So here are 10 interesting facts you may not know about the UFC.
1. Original promoters of the Ultimate Fighting Championship wanted to include such sensational side shows as alligator moats and electric fences surrounding the ring. UFC Doctors of course warned against them due to the dangers the fighters could face.
2. The UFC was founded by Rorian Gracie and Arthur Davie. It was created to promote the Gracie family’s martial arts school. Before the UFC the Gracie’s were known for inviting fighters of any style to compete against a member of the family or one of their students to prove that Gracie jiu-jitsu reigned supreme.
3. Originally Semaphore Entertainment Group, the company that purchased the UFC, was only going to hold one UFC event. The event was so successful they immediately began to plan more tournaments. Good thing it was so successful.
4. With the exception of UFC 9, every UFC up until UFC 18 used the tournament style format. UFC 23 also used this format. Eight fighters would compete to start out the tournament. The four winners would then compete in semi-final matches. The two semi-final winners would compete for the championship belt. If a fighter could not continue at any point an alternate was brought in to take his place.
5. Early on the UFC would hold events in states without athletic commissions to avoid regulations. In the beginning there were no judges either. When judges were added eventually there were no clear parameters on how to judge the fight.
6. For the first couple UFC events, the referees had very little power. They could not even stop a fight. There only purpose was to make sure that the few rules that existed were enforced. The only rules at that time were no biting, fish hooking, eye gouging or throat strikes. Fortunately after the first few events refs were allowed to stop fights.
7. In 2000 SEG and the UFC almost went under. The face that SEG marketed the sport as brutal and bloody almost led to the UFC’s demise. Luckily an amateur boxer and promoter named Dana White convinced the Fertitta brothers to buy the failing organization. The UFC has since flourished to unbelievable heights.
8. Dana White managed Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz in the early days of the UFC. He also owned three gyms in the Las Vegas area.
9. After many years of “bad blood” Dana White and Tito Ortiz were going to settle things in the ring with a 3 round boxing match on March 24, 2007. Surprise, surprise the fight never happened as Tito Ortiz was a no show at the weigh ins.
10. In 2006 the UFC generated $222,766,000 in revenue, braking the PPV industry’s all time record for a single year of sales, surpassing wrestling and boxing. The largest events reached nearly 800,000 viewers.
I bet you didn’t know some of those facts!
If you a fan of The Ultimate Fighter show TUF then make sure you check out ufcultimatefighter.com. UFC Ultimate Fighter for MMA Videos and MMA news.
The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is a reality based TV program on Spike TV based on mixed martial artists (MMA) fighters trying to win the competition and winning a six figured contract with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
The show consists of a bunch of fighters, usually 16 plus fighters living under the roof with no contact with the outside for a few months. All they do is train and fight for the contract.
As you can imagine, having all those fighters living under one rough with nothing to occupy their time with, things tend to get a little crazy in the house which makes for good viewing,. One thing this show has also been able to do is show that the fighters are not barbaric morons. These fighters tend to be well educated people whose choose this profession for the completion and the big money.
The fighters who win a contract at the end of the season receive a large sum of cash for winning plus a contract of approx guaranteed 4 fights afterward, which gives them the potential to make a lot of money. If they win these fights they tend to continue fighting for the UFC making a very good living.
The tenth season of the Ultimate Fighter (TUF) has just finished and the popularity of the show just keeps increasing in popularity. The UFC Ultimate Fighter looks as though it has no bounds, being that the latest season of the show has blown all previous ratings records clean out of the water.
As if the debut episode of the latest season of the show breaking all previous records and pulling in 4.1million viewers wasn’t enough, yesterday’s episode averaged 5.3 million viewers, peaking at a staggering 6.1million during the actual fight between Kimbo Slice and Roy Nelson.
When UFC president Dana White said that the fight between Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson and Roy “Big Country” Nelson was the biggest fight in TUF history, he wasn’t kidding. Only time will tell whether the show can go continue to grow and better itself once more.
The Ultimate Fighter show has been a backbone of the UFC’s huge success over the last few years. The UFC in general is just getting bigger by the day with the organization just booked there first show in Australia in 2011.
If you’re a fan of UFC Ultimate Fighter TUF then check out ufcultimatefighter.com for the MMA news, MMA videos and much much more!
Current WWE executive, and Vice President Shane McMahon, who will leave the company at the beginning of January, is looking into the possibility of buying a financial interest within the UFC, and has cashed out $50 of his $80 million dollars in WWE stock to do so.
UFC President Dana White has always said that he would be willing to let someone take a ‘piece of the pie’ in his billion dollar empire, and while it may seem unorthodox, Shane McMahon would be the perfect partner. It is reported that Shane and the UFC President have already had meetings, and Shane was also present in the crowd at UFC 91.
It is well documented that UFC are now overtaking the WWE in PPV sales, but whereas WWE has had a 10 year head start on the UFC, Shane believes it will never reach the heights that it did in the early’90’s, and the UFC’s merchandise sales are still suffering. This is where McMahon comes in.
