The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA promotion in the world as of 2023. It produces events worldwide that showcase 11 weight divisions and abides by the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. As of 2022, it had held over 600 events. Dana White has been its president since 2001 and CEO since 2023. Under White's stewardship, it has grown into a global multi-billion-dollar enterprise.
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. The first documented use of the term mixed martial arts was in a review of UFC 1 by television critic Howard Rosenberg in 1993.
PRIDE Fighting Championships was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts events, broadcast to about 40 countries worldwide. PRIDE was owned by the holding company Dream Stage Entertainment (DSE).
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist. Gracie gained fame for his success in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a member of the Gracie jiu-jitsu family, a UFC Hall of Famer, and is considered to be one of the most influential figures in the history of mixed martial arts (MMA). He also competed in PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1's MMA events, and Bellator.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, United States, on November 12, 1993. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view and later released on home video.
Strikeforce was an American mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization based in San Jose, California that operated from 1985 to 2013. It was headed by CEO Scott Coker.
UFC 6: Clash of the Titans was the sixth mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 14, 1995, at the Casper Events Center in Casper, Wyoming. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.
UFC 7: The Brawl in Buffalo was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 8, 1995, at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.
UFC 17: Redemption was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 15, 1998, at the Mobile Civic Center, in Mobile, Alabama. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United States, and later released on home video.
UFC 41: Onslaught was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 28, 2003, at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and later released on DVD.
UFC 22: Only One Can be Champion was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 24, 1999 at the Lake Charles Civic Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Most rule sets for mixed martial arts (MMA) competitions have evolved since the early days of Vale Tudo. As a result of health, legal, and moral concerns, many different rulesets were created, which give different countries and promotions very different tactics and strategies. Similarly, shoot wrestling organizations, such as Shooto, expanded their rulesets to integrate elements of Vale Tudo into their sport. However, for the most part, fighters accustomed to one rule set can easily acclimate to the others.
UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2 was a mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on January 31, 2009. The card featured five televised MMA bouts, as well as five un-aired preliminary bouts. It was the second UFC event of 2009 and took place on the weekend of Super Bowl XLIII.
Titan Fighting Championship is an American mixed martial arts promotion based out of Pompano Beach, Florida. Their shows were originally run in and near Kansas City and have since expanded to include venues all over North America and eventually, international locations. Since July 2015, Titan FC events are broadcast on the UFC online streaming service UFC Fight Pass, which also showcases a library of the organization's previous events.
UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It was the 9th UFC event of the year, and took place on April 21, 2012 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Warrior Xtreme Cagefighting (WXC) is a Michigan-based mixed martial arts promotion and is one of the smallest promotions in the world. Based in the United States, the WXC has eight weight divisions and enforces the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Norbert Pasztor serves as the president of the WXC.
UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 7, 2012, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the seventeenth UFC event of the year. The card consisted of eleven bouts, with six televised live on pay-per-view, four preliminary bouts on FX, and one on Facebook.
Final Fight Championship (FFC) is an international combat sports promotion company founded in 2003 by the FFC owner and CEO Orsat Zovko. The company has its headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, as well as a European office in Zagreb, Croatia.
While mixed martial arts is primarily a male dominated sport, it does have female athletes. For instance, Female competition in Japan includes promotions such as DEEP Jewels. Now defunct promotions that featured female fighters were Valkyrie, and Smackgirl. Professional mixed martial arts organizations in the United States that invite women to compete are industry leader Ultimate Fighting Championship, the all female Invicta Fighting Championships, Resurrection Fighting Alliance, Bellator Fighting Championships, and Legacy Fighting Championship. Now defunct promotions that featured female fighters were Strikeforce and EliteXC. There has been a growing awareness of women in mixed martial arts due to popular female fighters and personalities such as Amanda Nunes, Megumi Fujii, Gina Carano, Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Holly Holm and Joanna Jędrzejczyk and among others. Carano became known as "the face of women's MMA" after appearing in a number of EliteXC events. This was furthered by her appearances on MGM Television's 2008 revival of their game show American Gladiators.
Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) is a South African mixed martial arts promotion company established since 2009. It is the largest MMA promotion company on the continent of Africa and features on its roster professional fighters from across the world including the United States, Europe, South America, the UK, Australia, and Africa. The organization produces 10 live events annually. They currently have over 120 athletes exclusively contracted to the organisation. EFC events are currently broadcast in over 120 countries around the world on numerous television networks in multiple languages. To date, EFC has held 106 events and presided over approximately 1,000 matches.
