UFC

Combat sports#MMA

The **Ultimate Fighting Championship** (**UFC**) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Comcast. It is the largest MMA promotion company in the world as of 2011. It produces events worldwide that showcase 18 weight divisions (13 men's and 5 women's) 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. Under White's stewardship, it has grown into a global multi-billion-dollar enterprise.

UFC govern themselves, their guidelines are similar to NYL, NBA, MLB and NHL. Comcast purchased UFC from Zuffa, LLC, the agreement was that Dana White would remain commissioner (NFL, NHL and MLB) and Zuffa has a "buy back clause". UFC Performance facility, executives

## History

### Early 1990s competition

Art Davie proposed to John Milius and Rorion Gracie an eight-man single-elimination tournament called "War of the Worlds". It was inspired by the "Gracies in Action" video-series produced by the Gracie family of Brazil which featured Gracie jiu-jitsu students defeating martial artists of various disciplines such as karate, kung fu, and kickboxing. The tournament would also feature martial artists from different disciplines facing each other in no-holds-barred combat to determine the best martial art, and would aim to replicate the excitement of the matches Davie saw on the videos. Milius, a film director/screenwriter and Gracie student, agreed to be the event's creative director. Davie drafted the business plan, and 28 investors contributed the initial capital to start WOW Promotions to develop the tournament into a television franchise.

In 1993, WOW Promotions sought a television partner and approached pay-per-view producers TVKO (HBO) and SET (Showtime), and Campbell McLaren and David Isaacs at Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG). Both TVKO and SET declined, but SEG—a pioneer in pay-per-view television that had produced such offbeat events as a tennis match between Jimmy Connors and Martina Navratilova—became WOW's partner in May 1993. SEG contacted video and film art director Jason Cusson to design a fighting arena for the event. Rorion and Davie didn't want a traditional roped ring, citing fears—by showing old Vale Tudo footage—that the fighters could escape through the ropes during grappling and use it as an advantage, or fall off and hurt themselves. SEG's executives agreed, and also wanted a way to visually differentiate their event from professional boxing and professional wrestling. Some ideas included a traditional roped-ring surrounded by netting, a moat with alligators, a raised platform surrounded by razor-wire fence, electrified fencing, men in togas and netting that could be lowered from the ceiling by a pulley. Eventually Cusson designed an arena with eight sides surrounded by chain-link fence, the trademarked Octagon, which became the event's signature setting. Cusson remained the group's production designer through *UFC 27*. SEG devised the show's name as *The Ultimate Fighting Championship*. UFC promoters initially pitched the event as a real-life fighting video game tournament similar to *Street Fighter* and *Mortal Kombat*.

WOW Promotions and SEG produced the first event, later called *UFC 1*, at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado on November 12, 1993. Art Davie was its booker and matchmaker. It proposed to find answers for sports fans' questions such as, "Can a wrestler beat a boxer?" As with most martial arts at the time, fighters typically had skills in just one discipline and little experience against opponents with differing skills. The television broadcast featured kickboxers Patrick Smith and Kevin Rosier, savate fighter Gerard Gordeau, karate expert Zane Frazier, shootfighter Ken Shamrock, sumo wrestler Teila Tuli, boxer Art Jimmerson, and 175 lb (79 kg) Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Royce Gracie—younger brother of UFC co-founder Rorion, whom Rorion selected to represent his family. Royce's submission skills proved the most effective in the inaugural tournament, earning him the first ever UFC tournament championship after submitting Jimmerson, Shamrock, and Gordeau in succession. The show was extremely successful, with 86,592 pay-per-view television subscribers.

It's disputed whether the promoters intended the event to be a precursor to future events. "That show was only supposed to be a one-off", eventual UFC president Dana White said. "It did so well on pay-per-view they decided to do another, and another. Never in a million years did these guys think they were creating a sport." Davie, in his 2014 book *Is This Legal?*, an account of the creation of the first UFC event, disputes the perception that the UFC was seen by WOW Promotions and SEG as a one-off, since SEG offered a five-year joint development deal to WOW. He says, "Clearly, both Campbell and Meyrowitz shared my unwavering belief that War of the Worlds would be a continuing series of fighting tournaments—a franchise, rather than a one-night stand."

With no weight classes, fighters often faced significantly larger or taller opponents. Keith "The Giant Killer" Hackney faced Emmanuel Yarbrough at *UFC 3* with a 9-inch height and 400 pounds (180 kg) weight disadvantage.

During this early phase of the organization, the UFC showcased a bevy of styles and fighters. Aside from the aforementioned Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, and Patrick Smith, they also featured competitors such as Hall of Famer Dan Severn, Marco Ruas, Gary Goodridge, Don Frye, Kimo Leopoldo, Oleg Taktarov, and Tank Abbott.

In April 1995, following *UFC 5* in Charlotte, North Carolina, Davie and Gracie sold their interest in the franchise to SEG and disbanded WOW Promotions.

#### A tightening the rules[edit]

Although UFC used the tagline "There are no rules" in the early 1990s, the UFC did in fact operate with limited rules.[*citation needed*] In a *UFC 4* qualifying match, competitors Jason Fairn and Guy Mezger agreed not to pull hair—as they both wore pony tails tied back for the match.[*citation needed*] The UFC had a reputation, especially in the early days, as an extremely violent event.[*citation needed*]

*UFC 5* also introduced the first singles match, a rematch from the inaugural UFC featuring three-time champion Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock, called "The Superfight".[*citation needed*] "The Superfight" began as a non-tournament match that would determine the first reigning UFC Champion for tournament winners to face; it later evolved into a match that could feature either title matches or non-title matches. The "Superfight" would eventually completely phase out tournament matches.

On the other hand, the first "Superfight" at *UFC 5* was also considered a failure. In the first minute of the fight Shamrock knocked Royce to the ground and landed inside his guard. For the next 30 minutes Shamrock was inside Royce's guard, with the two throwing punches and heabutts at each other but without any change or action, with the crowd booing the fighters. After 30 minutes the fight was stopped as it had exceeded the time limit allocated for the pay-per-view and was given another 5 minutes of extra time due to protests from the spectators. The fight was over after 36 minutes and a draw was declared. Because of this controversial fight, the UFC would later start to introduce time limits, judges to decide draws, and authorized referees to stand up fighters and restart the bout if they have too much inactivity.

In 1996, the UFC had its first event outside continental United States with *UFC 8* in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, and in 1998, *UFC Brazil* was its first foreign event.