He is well known for securing large international business deals, something the UFC has been trying to do for two years, and during the UFC Fight Club last week in Vegas, Dana White declined to discuss anything that was said in the meeting with McMahon, just citing him as “a good friend” and “you never know.”
I know what you are thinking “this sounds a bit weird with the WWE Shane McMahon buying into the UFC” but all in all this could be an excellent peace of business for the UFC. Shane McMachon has a wealth of business knowledge that can only enhance the UFC image worldwide. The only downside is when people think of Shane McMahon they think of the WWE which can’t be good for the UFC. As we all know WWE is completely unreal a bit like a pantomime with good and bad guys. The UFC however is the complete opposite! Will this have a negative effect on the UFC? I personally don’t think so! However if that thought comes to me then I’m sure it will come to other people.
Either way, without Shane McMahon the UFC will continue to grow its numbers worldwide!
If you like the series The Ultimate Fighter TUF then you will want to check out UFC Ultimate Fighter for MMA Videos and MMA News.
Ultimate Fighting Championship or more commonly known as UFC is fast becoming one of the most recognized sports in the world. They show live shows in over 50 countries ranging from the U.S to Australia. The sport is taking off in such a way no one would have expected. It’s amazing to look back just a few years ago to when the UFC was barely known.
So how did this transformation take place? It seems quite impossible! It mostly took off due to Dana White and the majority owners Fertitta brothers backing. Dana White has turned out to be the Messiah of MMA he has almost single handily made MMA as popular as it is today. Did you know that Dana was born in Manchester, Connecticut? White grew up in Las Vegas, Boston and Levant, Maine. White is a fierce Boston Red Sox fan. During his youth, he bounced back and forth between Las Vegas and Maine. He attended college in Boston for two years but did not finish; however, while there he did launch a boxing program for inner-city children.
White has a background as an aerobics instructor. In’92, White established Dana White Enterprises in Las Vegas. He conducted aerobics classes at three gyms in the Las Vegas area and began managing MMA fighters Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.
While working as a manager, White learned that Semaphore Entertainment Group, the parent company of the UFC, was looking for a buyer for the UFC. White contacted childhood friend Lorenzo Fertitta, an executive at Station Casinos, and a former commissioner of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Within a month, Lorenzo and his older brother Frank bought the UFC, with White installed as its president. White currently owns 10% of Zuffa, LLC, the entity the Fertitta brothers created to own and manage the UFC.
One of the best things Dana has done for the UFC is produce the show “TUF” (The Ultimate Fighter) on Spike TV. This show has taken off in a big way! It’s also helped a lot of people understand the sport more. From what fighters go through training wise to see that they’re actually very normal well educated people, not just barbarians as a lot of people thought.
The UFC continues to grow at an alarming rate and with no end in sight, I see this sport being in the top 3 favorites of the American people within 5 years.
Fan of MMA? Then check out this website for free MMA Videos and news. Also if you like UFC Ultimate Fighter TUF then check this out for fight videos and news.
Ultimate Fighting Championship or more commonly known as UFC is fast becoming one of the most recognized sports in the world. They show live shows in over 50 countries ranging from the U.S to Australia. The sport is taking off in such a way no one would have expected. It’s amazing to look back just a few years ago to when the UFC was barely known.
So how did this transformation take place? It seems quite impossible! It mostly took off due to Dana White and the majority owners Fertitta brothers backing. Dana White has turned out to be the Messiah of MMA he has almost single handedly made MMA as popular as it is today. Did you know that Dana was born in Manchester, Connecticut? White grew up in Las Vegas, Boston and Levant, Maine. White is a fierce Boston Red Sox fan. During his youth, he bounced back and forth between Las Vegas and Maine. He attended college in Boston for two years but did not finish; however, while there he did launch a boxing program for inner-city children.
White has a background as an aerobics instructor. In’92, White established Dana White Enterprises in Las Vegas. He conducted aerobics classes at three gyms in the Las Vegas area and began managing MMA fighters Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.
While working as a manager, White learned that Semaphore Entertainment Group, the parent company of the UFC, was looking for a buyer for the UFC. White contacted childhood friend Lorenzo Fertitta, an executive at Station Casinos, and a former commissioner of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Within a month, Lorenzo and his older brother Frank bought the UFC, with White installed as its president. White currently owns 10% of Zuffa, LLC, the entity the Fertitta brothers created to own and manage the UFC.
One of the best things Dana has done for the UFC is produce the show “TUF” (The Ultimate Fighter) on Spike TV. This show has taken off in a big way! It’s also helped a lot of people understand the sport more. From what fighters go through training wise to see that they’re actually very normal well educated people, not just barbarians as a lot of people thought.
The UFC continues to grow at an alarming rate and with no end in sight, I see this sport being in the top 3 favorites of the American people within 5 years.
Check out this site for free MMA Videos and UFC News. Also if you are a fan of TUF UFC Ultimate Fighter then check this site out for fight videos and TUF news.