History Of The Ufc

By Author: Reid Pereira
Total Articles: 7
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In its early days, the Ultimate Fighting Championship was thought of as too violent and unorganized to succeed. Today, it is one of the most popular sports organizations in the United States and is increasingly overtaking boxing as America's favorite one-one-one fighting sport.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship was started by Art Davie, an advertising executive, and Rorion Gracie, a veteran of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. They first met in 1991when Davie was researching martial arts for a marketing client. They wanted to come up with a tournament that featured fighters from a variety of disciplines. The goal was to determine who really was the best fighter in the world.

Davie proposed an idea for an eight-man, single tournament with the name War of the Worlds to Gracie and screenwriter John Milius. Milius agreed to be the event's creative director, and Davie was able to raise capital from 28 investors to start WOW Promotions.

In 1993, WOW Promotions sought television deals with pay-per-view producers from HBO and Showtime. Both networks already had boxing and declined to pick them up. WOW Promotions found ...
... their network in Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG) and they became WOW's partner in May of 1993.

SEG made a few important innovations in dealing with WOW Promotions. The first thing they did is hire Jason Cusson to develop the ring. Cusson developed the octagon-shaped ring that has become a signature of UFC. They also devised the name for the show: The Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The first event, later to be called UFC 1, took place at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, on November 12, 1993. The show was an instant success, drawing 86,592 television subscribers on pay-per-view. It drew viewers in by asking questions such as, Can a wrestler beat a boxer? Fans were fascinated with the clashing fighting styles and were eager to see which style won out.

One notable clash of styles was at UFC 3, when Keith Hackney squared off with Sumo wrestler Emmanuel Yarborough. Hackney was nine inches shorter and 400 pounds lighter but he found a way to win.

Rorion Gracie's family was well-represented in the early tournaments. His brother Royce was hand-picked to represent the family and did them proud, winning three of the first four events. He has since been enshrined into the UFC Hall of Fame.

In its early days, the UFC tournaments featured vary few rules and just about anything was legal. Low blows, hair pulling, and head butts were all legal.

Eventually, the UFC was hurt by the no-holds-barred image, with politicians such as Arizona senator John McCain calling it human cockfighting. The major cable companies refused to carry UFC shows and distributers weren't willing to sell video tapes of the events.
The UFC responded by instituting rule changes and weight divisions. Groin shots and head butts were outlawed and the fights were monitored to make sure no fighter was kept in a fight after appearing to be dazed as a result of a blow to the head.

Zuffa, LLC, purchased the UFC in January of 2001. The purchase was spearheaded by promoter Dana White, who is now the acting president of the UFC. White has done a great deal to get the UFC to reach the popularity it now enjoys, and UFC events are now major pay-per-view events. One major aspect that has increased its popularity is the reality show, The Ultimate Fighter, which profiles MMA fighters trying to make it big. The show has resulted in an increased interest in MMA-style fighting and the format of the UFC.

On July 3, 2010, Brock Lesnar fought Shane Carwin in the Heavyweight Championship bout at UFC 116. The event was watched by millions and was one of the most anticipated sporting events of the year, signifying that the UFC is a major sports league that will be around for years to come.

AUTHOR:-
Reid Pereira writes reviews on various sporting events including the online sportsbook. In this piece of write up, the author highlights one of the most popular sports MMA and MMA betting tips. The author also takes the readers opinion on how Mixed martial arts betting online occurs.