### Late 1990s controversy and reform[edit]

The violent nature of the burgeoning sport quickly drew the attention of U.S. authorities.

In 1996, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) saw a tape of the first UFC events and immediately found it abhorrent. He led a campaign to ban the UFC, calling it "human cockfighting", and sent letters to the governors of all 50 US states asking them to ban it.

36 states enacted laws that banned "no-holds-barred" fighting, including New York, which enacted the ban on the eve of *UFC 12*, forcing it to relocate to Dothan, Alabama. The UFC continued to air on DirecTV PPV, though its audience remained minuscule compared to the era's larger cable pay-per-view platforms.

In response to the criticism, the UFC increased cooperation with state athletic commissions and modified its rules to remove the less palatable elements of fights while retaining the core elements of striking and grappling. *UFC 12* saw the introduction of weight classes and the banning of fish-hooking. For *UFC 14*, gloves became mandatory, while kicks to the head of a downed opponent were banned. *UFC 15* saw limitations on hair pulling, and the banning of strikes to the back of the neck and head, headbutting, small-joint manipulations, and groin strikes. With five-minute rounds introduced at *UFC 21*, the UFC gradually rebranded itself as a sport rather than a spectacle.

Led by UFC commissioner Jeff Blatnick and referee John McCarthy, the UFC continued to work with state athletic commissions. Blatnick, McCarthy, and matchmaker Joe Silva created a manual of policies, procedures, codes of conduct, and rules to help in getting the UFC sanctioned by the athletic commissions, many of which exist to this day. Blatnick and McCarthy traveled around the country, educating regulators and changing perceptions about a sport that was thought to be bloodthirsty and inhumane. By April 2000, their movement had clearly made an impact. California was set to become the first state in the U.S. to sign off on a set of codified rules that governed MMA. Soon after, New Jersey adopted the language.

As the UFC continued to work with the athletic commissions, events took place in smaller U.S. markets, and venues, such as the Lake Charles Civic Center. The markets included states that are largely rural and less known for holding professional sporting events, such as Iowa, Mississippi, Louisiana, Wyoming, and Alabama. SEG could not secure home-video releases for *UFC 23* through *UFC 29*. With other mixed martial arts promotions working towards U.S. sanctioning, the International Fighting Championships (IFC) secured the first U.S. sanctioned mixed-martial-arts event, which occurred in New Jersey on September 30, 2000. Just two months later, the UFC held its first sanctioned event, *UFC 28*, under the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board's "Unified Rules".

### 2001 and the beginning of Zuffa era[edit]

After the long battle to secure sanctioning, SEG stood on the brink of bankruptcy, when Station Casinos executives Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta and their business partner Dana White approached them in 2000, with an offer to purchase the UFC. A month later, in January 2001, the Fertittas bought the UFC for $2 million and created Zuffa, LLC as the parent entity controlling the UFC.

"I had my attorneys tell me that I was crazy because I wasn't buying anything. I was paying $2 million and they were saying 'What are you getting?'" Lorenzo Fertitta revealed to *Fighters Only* magazine, recalling the lack of assets he acquired in the purchase. "And I said 'What you don't understand is I'm getting the most valuable thing that I could possibly have, which is those three letters: UFC. That is what's going to make this thing work. Everybody knows that brand, whether they like it or they don't like it, they react to it.'"

With ties to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (Lorenzo Fertitta was a former member of the NSAC), Zuffa secured sanctioning in Nevada in 2001. Shortly thereafter, the UFC returned to pay-per-view cable television with UFC 33 featuring three championship bouts.

#### Struggle for survival and turnaround[edit]

The UFC slowly rose in popularity after the Zuffa purchase, due partly to greater advertising, corporate sponsorship, the return to cable pay-per-view, and subsequent home video and DVD releases.

With larger live gates at casino venues like the Trump Taj Mahal and the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the UFC secured its first television deal with Fox Sports Net. *The Best Damn Sports Show Period* aired the first mixed martial arts match on American cable television in June 2002, as well as the main event showcasing Chuck Liddell vs. Vitor Belfort at *UFC 37.5*. Later, FSN would air highlight shows from the UFC.
UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock was instrumental in the UFC's turnaround into a mainstream sport.

*UFC 40* proved to be the most critical event to date in the Zuffa era. The event was a near sellout of 13,022 at the MGM Grand Arena and sold 150,000 pay-per-view buys, a rate roughly double that of the previous Zuffa events. The event featured a card headlined by a championship match between then-current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz and former UFC Superfight Champion Ken Shamrock, who had previously left to professional wrestling in the WWE before returning to MMA. It was the first time the UFC hit such a high mark since being forced "underground" in 1997. *UFC 40* also garnered mainstream attention from media outlets such as ESPN and *USA Today*, something that was unfathomable for mixed martial arts at that point in time. Many have suggested that the success of *UFC 40* and the anticipation for Ortiz vs. Shamrock saved the UFC from bankruptcy; the buyrates of the previous Zuffa shows averaged a mere 45,000 buys per event, and the company was suffering deep monetary losses. The success of *UFC 40* provided a glimmer of hope for the UFC and kept alive the hope that mixed martial arts could become big. Beyond the rivalry itself, the success of UFC 40 was due in part to the marketing and outreach power of crossover athletes – from Pro Wrestling to MMA and MMA to Pro Wrestling – a practice with roots in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships. Long time UFC referee "Big" John McCarthy said that he felt UFC 40 was the turning point in whether or not the sport of MMA would survive in America.

> "When that show (UFC 40) happened, I honestly felt like it was going to make it. Throughout the years, things were happening, and everything always looked bleak. It always looked like, this is it, this is going to be the last time. This is going to be the last year. But, when I was standing in the Octagon at UFC 40, I remember standing there before the Ortiz/Shamrock fight and looking around. The energy of that fight, it was phenomenal, and it was the first time I honestly said, it's going to make it." –"Big" John McCarthy
>
>

Despite the success of *UFC 40*, the UFC was still experiencing financial deficits. By 2004, Zuffa had $34 million of losses since they purchased the UFC.

#### *The Ultimate Fighter* and the rise in popularity[edit]

Faced with the prospect of folding, the UFC stepped outside the bounds of pay-per-view and made a foray into television. After being featured in a reality television series, *American Casino*, and seeing how well the series worked as a promotion vehicle, the Fertitta brothers developed the idea of the UFC's own reality series.
Logo of *The Ultimate Fighter*
Their idea, *The Ultimate Fighter* (*TUF*) was a reality television show featuring up-and-coming MMA fighters in competition for a six-figure UFC contract, with fighters eliminated from competition via exhibition mixed martial arts matches. It was pitched to several networks, each one rejecting the idea outright. Not until they approached Spike TV, with an offer to pay the $10 million production costs themselves, did they find an outlet.

