Mixed martial arts in the United Kingdom

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Mixed martial arts in the United Kingdom
Denis Kang.jpg
Michael Bisping (left) and Denis Kang at the weigh-ins for UFC 105 (Manchester)
CountryUnited Kingdom
Governing body English Mixed Martial Arts Association [1]
National team(s) United Kingdom

Mixed martial arts in the United Kingdom is one of the fastest growing sports thanks to the promotion of the UFC. [2] [3]

Contents

History

UFC 38 was one the earliest entries of MMA in the United Kingdom on July 13, 2002, at Royal Albert Hall. [4] [5]

Michael Bisping became the first UK UFC champion. [6] [7] [8] In 2022 Brendan Loughnane become only the fourth Briton to win a World MMA title with a major organisation after Liam McGeary [9] and Leon Edwards. [10] [11]

Domestic Organizations

The major organizations for MMA are Cage Warriors, [12] [13] [14] UCMMA and Full Contact Contender

Television

The UFC is broadcast on BT Sport. [15] The PFL is broadcast on Channel 4 as of 2022. [16] Bellator MMA is broadcast on Channel 5. [17] [18] [19] ONE is broadcast on Sky Sports as of 2024. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Bisping</span> British mixed martial artist (born 1979)

Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping is a British sports commentator, analyst, actor, and former mixed martial artist. He competed in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor from 2004 to 2017, he held the UFC middleweight title, the Cage Rage light heavyweight title, and won the light heavyweight tournament of The Ultimate Fighter 3. At UFC 78, Bisping became the first British fighter to compete in a UFC main event, and at UFC 199, he became the first British fighter to win a UFC Championship. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on 5 July 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gegard Mousasi</span> Dutch kickboxer and mixed martial arts fighter

Gegard Mousasi is a Dutch mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. Mousasi most recently competed in Bellator MMA, where he is the former two-time Bellator Middleweight Champion. He is also the former DREAM Light Heavyweight Champion, former DREAM Middleweight Champion, former Cage Warriors World Middleweight Champion, and the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion, thus making Mousasi an overall six-time MMA world champion. At the moment of his departure from the UFC in July 2017, he was #4 in the official UFC middleweight rankings, and he is currently ranked the #12 middleweight MMA fighter in the world by Fight Matrix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cage Warriors</span> Martial arts promotion in London, England

Cage Warriors (CW) is an Irish-owned mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in London, England. The promotion was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002.

Paul Anthony Daley is a British former mixed martial artist and kickboxer. A professional competitor from 2003 to 2022, Daley competed for the UFC, Bellator, K-1, Strikeforce, Cage Rage, Final Fight Championship, EliteXC, ShoXC, BAMMA, Cage Warriors, Cage Contender, Shark Fights, Pancrase, and Impact FC. Daley is a former Cage Rage World Welterweight Champion and Cage Rage British Welterweight Champion and a Strikeforce title challenger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bellator MMA</span> American mixed martial arts promoter

Bellator MMA is an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney. The promotion takes its name from bellātor, the Latin word for "warrior". Bellator's first event was held in 2009, and the promotion has since held 301 "numbered" events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rory MacDonald (fighter)</span> Canadian mixed martial artist (born 1989)

Rory MacDonald is a Canadian former mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the welterweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Prior to signing with the PFL, MacDonald competed for Bellator MMA, where he is a former Bellator Welterweight World Champion. Having been a professional competitor since 2005, MacDonald was a top contender in the UFC with an overall UFC record of 9–4, and challenged for the UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC 189 against then-champion Robbie Lawler. He is also a former King of the Cage Lightweight Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Davis (fighter)</span> American mixed martial artist (born 1984)

Phil Kwabina Davis is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes as a Light Heavyweight for Bellator MMA, where he is the former Bellator Light Heavyweight World Champion. Prior to signing with Bellator, Davis competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he achieved success as a top 5 Light Heavyweight contender and held a UFC record of 9–3 (1). He is currently ranked as the #7 Light Heavyweight fighter in the world by ranking site Fight Matrix. Davis first gained athletic notoriety in college as a wrestler for Penn State University, where he became an NCAA Division I champion in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Wallhead</span> English mixed martial arts fighter

Jim Wallhead is an English former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division. He has competed for BAMMA, Bellator, and M-1 Challenge and the UFC.

Daniel Spohn is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, he has competed for the UFC, Bellator, and was a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn.

