Glorious UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship debuted on November 12th, 1993. With its first event held in Denver, Colorado, UFC 1: The Beginning used an eight-man tournament format, where the winner was to receive $50,000. It was considered "no holds barred," though no biting or eye gouging was allowed. The winner of the first ever UFC tournament was Royce Gracie, who wore a white gi garment and black-belt. He defeated his opponent by a chokehold submission, and set the stage for what has now become a multi-billion dollar industry.
It Was Nearly Made Illegal
Before we even get into what MMA is and why the UFC is glorious, let's first talk about its history.
Departed Senator John McCain dubbed the UFC "human cockfighting" in 1997, and asked governors from all US states to ban the event. 36 states banned the no holds barred fighting. In response, the UFC redesigned its format by adding rules that would cooperate with state athletic commissions. Certain attacks were banned, weight classes were introduced, and gloves became mandatory. Much of the thanks should go to former UFC commissioner Jeff Blatnick, former police officer and referee "Big John" McCarthy, and matchmaker Joe Silva for creating a manual of policies, procedures, codes of conduct, and rules to help the UFC get sanctioned.
The trio would travel nationwide to educate regulators, and improve perspective of the sport of Mixed Marital Arts. The first state to sign off on its codified rules was California. Soon, other states like New Jersey followed. A lot of the sport's growth came in rural state areas where professional sporting events rarely occurred. For instance, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana had 13 events in the late 90's. Due to the emergence of rules and the competitors who mastered them, the sport evolved immensely and wickedly over a short period of time. By 2014, even Senator McCain was buying UFC pay-per-view fights! In 2016, New York became the last state to legalize mixed martial arts, completing a decade long battle to legitimize the sport.
Breaking Walls through Organized Chaos
There are plenty of things people can understandably not like about the sport. There are mean people, bloodshed, broken bones, and violent knockouts. However, there are also plenty of things about the sport that people can't argue about. For example, this is a global sport. There are fighters from Africa, Afghanistan, China, Dagestan, Korea, Ireland, USA, Russia, South America and so many other nations. On the whole, athletes are respectful, even consoling fighters after a loss, or congratulating the winner right after the match. Furthermore, consider how difficult it is to become wealthy in certain parts of the world. Fighters from everywhere now have a means to survive and support a family instead of go to prison or die, which might sound like an exaggeration, but for many it isn't. They become national icons, and end up representing their country in no less a way than Olympians do. As a matter of fact, it's almost absurd at this point that mixed martial arts isn't in Olympic Competition. But that doesn't stop competitors like Ronda Rousey, Henry Cejudo, and Daniel Cormier from enjoying the glory of both.
It's truly unique that a sport grew from a brand name. MMA to UFC is what American Football is to NFL. All over the world there are promotions, many with slightly different rules but overall the same theme. Other combat sports have grown in popularity as well thanks to the UFC, such as kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Not only is the sport of MMA here to stay, it is also breaking down walls in society beyond the cage. Over the next few sections of this website I will explain why, starting with a breakdown of the some of the most popular disciplines. I will then introduce to you some of the heroes of the sport. If you want to learn more about Ronda Rousey, the person who compelled the UFC to make a woman's divison, please read on. If you would like to learn more about Amanda Nunes, the sport's first openly gay champion and recent two-divison champion, I've got you covered. To read more, or to see some amazing tweets, feel free to click the links at the top, or either image below!