In January 2005, Spike TV launched *The Ultimate Fighter 1* in the timeslot following *WWE Raw.* The show became an instant success, culminating with a notable season finale brawl featuring light heavyweight finalists Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar going toe-to-toe for the right to earn the six-figure contract. The live broadcast of the season finale drew a very impressive 1.9 overall rating. Dana White credits *TUF 1* for saving the UFC.

On the heels of the Griffin/Bonnar finale, a second season of *The Ultimate Fighter* launched in August 2005, and two more seasons appeared in 2006. Spike and the UFC continued to create and air new seasons until the show moved to FX in 2012.

Following the success of *The Ultimate Fighter*, Spike also picked up *UFC Unleashed*, an hour-long weekly show featuring select fights from previous events. Spike also signed on to broadcast live *UFC Fight Night*, a series of fight events debuting in August 2005, and *Countdown* specials to promote upcoming UFC pay-per-view cards.

After a very successful run on Spike and with the upcoming announcement of the UFC's new relationship with Fox, Spike officials made a statement regarding the end of their partnership with the UFC, "*The Ultimate Fighter* season 14 in September will be our last... Our 6-year partnership with the UFC has been incredibly beneficial in building both our brands, and we wish them all the best in the future."

With the announcement of UFC's partnership with Fox in August 2011, *The Ultimate Fighter*, which entered its 14th season in that September, moved to the FX network to air on Friday nights starting with season 15 in the Spring of 2012. Along with the network change, episodes are now edited and broadcast within a week of recording instead of a several-month delay, and elimination fights are aired live.

### Mid–2000s expansion[edit]

New York City Times Square ad for *UFC 88: Breakthrough* featuring Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans

With increased visibility, the UFC's pay-per-view buy numbers exploded. *UFC 52*, the first event after the first season of *The Ultimate Fighter* featuring eventual-UFC Hall of Famer: Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell, avenging his defeat to fellow eventual-Hall of Famer, Randy Couture, drew a pay-per-view audience of 300,000, doubling its previous benchmark of 150,000 set at *UFC 40*. Following the second season of *The Ultimate Fighter*, the UFC's match between Liddell and Couture drew an estimated 410,000 pay-per-view buys at *UFC 57*.

For the rest of 2006, pay-per-view buy rates continued to skyrocket, with 620,000 buys for *UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie*—featuring Royce Gracie's first UFC fight in 11 years—and 775,000 buys for *UFC 61* featuring the highly anticipated rematch between Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz, the coaches of *The Ultimate Fighter 3*. The organization hit a milestone with *UFC 66*, pitting Ortiz in a rematch against Liddell with over 1 million buys.

The surge in popularity prompted the UFC to beef up its executive team. In March 2006, the UFC announced that it had hired Marc Ratner, former executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. Ratner, once an ally of Senator McCain's campaign against *no holds barred* fighting, lobbied numerous athletic commissions to help raise the UFC's media profile in an attempt to legalize mixed martial arts in jurisdictions inside and outside the United States that had yet to sanction the sport.

In December 2006, Zuffa acquired the northern California-based promotion World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) in order to stop the International Fight League (IFL) from making a deal with Versus (now NBC Sports Network). At the time, the UFC had an exclusive deal with Spike, so the purchase of the WEC allowed Zuffa to block the IFL from Versus without violating their contract. The WEC showcased lighter weight classes in MMA, whereas the UFC featured heavier weight classes.

In December 2006, Zuffa also acquired their cross-town, Las Vegas rival World Fighting Alliance (WFA).

The sport's popularity was also noticed by the sports betting community as BodogLife.com, an online gambling site, stated in July 2007 that in 2007 UFC would surpass boxing for the first time in terms of betting revenues. In fact, the UFC had already broken the pay-per-view industry's all-time records for a single year of business, generating over $222,766,000 in revenue in 2006, surpassing both WWE and boxing.

The UFC continued its rapid rise from near obscurity with Roger Huerta gracing the cover of *Sports Illustrated* and Chuck Liddell on the front of *ESPN The Magazine* in May 2007.

#### Pride acquisition and integration[edit]

A fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Mark Coleman in the Japanese, ring-based Pride organization
On March 27, 2007, the UFC and their Japan-based rival the Pride Fighting Championships announced an agreement in which the majority owners of the UFC, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, would purchase the Pride brand.

Initial intentions were for the organizations to be run separately but aligned together with plans to co-promote cards featuring the champions and top contenders from both organizations. However, after purchasing Pride, Dana White felt that the Pride model was not sustainable and the organization would likely fold with many former Pride fighters such as Antônio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira, Maurício "Shogun" Rua, Dan Henderson, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović, Wanderlei Silva, and others already being realigned under the UFC brand. On October 4, 2007, Pride Worldwide closed its Japanese office, laying off 20 people who were working there since the closing of its parent company Dream Stage Entertainment (DSE).

On June 18, 2008, Lorenzo Fertitta accommodated the UFC's growth by announcing his resignation from Station Casinos in order to devote his energies to the international business development of Zuffa, particularly the UFC. The move proved to be pivotal, as Fertitta helped strike TV deals in China, France, Mexico, and Germany as well as open alternative revenue streams with a new UFC video game and UFC action figures, among other projects.

### Late 2000s – mid-2010s growth with UFC 100[edit]

Popularity surged in 2009 with *UFC 100* and the 10 events preceding it including *UFC 90*, *91*, *92*, *94*, and *98*. *UFC 100* was a success garnering 1.6 million buys under the drawing power of former NCAA wrestling and WWE Champion Brock Lesnar and his rematch with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir, Canadian Georges St-Pierre going head-to-head with Brazilian Thiago Alves, and American Dan Henderson opposing British Michael Bisping at middleweight after the two were rival coaches on *The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom*.

*UFC 100* drew interest from ESPN, which provided coverage of the event in the days preceding and following it. ESPN would eventually devote additional coverage of the UFC and other MMA news with the television debut of *MMA Live* on ESPN2 in May 2010.

The buzz from *UFC 100* was hampered significantly in the second half of 2009 after a rash of injuries and other health-related issues—including Brock Lesnar's life-threatening bout with diverticulitis—forcing the organization to continuously scramble and reshuffle its lineup for several events.