Bubba Jenkins is an American mixed martial artist and former amateur wrestler. He currently competes in the featherweight division of Professional Fighters League. He has also notably competed for Bellator MMA, Absolute Championship Berkut and Brave Combat Federation, where he was a former champion. As an amateur wrestler, Jenkins was a freestyle junior World Champion and an NCAA Division I champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linton Vassell</span> English mixed martial arts fighter

Linton Vassell is an English mixed martial artist, who competes in the Heavyweight division of Bellator. A professional since 2008, he has also competed for UCMMA and Cage Warriors. He is the former UCMMA Light Heavyweight Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Professional Fighters League</span> Mixed martial arts combat sport promoter

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promotion in 2017 by MMAX Investment Partners. It is the first major MMA organization in which individual athletes compete in a regular season, post-season and championship, rather than on a year-round basis.

2017 in Bellator MMA was the tenth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 26 events in 2017.

'Brett Johns’ is a Welsh professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the featherweight division of PFL. Prior to signing with PFL, Johns competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Bellator MMA at bantamweight. A professional competitor since 2012, he has also formerly competed for Cage Warriors and Titan FC, and was Bantamweight Champion for both promotions.

James Smith is an American sports broadcaster and former mixed martial artist. He was the co-host of the television show Fight Quest, with Doug Anderson, on the Discovery Channel. He is also a former commentator for Bellator, UFC, Premier Boxing Champions and WWE’s Raw brand. He is a former host for American Ninja Warrior in 2010–2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mads Burnell</span> Danish mixed martial artist

Mads Burnell is a Danish mixed martial artist who competes in featherweight division of Bellator MMA. Professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Burnell has also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Cage Warriors, where he was a Featherweight champion. He was the European Championship European No-Gi Champion in 2014.

Pedro Carvalho, is a Portuguese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of Bellator MMA.

Fabian Edwards is an English professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of Bellator MMA. He is the younger brother of Leon Edwards, the former UFC Welterweight champion.

Brendan Loughnane is a British professional mixed martial artist. He competes in the Featherweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Loughnane has been a professional competitor since 2010, and competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACB) and BAMMA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PFL 6 (2024)</span> Professional Fighters League MMA event in 2024

The PFL 6 mixed martial arts event for the 2024 season of the Professional Fighters League was held on June 28, 2024, at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. This marked the sixth regular-season event of the tournament and included fights in the Featherweight and Welterweight divisions.

References

  1. ↑ Simon Head (September 10, 2020). "Cage Warriors makes history with first government-recognized MMA shows in U.K." MMAjunkie.com .
  2. ↑ "How the UFC phenomenon turned the UK into a nation of MMA fans" . Independent.co.uk . 18 March 2017. Archived from the original on 2022-05-15. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  3. ↑ Johns, Craig (16 October 2016). "UFC 204 shows just how much MMA is growing in Britain - hopefully North East play their part" . Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  4. ↑ Sport, Express (January 23, 2018). "UFC London: Looking back at 10 years of MMA in the English capital". Express.co.uk.
  5. ↑ Wertheim, Jon. "How a UFC fighter pulled off the biggest bank heist ever". Sports Illustrated.
  6. ↑ Hardy, Dan (6 June 2016). "UFC: Michael Bisping's journey to become first British champion" . Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  7. ↑ "Michael Bisping becomes first British UFC champion". BBC Three. 5 June 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  8. ↑ "Bigger than ever: How MMA in the U.K. is healthy and thriving in 2019". ESPN . Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  9. ↑ "Liam McGeary becomes first British world champion". ITV News.
  10. ↑ "Britain's Edwards stuns Usman to win UFC title" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  11. ↑ "Briton Loughnane wins PFL world title and $1m" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  12. ↑ "Cage Warriors: Europe's proven path to the UFC". ESPN.com. June 30, 2019.
  13. ↑ Writer, Sports. "Cage Warriors Returns To Revitalize UK MMA Scene". Bleacher Report . Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  14. ↑ "MMA in the UK – Past, Present and Future". Sports Gazette . Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  15. ↑ "UFC signs new television contract in UK, Ireland" . Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  16. ↑ Miller2022-02-08T13:17:00+00:00, Max. "Channel 4 picks up Professional Fighters League". Broadcast.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ↑ "Bellator MMA Announces Exclusive TV Deal with Channel 5 in the UK | MMAWeekly.com". February 6, 2019.
  18. ↑ Carroll, Peter (February 6, 2019). "Bellator's European series to broadcast live on Channel 5 in the U.K." MMA Fighting.
  19. ↑ "How the BBC finally embraced MMA". The Independent. May 5, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Sky Sports announces partnership with ONE, the world's largest martial arts organisation". Sky Sports. December 14, 2023.


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