at the time, fighters were typically skilled in just one discipline (e.g., Boxing , Judo , or Jujutsu ) and had little experience against opponents with different skills. Some competitors were also rumored to have inflated their credentials to legitimize their presence. Kimo Leopoldo , for example, was touted in '' UFC 3 '' as a "third degree Black Belt " in Taekwondo . Kimo's fighting is best described as freestyle and he holds no such rank.Gentry, Clyde, ''No Holds Barred: Ultimate Fighting and the Martial Arts Revolution'', (Milo Books: Preston, 2005), p.73 180-lb. fighter Royce Gracie Submits 190-lb. Jason Delucia in UFC 2 , 1994.1]] With no weight classes, fighters often faced significantly larger or taller opponents. For example, 2006 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 Royce Gracie winning three of the first four UFC events, the UFC quickly proved that size does not always determine outcome. Although ''"There are no rules!"'' was the tagline, the term was not strictly true; the UFC operated with limited rules. There was no biting, no eye gouging, and techniques such as hair pulling, Headbutt s and Groin Strikes were frowned upon, but allowed. In fact, in a '' UFC 4 '' qualifying match, two 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 Joe Son while on the ground. UFC was similarly characterized, especially in the early days, as an extremely violent sport, as evidenced by a disclaimer in the beginning of the '' UFC 5 '' broadcast which warned audiences of the violent nature of the event. Controversy and reform The UFC became a hit on pay-per-view and home video almost immediately due to its originality, realism, and wide press coverage, although not all of it favorable. The nature of the burgeoning sport quickly drew the attention of the authorities and UFC events were banned in a number of American states. Senator PPV, though its audience was minuscule compared to the larger cable pay-per-view platforms of the era. In response to the criticism, the UFC increased its cooperation with '', the UFC gradually re-branded itself as a sport rather than a spectacle. As the UFC continued to work with state athletic commissions, events were held 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 '' in a period known by some fans as the "Dark Ages" of the UFC. With other mixed martial arts promotions working towards U.S. sanctioning, the International Fighting Championships 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".Trembow, Ivan. New Jersey Commission Corrects Mainstream UFC Stories . Ivan's Blog. A spokeswoman for McCain would later state "he's very glad to see the changes" in the sport's safety rules. "Opinions vary on rising popularity of mixed martial arts" , Palm Beach Post, June 12, 2007. Quote attributed to the first week of June 2007. Zuffa purchase After the long battle to get sanctioned, and on the brink of bankruptcy, SEG was approached by 2006 Shortly thereafter, at '' UFC 33 '', the UFC returned to pay-per-view cable television. The UFC steadily, but slowly, rose in popularity after the Zuffa purchase, due partly to effective advertising, corporate sponsorship, the return of cable pay-per-view, and subsequent home video and 2006 Mainstream emergence After being featured in a Reality Television series, American Casino , and seeing how well the series worked as a promotion vehicle, the Fertitta brothers decided that the UFC should have their own reality series. Their idea, The Ultimate Fighter – a reality television show not unlike '' Survivor '', but featuring up-and-coming MMA fighters in competition, with fighters eliminated from competition via exhibition mixed martial arts matches – was pitched to several networks, each one rejecting the idea outright. It was not until they approached Spike TV , with an offer to pay for the $10 million production costs themselves, did they find an outlet. In January 2005, Spike TV launched the series in the timeslot following WWE Raw , and the show became an instant success. A second season of The Ultimate Fighter launched in August 2005, and two more seasons appeared in 2006. Spike TV and the UFC announced plans for additional seasons airing in 2007 and 2008. UFC and Spike TV Announce Continued Partnership . UFC.com. March 22, 2006. broadcasting as Color Commentator at UFC Fight Night 7 ]] Following the success of The Ultimate Fighter, Spike TV also picked up UFC Unleashed , an hour-long weekly show featuring selected fights from previous fight cards. Spike TV also signed on to broadcast live ''UFC Fight Night'', a series of fight events debuting in August 2005; Countdown specials to promote upcoming UFC pay-per-view cards, and several other series and specials featuring and promoting the UFC and its fighters. With the increased visibility, UFC's pay-per-view buy numbers exploded. '' UFC 52 '', the first event after the completion of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, drew a pay-per-view audience of 280,000, nearly double their 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 Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell 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 '', 775,000 buys for '' UFC 61 '' which featured the second fight between Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz , the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter 3 . '' UFC 66 '', featuring Tito Ortiz facing Chuck Liddell in their highly anticipated rematch, garnered 1,050,000 buy rates, the current PPV buy rate record for the UFC and MMA in general. The UFC broke the pay-per-view industry's all-time records for a single year of business, generating over $222,766,000 in revenue during 2006, surpassing WWE and boxing. The UFC grossed more revenue in 2006 on PPV than any promotion in history. In March 2006, the UFC announced the hiring of Marc Ratner , former Executive Director of the Nevada Athletic Commission , as Vice President. Ratner, once an ally of Senator McCain's campaign against mixed martial arts, was credited as one of the people responsible for the emergence of sanctioned mixed martial arts in the United States . Ratner is expected to help raise the UFC's profile in the media and to help legalize mixed martial arts in jurisdictions inside and outside the United States that do not sanction mixed martial arts bouts. The UFC continues its rapid rise from being "an almost unknown promotion" in 2005, to gracing the covers of Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine in May 2007.3 UFC programming is now shown in 36 