However, the momentum gradually began to pick up in the first quarter of 2010 after victories from defending champions Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva, as well as Lyoto Machida's first career defeat to "Shogun" Rua for the UFC Light Heavyweight title. These fights segued into a very popular clash between former UFC Champions and rivals Rashad Evans and Quinton Jackson—rival coaches on *The Ultimate Fighter 10: Heavyweights*—at *UFC 114*, featuring the UFC's first main event headlined by black fighters. The event scored over 1 million pay per view buys as Evans secured a unanimous decision victory.
*UFC 129* shattered previous North American gate and attendance records.
This momentum carried into the summer of 2010 at *UFC 116*, which featured the return of Brock Lesnar defending his UFC Heavyweight title against the undefeated interim-champion Shane Carwin before 1.25 million PPV viewers. Lesnar survived an early barrage of Carwin's punches in a contest that was nearly stopped by referee Josh Rosenthal. However, Lesnar recovered in the second round to submit Carwin via arm-triangle choke to retain the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Championship. The event as a whole was critically acclaimed in the media for living up to the hype with a number of exciting fights.

After a fifth round, last-minute victory by UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva over Chael Sonnen at *UFC 117*, Lesnar finally surrendered his belt to the undefeated Cain Velasquez via 1st-round TKO at *UFC 121*. The fight produced Velasquez's eighth knockout or technical knockout in his first nine MMA fights.

*UFC 129* featured Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is currently the largest UFC event in North American history, which coincided with a two-day UFC Fan Expo at the Direct Energy Centre. The event sold out 55,000 tickets for gate revenues exceeding $11 million, shattering previous MMA attendance and gate records in North America.

On November 5, 2016, the UFC had their first exhibition in New York City after years of being delayed by government officials and red tape with a dramatic first match, Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez.

#### WEC merger[edit]

Anthony Pettis weighs in for the final WEC event
Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, purchased World Extreme Cagefighting in late 2006 and held the first WEC event under new ownership on January 20, 2007. Soon thereafter the WEC made its home on the Versus Network with its first event debuting on that network in June 2007.

On October 28, 2010, Zuffa announced that WEC would merge with the UFC. The WEC held its final card on December 16, 2010. As a result of the merger, the UFC absorbed WEC's bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight weight divisions and their respective fighters. The UFC also made the last WEC Featherweight and Bantamweight Champions, José Aldo and Dominick Cruz respectively, the inaugural UFC Champions of their new weight divisions.

Reed Harris, who started World Extreme Cagefighting with Scott Adams, had mixed emotions on the merger. "It's kind of like when your kid goes off to college: at first you're not happy, but after you think about it for a while, you're really happy," Harris said following the announcement. "At the end of the day, I never imagined this thing would be where we're at today. I'm extremely proud and happy that I was involved with something that will now be part of what may be, some day, the largest sports organization in the world."

#### Strikeforce purchase[edit]

The Strikeforce cage
On March 12, 2011, Dana White announced that Zuffa had purchased Strikeforce. White said that Strikeforce will operate as an independent promotion, and that Scott Coker will continue to run the promotion. Strikeforce CEO Coker announced the return of Fedor Emelianenko on an unspecified July or August event and said that Zuffa-owned company would continue to co-promote with M-1 Global. After an extension was reached to continue Strikeforce through 2012, the promotion's heavyweight division (sans Heavyweight Grand Prix finalists) was merged into the UFC, and the promotion's Challengers series was ended.

The final Strikeforce show was Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine on January 12, 2013, after which the promotion was dissolved and all fighter contracts were either ended or absorbed into the UFC.

#### Fox partnership[edit]

On August 18, 2011, The Ultimate Fighting Championship and Fox announced a seven-year broadcast deal through the Fox Sports subsidiary, effectively ending the UFC's Spike TV and Versus (now NBC Sports Network) partnership. The deal includes four events on the main Fox network, 32 live Friday night fights per year on their cable network FX, 24 events following *The Ultimate Fighter* reality show and six separate Fight Night events.

The promotion's first broadcast television event – UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. dos Santos – broke form by showcasing only one fight to television viewers. In the main event, Junior dos Santos abruptly dethroned then-undefeated UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez by knock-out at 1:04 in the first round. The telecast peaked with 8.8 million viewers tuning into the fight with an average audience of 5.7 million, making it by far the most-watched MMA event of all-time and the most-watched combat sports event since 2003's HBO bout between Lennox Lewis and Vitali Klitschko.

One of the other programming opportunities that emerged was a weekly UFC magazine-style show. When asked about potential for a weekly magazine-style series, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta responded, "Not only weekly, but potentially, multiple times per week you'll have a UFC magazine (show)." The UFC maintained production control of its product including use of its broadcast team, Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan. Fox Sports produced pre- and post-shows.

#### Women's MMA[edit]

Main article: Women's mixed martial arts
Ronda Rousey was the first female UFC champion. She defended her 135-pound Bantamweight Championship from February 23, 2013, to November 15, 2015.
On November 16, 2012, the eve of UFC 154: St. Pierre vs. Condit, Dana White confirmed the UFC would feature women's MMA with the signing of its first female fighter, Strikeforce bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. She subsequently became the first female UFC champion, the first Olympic medalist with a UFC title, and the first woman to defend a UFC title. She would successfully defend her title six times.

On December 11, 2013, the UFC purchased the contracts of 11 female fighters from Invicta Fighting Championships to launch their 115-pound Strawweight division. Eight of the Invicta fighters took part in the 20th season of *The Ultimate Fighter*, *The Ultimate Fighter: Team Pettis vs. Team Melendez*, along with eight additional fighters signed up for the tournament via open tryouts. Season winner, Invicta FC's Strawweight Champion, Carla Esparza became the first UFC women's strawweight champion, defeating Rose Namajunas in the finale. Other fighters on the show included Felice Herrig, Tecia Torres, Bec Hyatt, Randa Markos, Jessica Penne, and Joanna Jędrzejczyk.

#### International expansion[edit]

The first UFC event to be held outside the contiguous United States was UFC 8 in Puerto Rico, a US territory, in 1996.

Canada has hosted events 18 times, starting with UFC 83 in 2008 and most recently in 2015 with UFC 186. UFC's biggest event to date was also in Canada, as UFC 129 held at Rogers Centre featured a record-breaking attendance of 55,724.

The United Kingdom has been home to 16 events. The first was UFC 38 held in London in 2002. UFC returned to the United Kingdom in 2007 with UFC 70, and visited Northern Ireland for UFC 72. The UK's most recent event was at England with UFC 204 in 2016. Ireland has held UFC 93 in 2009 and UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Brandao 5 years later. In continental Europe, Germany has hosted 6 times, the first being UFC 99 in 2009, UFC 122 in 2010, UFC Fight Night: Munoz vs. Mousasi in 2014, UFC Fight Night: Jędrzejczyk vs. Penne in 2015, UFC Fight Night: Arlovski vs. Barnett in 2016, and most recently, UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith in 2018. Sweden has hosted 3 times, starting with UFC on Fuel TV: Gustafsson vs. Silva in 2012, and recently with UFC on Fox: Gustafsson vs. Johnson in 2015. Poland had its first event with UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2 in 2015.

The first Brazilian event was UFC Brazil: Ultimate Brazil, held in São Paulo in 1998. The promotion did not return to Brazil until 2011 for UFC 134, but since then, the country has hosted a further 20 events. Their most recent visit was UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Alves. In 2014, Mexico became the second country in Latin America to host an event with UFC 180, followed by a second event, UFC 188, in 2015.

Seven UFC events have been held in Australia, beginning with UFC 110 in 2010 and most recently in December 2018 with UFC Fight Night 142. New Zealand held its first event in 2014, UFC Fight Night: Te Huna vs. Marquardt. Its most recent event was UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker in February 2020.

In Asia, the UFC has visited 5 countries. Japan had its first visit in 1997 for UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan. The UFC only returned to the country in 2012, with UFC 144. Their last visit was in 2014 for UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson, the seventh event there. The promotion has also featured 2 visits to the United Arab Emirates. The first was in 2010 for UFC 112 and the second in 2014 for UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Nelson. The promotion has also visited Macau in 3 occasions: China's special administrative region was first visited in 2012 with UFC on Fuel TV: Franklin vs. Le and last visited in 2014 for UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Le. The promotion has also visited Singapore with UFC Fight Night: Saffiedine vs. Lim in 2014. The Philippines was the most recent Asian country that the UFC has visited, with UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. Faber in 2015.

The Ultimate Fighter has had international editions as well: Brazil (since 2012), Australia (vs. United Kingdom – 2012), China (2013), Canada (vs. Australia – 2014), and Latin America (2014).

#### TRT ban[edit]

On February 27, 2014, the Nevada State Athletic Commission banned the use of Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT). The UFC followed suit and banned the use of TRT for any of their events, including international markets where the UFC oversees regulatory efforts.

#### Lawsuits over contractual treatment of fighters[edit]

Main article: Zuffa § Class action lawsuits

In December 2014, an antitrust lawsuit was filed against Zuffa by several fighters, claiming the organization restricts control over fighters’ careers and earning potential. The case moved to Nevada federal court, where Zuffa was denied its motion to stay discovery for 15 years of its financial records.

This caused an ongoing debate and struggle over how UFC sensitive information should be handled, and who may view it. Especially concerning MMAFA founder, Rob Maysey who has taken the lead in representing the former athletes and has stated he hopes to achieve reforms similar to the Ali Act (2000).

Later that year, a 12–16 month investigation began that was expected to last until sometime between September 2016 to January 2017. Thus far, both sides have provided over 100,000 documents.

It is estimated that the UFC shares between 16% and 22% of its revenue with fighters, which is vastly lower than sports leagues such as the NBA, MLB, and NHL, which share approximately half of the revenue with their athletes.

### 2016 sale to Endeavor and a new era[edit]

In May 2016, ESPN originally reported that the UFC's parent company Zuffa, LLC was in talks to sell the company for $3.5 billion to $4 billion. In 2015, the UFC had a reported EBITDA of $200–250 million. No official comment was made from the UFC or Dana White regarding the sale. Companies initially interested in the sale were Dalian Wanda Group, China Media Capital, and WME–IMG (Endeavor).

On July 9, 2016, it was officially announced that the UFC would be sold to a group led by WME–IMG, its owner Silver Lake Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and MSD Capital, for $4.025 billion. At the time, it marked the largest-ever acquisition in sports. Flash Entertainment (owned by the government of Abu Dhabi) retained its 10 % minority stake in the company. White, who owned 9 % of the UFC, stayed, having been given a stake in the new business. White remained president. Fertitta stepped down as chairman and CEO. WME–IMG was renamed Endeavor in September 2017. Three years into the Endeavor era, White revealed that an undisclosed company bid $5 billion but Fertittas chose WME–IMG due to a connection they already made with Ari Emanuel.

In October 2016, *MMAJunkie* obtained a UFC financial report released by Endeavor, detailing that the promotion had reached a year-to-year high of $609 million in revenue during 2015. 76% of the total was credited to "content" revenue, covering media rights, PPV buys and UFC Fight Pass subscriptions; in turn, 42% of content revenue was credited to pay-per-view buys, followed by U.S. and international media rights.

#### ESPN partnership[edit]

In May 2018, UFC reached new U.S. media rights deals with Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International and ESPN Inc., succeeding those with 21st Century Fox, which began in January 2019. The five-year contracts are cumulatively valued at $300 million per-year for digital and linear rights, roughly doubling the amount paid by Fox in the final year of its previous contract, and include 42 events on ESPN platforms per-year. ESPN linear networks will televise preliminary cards for UFC PPV events, and 10 *UFC on ESPN Fight Night* events per-year. The subscription streaming service ESPN+ will broadcast 20 exclusive events per-year under the branding *UFC on ESPN+ Fight Night*; regardless of network, all *Fight Night* events will feature a full, 12-fight card, and their preliminaries will air exclusively on ESPN+. The ESPN+ service will also hold on-demand rights to UFC library and archive content, new seasons of *Dana White's Contender Series*, and other new original content. UFC Fight Pass will be purchasable as an add-on for ESPN+ to stream pay-per-view events.

On March 18, 2019, it was announced that ESPN had reached a two-year extension of the contract. In addition, it was announced that in the United States, future UFC PPVs will only be sold through ESPN+ to its subscribers, and will no longer be sold via traditional television providers beginning with UFC 236. At the same time, the standard price for UFC PPVs was lowered to $59.99 (from $64.99), and new subscribers will be able to purchase a bundle of UFC PPV for a year of ESPN+ too.