countries worldwide,4 and the UFC plans to continue expanding internationally, running shows regularly in Canada and the United Kingdom, with an office established in the UK aimed to expand the European UFC audience.Pishna, Ken. UFC Announced European Expansion . MMAWeekly.com. August 14, 2006. Low fighter payouts for some fighters have been a common criticism of the UFC, causing some to call the promotion "U Fight for Cheap."5 On March 27 2007 The UFC and PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride) (UFC's main competitor) announced an agreement where the majority owners of the UFC, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, would purchase the PRIDE organization. While both organizations will be otherwise separately run, the two organizations will be aligned together and plan to co-promote supercards featuring champions and top contenders from both organizations. RULES The current rules for the Ultimate Fighting Championship were originally established by the New Jersey Athletic Control Board. Mixed Martial Arts Unified Rules of Conduct, Additional Mixed Martial Arts Rules , New Jersey Athletic Control Board. Retrieved April 3 2006 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 Every round in UFC competition is five minutes in duration. Title matches have five rounds, and non-title matches have three rounds. There is a one minute rest period between rounds. Weight divisions See Also: Mixed martial arts weight classes The UFC currently uses five weight classes:
In addition, there are four other weight classes specified in the Unified Rules which the UFC does not currently utilize: Flyweight (under 125 lb, 57 kg), Bantamweight (126 to 135 lb, 61 kg), Featherweight (136 to 145 lb, 66 kg), and Super Heavyweight ( above 265 lb, 120 kg). The Bantamweight and Featherweight classes are used in another promotion wholly owned by UFC, World Extreme Cagefighting . Cage The UFC uses an octagonal caged enclosure, "The Octagon", to stage bouts. Originally, SEG had trademarked The Octagon and prevented other mixed martial arts promotions from using the same type of cage, but in 2001, Zuffa gave their permission for other promotions to use octagonal cages (whilst reserving use of the name "Octagon"). Their rationale was that the young sport needed uniformity in order to continue to win official sanctioning.Gentry, Clyde, ''No Holds Barred: Ultimate Fighting and the Martial Arts Revolution'', (Milo Books: Preston, 2005), p.208 The cage is composed of an eight-sided structure, the walls consisting of metal chain-link fencing coated with black vinyl, with a diameter of 11.5 m (38 ft), allowing 9 m (30 ft) of space from point to point. The fence is 1.83 m (6 ft) high. The cage sits on top of a platform, raising it 1.2 m (4 ft) 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. UFC 62: Streaming en Espanol . ''The Boston Herald''. July 30 2006 . Retrieved August 4 2006 . The mat, painted with sponsorship logos and art, is replaced for each event. Attire All competitors must fight in approved shorts, without shoes or any other sort of foot padding. Shirts, Gis or long pants (including gi pants) are not allowed. Fighters must use approved light gloves (110 to 170 g / 4 to 6 ounces) that allow fingers to grab. These gloves enable fighters to use tremendous punching power with less risk of an injured or broken hand, while providing capability in grabbing and grappling. 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 tight wrestling suits. Multi-time tournament champion Royce Gracie wore a Jujutsugi in all his early appearances in UFC. Match outcome Matches usually end via:
A fight can also end in a technical decision, '''technical draw''', '''disqualification''', '''forfeit''' or '''no contest'''. Judging criteria 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 less. If the round is even, both fighters receive ten points. In New Jersey, the fewest points a fighter can receive is 7, and in other states by custom no fighter receives less than 8. Fouls The Nevada State Athletic Commission currently lists the following as fouls: NSAC Regulations: Chapter 467 - Unarmed Combat . Nevada State Athletic Commission. Retrieved April 3 2006 # Butting with the head. # Eye Gouging of any kind. #Biting. #Hair pulling. # Fish Hooking . # Groin Attack s of any kind. #Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent. (see Gouging ) # Small Joint Manipulation . #Striking to the spine or the back of the head. (see Rabbit Punch ) #Striking downward using the point of the elbow. (see Elbow (strike) ) #Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea. #Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh. #Grabbing the Clavicle . # Kicking the head of a grounded opponent. # Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent. # Stomping a grounded opponent. # Kicking to the kidney with the heel. #Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck. (see Piledriver ) # Throwing 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. #Using a foreign object in the ring to your advantage. 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. MMA rules explained. Nevada State Athletic Commission. Retrieved June 30 2006 . Match conduct
Evolution of the UFC rules
The Ultimate Fighter Fights that occur on The Ultimate Fighter are technically 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. For example, in seasons one and three, 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 semi-final matches 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. CURRENT CHAMPIONS See Also: List of UFC champions NOTABLE UFC FIGHTERS UFC Hall of Fame inductees (in the order inducted)
Accomplished UFC fighters The following fighters have won a tournament, championship title, or an ''Ultimate Fighter'' tournament. Some have competed in different weight classes. Heavyweights 206 to 265 lb (120 kg)
Light Heavyweights 186 to 205 lb (93 kg)
Middleweights 171 to 185 lb (84 kg)
Welterweights 156 to 170 lb (77 kg)
Lightweights 146 to 155 lb (70 kg)
IN OTHER MEDIA Music
Video games In January 2007, Zuffa and videogame 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 PC and handheld titles. Also included are "certain wireless rights" which were not detailed. The licensing agreement is to expire in 2011 .6 As announced by a trailer on July 12, 2007 at E3 , the next-gen UFC game, entitled UFC 2009 is currently in progress.http://www.e3expo.com/ SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS |
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