#### M-1 Global partnership[edit]

On July 18, 2018, it was announced that UFC had entered into a partnership with Russian MMA promoter M-1 Global. M-1 Global will serve as a farm league to scout Russian fighters for UFC and will participate in organizing UFC events in Russia. The deal also gave M-1 champions the opportunity to sign with UFC.

#### 2019 Endeavor's initial public offering attempt[edit]

On May 24, 2019 Endeavor Group (EDR) filed initial public offering (IPO) paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The form detailed Endeavor's revenue was $3.61 billion in 2018 with a net income of $100.1 million after adjustments, and potential risks involved of being potentially sued: (1) “over alleged long-term neurocognitive impairment arising from concussions”, (2) collective bargaining to unionize the MMA athletes, and (3) "five related class-action lawsuits filed against it alleging that UFC violated Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 by monopolizing the alleged market for elite professional MMA athletes' services".

On September 26, 2019, Endeavor Group cancelled its planned IPO that was set for September 27. It said in a statement "Endeavor will continue to evaluate the timing for the proposed offering as market conditions develop" *The Wall Street Journal* reported the under performance of the recent IPO for Peloton was a contributing factor. As is an ongoing lawsuit with several former UFC fighters.

#### Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic[edit]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UFC went on with its March 13, 2020 event, UFC Fight Night: Lee vs. Oliveira in Brasília, Brazil, behind closed doors. On March 16, the organization announced that the next three events, UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards, UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik, and UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris, would be postponed to future dates.

In regards to its next pay-per-view, UFC 249 on April 18, UFC president Dana White stated that the event would likely go on, but at a new venue behind closed doors. It was originally to be held at Barclays Center, but a stay-at-home order was issued by the New York state government. On March 18, the New York State Athletic Commission also withdrew its sanctioning for the event. Due to international travel restrictions and other withdrawals, a revised card for UFC 249 was unveiled on April 6 with a location still TBD. The next day, White disclosed that he had booked an unspecified venue for two months, in order to host both UFC 249 and other future events involving U.S. fighters. He also disclosed plans to secure a private island, known as "Fight Island", to host events with international fighters.

The new UFC 249 venue was subsequently revealed to be Tachi Palace—a tribal casino in Lemoore, California; as it is on tribal land, it also fell outside of the jurisdiction of the California State Athletic Commission, meaning that events held there could be self-sanctioned. On April 9, the UFC announced that UFC 249 had been cancelled, and all other UFC events would be suspended until further notice. White cited interventions from high-ranking staff of the UFC's U.S. media rightsholders, ESPN Inc. and parent The Walt Disney Company, as well as Governor Newsom. *The New York Post* reported that Governor of California Gavin Newsom had contacted Disney chairman and former CEO Bob Iger, urging ESPN and the UFC to not hold the event.

Following the decree that professional sports were deemed as "essential services" in Florida, UFC 249 took place on May 9, 2020, at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida with no fans in attendance. Precautionary health and safety measures proposed by the UFC satisfied the Florida State Boxing Commission, which regulates MMA in the state. UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira and UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Harris were scheduled to take place at the same venue on May 13 and 16, respectively. On Friday, May 8, the UFC announced middleweight fighter Ronaldo Souza was removed from his bout with Uriah Hall at UFC 249 and quarantined after he tested positive for COVID-19, along with his cornermen, despite following the protocols enforced by the UFC. No other athletes or staff tested positive for the disease.

In April 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the UFC held its UFC 261 event, again at the VyStar Arena in Jacksonville but with a 100-% sold-out capacity, where attendees were not required to wear masks. Public health experts criticized the event, citing the risks to attendees, as well as to the wider community.

#### Controversy over eye pokes[edit]

In March 2021, there was strong pressure on the UFC to use new fighter gloves after a severe eye poke ended the final bout at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad. The official UFC gloves are constructed in a way that leaves the fighters fingers extended forward, whereas there are alternative gloves, which the UFC has not used, which are curved at the knuckle and keep a fighter's fingers tucked down. Fighters, trainers and commentators called for new gloves, citing the harms posed to fighters from the standard UFC gloves.

#### 2021 Endeavor's IPO and Zuffa buyout[edit]

On April 29, 2021, Endeavor Group (EDR) successfully launched an initial public offering (IPO) and became a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Endeavor subsequently used some of the proceeds from the IPO to buy out Zuffa's other shareholders at a value of $1.7 billion, making Zuffa a wholly-owned subsidiary of Endeavor.

"Numbered" events are pay-per-view are big events will high-profile and highly ranked fighters. Fight Night events are the on a cable network. Usually, these cards are not as 'strong' and have less highly ranked fighters than PPVs and TUF Finale which happens at the end of a season of The Ultimate Fight, the UFC's reality series. These cards consist of a main event of well-known fighters, and then the rest of the card will have fighters from TUF and the co-main will be between the last two contestants, fighting to be the TUF winner

Cash bonuses are also awarded for "Fight of the Night" and "Performance of the Night" and "Knockout of the Night". The size of these bonuses can sometimes be US$80,000 (but are normally US$50,000). For less well-known fighters, they can be several times larger than the contracted amount for the fight. Contracted amounts generally have to be declared to the National Athletics Commission; however, the UFC also pays undisclosed locker-room bonuses to fighters. In early 2021, Dana White revealed that these bonuses vary from $4,000 to $25,000.

**Contracts**

* http://mmafa.tv/about-mmafa/
* https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2018/3/19/17039396/competition-or-collective-bargaining-what-would-benefit-fighters-more-mma
* Athlete association
* A collective bargaining agreement with 50/50 revenue share
* Guaranteed contracts
* Health insurance
* Career-ending insurance
* A pension plan.
* Fighter sponsorships are allowed.
* Separation of super fights and title fights
* Good faith bargaining in fight negotiations
* Space on fight uniforms for sponsors/ self-expression.
* http://profighters.org/#benefits

UFC is contractually bound to offer every fighter 3 fights per calendar year and if they don't, the organization has to pay the fighter for the lacking fights. For example, if the UFC offers a fighter only 1 fight during the year, they have to pay the fighter for 2 additional fights. However, if a fight is offered but turned down by the fighter, it is still counted as an offered fight from the contractual viewpoint.

UFC fighters are all organized in a union similar to the 4 professional leagues (NBA, MLB, NYL and NHL) and MLF which fix the parts of the system that suck (a fair revenue split and a way for fighters, even champions, to get out of a contract without perpetual lock in), whilst preserving the parts of the current system that work (competitive match making, the inability to avoid tough fights on the way up, ability for the promotion to protect the integrity of their championship titles). All UFC referees are also in a union similar to MLB Umpires.

Fighters are able to rely on the money they made from their individual sponsorship deals. Fighters are allowed to step inside the octagon with largely unique in-cage gear. Shorts can come in different colours with different artistic designs, all while featuring sponsorship logos. It led to fighters being more easily identifiable in the cage.

#### **Match conduct**

* Enforce a professional standard of sportsmanship before, during and after events. Violations of the standard would be met with fines the first offense, double fines for the second offense with a 2 year suspension of their license to compete, and a 3rd offense would be a lifetime ban from all professional combat sports. (i.e. MMA, boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, etc). https://www.muaythaicitizen.com/muay-thai-respect/
* Striking an opponent after they’ve been felled by a kick, punch or other concussive strike, is grounds for immediate disqualification and a 6 month suspension from all MMA activities, to include competing, training, and promoting
* After a verbal warning the referee can stop the fighters and stand them up if they reach a stalemate on the ground (where neither are in a dominant position or working towards one). This rule is codified as the stand-up rule.
* If the referee pauses the match, it is resumed with the fighters in their prior positions.
* Grabbing the cage brings a verbal warning, followed by an attempt by the referee to release the grab by pulling on the grabbing hand. If that attempt fails or if the fighter continues to hold the cage, the referee will charge it as a foul and deduct a point.
* Abusive language is allowed
* Upkicks from the guard is allowed, it needs to come from the bottom guard position
* Eye-poking will be an automatic 1 point deduction
* Fence grabbing will also be an automatic 1 point deduction
* Legalized 12-6 elbow strikes
* Allow a fighter to use knees against an opponent shooting for a takedown
* Anything other than you hands and feet touching the mat is considered a "downed opponent"
* Replays can be used for missed fouls.
* UFC creates a Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse section in UFC Fighter Conduct Policy. The fighter will be suspended during the court proceedings until a verdict has been reached. Anyone found guilty of the "Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy" will be automatically terminated and banned from fighting for life (UFC do not sign Cody East in 2016, https://www.vice.com/en/article/4x98nb/the-nba-just-showed-the-nfl-how-to-handle-domestic-violence-cases)

#### **Evolution of the rules**

* *UFC 1: The Beginning* – Although the advertising said *There Are No Rules*, there were in fact some rules: no biting, no eye-gouging and no groin attacks. Fights ended only in the event of a knockout, submission or the corner throwing in the towel. Despite this, the first match in *UFC 1* was won by referee stoppage, even though it was not officially recognized as such at the time.
* *UFC 2: No Way Out* – Groin attacks were unbanned. Time limits were dropped ending the need for judges. Modifications to the cage were added (the fence became 5 feet tall but would continually grow in height afterwards and the floor became the canvas that is still used today).
* *UFC 3: The American Dream* – The referee was officially given the authority to stop a fight in case of a fighter being unable to defend himself. A fighter could not kick if he was wearing shoes. This rule would later be discarded, then changed to 'no kicking with shoes while on the ground' and then reinstated, before finally being discarded.
* *UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors* – After tournament alternate Steve Jennum won *UFC 3* by winning only 1 bout, alternates (replacements) were required to win a pre-tournament bout to qualify for the role of an alternate.
* *UFC 5: Gracie vs. Shamrock 2* – The organizers introduced a 30-minute time limit. *UFC 5* also saw the first Superfight, a one-off bout between two competitors selected by the organizers with the winner being crowned 'Superfight champion' and having the duty of defending his title at the next UFC.
* *UFC 6: Shamrock vs. Severn* – The referee was given the authority to restart the fight. If 2 fighters were entangled in a position where there was a 'lack of action', the referee could stop the fight and restart the competitors on their feet, in their own corner. In *UFC 6* they officially adopted the 5-minute extension to the 30-minute rule which had been used in *UFC 5*.
* *Ultimate Ultimate 1995* – This event was the first to introduce the no fish-hooking rule and to reinstate judges. Time limits were changed to 15 minutes in the quarter-finals, 18 minutes in the semi-finals and 27 minutes in the finals.
* *UFC 8: Shamrock vs. Leopoldo* – Time limits changed to 10 minutes in the first 2 rounds of the tournament, 15 minutes in the tournament final and Superfight. Time limits would continually change in the later UFC events. Fights could now be decided by a judges decision if the fight reached the end of the time limit. The panel was made up of 3 judges who simply raised a card with the name of the fighter they considered to be the winner. In this fashion, a draw was not possible since the only two possible outcomes of a decision were 3 to 0 or 2 to 1 in favor of the winner.
* *UFC 9: Shamrock vs. Severn 2* – To appease local authorities, closed fisted strikes to the head were banned for this event only. The commentators were not aware of this last minute rule that was made to prevent the cancellation of the event due to local political pressures. Referee "Big John" McCarthy made repeated warnings to the fighters to "open the hand" when this rule was violated. However, not one fighter was reprimanded. UFC 9 was also the last UFC event to feature the superfight.
* *Ultimate Ultimate 1996* – This event was the 1st to introduce the "no grabbing of the fence" rule.
* *UFC 12* – The main tournament split into a heavyweight (over 200 lb) and lightweight (200 lb and under) division; and the eight-man tournament ceased. Fighters now needed to win only two fights to win the competition. The Heavyweight Champion title (and title bouts) was introduced, replacing the Superfight title (albeit matches were still for a time branded as "Superfights").
* *UFC 14: Coleman vs. Smith* – The lightweight division was re-branded middleweight. The wearing of padded gloves, weighing 110 to 170 g (4 to 6 ounces), becomes mandatory. Gloves were to be approved by the UFC. Hair-pulling, groin strikes and kicks to a downed opponent became illegal.
* *UFC 15: Smith vs. Abbott* – Limits on permissible striking areas were introduced. Headbutts, elbow strikes to the back of neck and head, and small joint manipulation became illegal.
* *UFC 21: Smith vs. Ruas* – 5 minute rounds were introduced, with preliminary bouts consisting of 2 rounds, regular non-title bouts at 3 rounds, and title bouts at 5 rounds. The "10-point must system" was introduced for scoring fights (identical to the system widely used in boxing).
* *UFC 28: Randlemas vs. Couture* – The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board sanctions its first UFC event, using the newly developed *Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts*. Major changes to the UFC's rules included barring knee strikes to the head of a downed opponent, elbow strikes to the spine and neck and punches to the back of the neck and head. Limits on permissible ring attire, stringent medical requirements, and regulatory oversight were also introduced. A new weight class system was also introduced. This new set of rules is currently the *de facto* standard for MMA events held in the U.S. and is still in use by the UFC.
* *UFC 31: Couture vs. Rizzo* – Weight classes are re-aligned to the current standard. Bantamweight moves from 150 to 155 and becomes known as lightweight. Lightweight becomes known as welterweight, middleweight becomes light heavyweight, and a new middleweight class is introduced at 185 pounds. Stools and seconds are 1st permitted in The Octagon between rounds.
* *UFC 43: Couture vs. Liddell* – In the event of a stoppage, fights restart in the position the fight was stopped.
* *UFC 94: St. Pierre vs. Penn 2* – After an incident where Georges St-Pierre was accused of putting vaseline on his back, corner men were disallowed from bringing vaseline into The Octagon. Petroleum jelly may now only be applied by UFC employed cutmen.
* *UFC 133* – Speedo style trunks are banned.
* *UFC 138: Leben vs. Muñoz* – 1st 5-round non-title main event.

#### **Judging**

New Rules, Part One: Methods To Improve The Judging System In MMA

10 Steps to Fixing MMA Judging

https://www.kombatgroup.com/muay-thai-scoring

Turtling is accepted as intelligently defending not a foul or a cause to stop the match. If neither fighter is causing damage, then the fight should continue. When a fighter gives up his back, he should not be expected to fight back for the fight to continue, but rather defend himself to the best of his ability by covering up.

Judges themselves, perhaps replacing the majority of them with ex-MMA fighters

#### **National Athletic Commission**

Instead of a different governing body for every state or tribal region, the US Federal Government should be granted the responsibility, leaving the US regulated by one ‘National Athletic Commission’. This would achieve a few different objectives.

First, it would eliminate the problem of varying rulesets between states, which is of the utmost urgency. MMA is now legal in all 50 states, so there is no looming state’s rights debate. With only 1 commission, it would be much easier to appoint officials who have actual knowledge about the sport, avoiding the problem of amateurism that appears to plague the majority of the state’s commissions. By having 7 to 10 officials who have worked in the sport for a long time in charge of regulating it, not only would some of the current problems be solved relatively effortlessly, but the commission would be able to rectify new ones as they become apparent. As for making sure the right people are chosen for the job, this hypothetical “National Athletic Commission” could have 1 or 3 appointed directors, who would be in charge of filling out the rest of the appointments.

A situation such as this would preserve the critical primary function of promoting fighter safety and fight fairness that athletic commissions are responsible for while mitigating the unintended and counterproductive side effects. When there are obvious flaws with any entity, we tend to only focus on the problems while ignoring the benefits of the entity as a whole. It is understandable why many in the MMA ecosystem view commissions as a cumbersome aspect that should be eliminated, but that would be a grave over-correction that would leave many athletes vulnerable to unneeded injury and exploitation. Commissions are the sole actors in the scope of a bout whose only interest is the safety of the competitors.

### **Current champions**

Updated as of June 12, 2022 after UFC 275.

#### **Women's champions**

In title fights, the participants must weigh no more or less than that permitted for the relevant weight division. The NAC may also approve catch weight bouts, subject to their review and discretion. For example, the NAC may still decide to allow the contest the maximum weight allowed is 177 pounds if it feels that the contest would still be fair, safe, and competitive.

If the champion cannot defend the title once in 9 months, an interim title will be created. Upon the champion's return, the champion will fight in a title unification bout. If the champion cannot defend his/her title once in 12 months, the fighter will be stripped of the championship. The fighter will have the option of a title fight in your immediate return, or take a "tune-up" fight before doing so.

* Van Zant v Tecia Torres
* Van Zant v Waterson
* Van Zant v Rose
* Valentina Shevchenko vs Liz Carmouche
* Valentina Shevchenko vs Jennifer Maia
* Julianna Peña vs Valentina Shevchenko

**Georges St-Pierre**

1. Georges St-Pierre vs Demian Maia UFC 206 (December 10, 2016) in Toronto
2. Georges St-Pierre vs Tyron Woodley UFC 217 (November 4, 2017)
3. Georges St-Pierre vs Nate Diaz at UFC 227
4. Georges St-Pierre 2021

## Men's championship history

### Heavyweight Championship

The UFC Superfight Championship was unified with the UFC Tournament Championship to determine the inaugural UFC Heavyweight Champion on February 7, 1997, when Mark Coleman defeated Dan Severn at UFC 12.

### Light Heavyweight Championship

The Light Heavyweight Championship was known as the Middleweight Championship prior to UFC 31 (May 4, 2001). The Pride World Middleweight Championship (205.03 lb) was unified with the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship on September 8, 2007, when Quinton Jackson defeated Dan Henderson at UFC 75.

### Middleweight Championship

The Pride World Welterweight Championship (183 lb) was unified with the UFC Middleweight Championship on March 1, 2008, when Anderson Silva defeated Dan Henderson at UFC 82.

### Welterweight Championship

The Welterweight Championship was known as the Lightweight Championship prior to UFC 31 (May 4, 2001).

### Lightweight Championship

146 to 155 lb (66 to 70 kg)

The Lightweight Championship was known as the Bantamweight Championship prior to UFC 31 (May 4, 2001). The Strikeforce Lightweight Championship was unified (perhaps unofficially) with the UFC Lightweight Championship on April 20, 2013, when Benson Henderson defeated Gilbert Melendez at UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Melendez.

### Featherweight Championship

Prior to the UFC-WEC merger, José Aldo was the WEC Featherweight Champion. Aldo was awarded the inaugural UFC Featherweight Championship on November 20, 2010, at UFC 123 in a ceremony prior to the event.

### Bantamweight Championship[edit]

126 to 135 lb (57 to 61 kg)

Prior to UFC-WEC merger, Dominick Cruz was the WEC Bantamweight Champion. At WEC 53, Cruz defeated Scott Jorgensen to retain the WEC Bantamweight Championship and was awarded the inaugural UFC Bantamweight Championship.

### Flyweight Championship[edit]

116 to 125 lb (53 to 57 kg)

Demetrious Johnson defeated Joseph Benavidez on September 22, 2012, at UFC 152 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the finale of a four-man tournament for the inaugural title.

## Women's championship history

### Women's Featherweight Championship

*136 to 145 lb (62 to 66 kg)*

The inaugural title was contested on February 11, 2017, in Brooklyn, NY, US at UFC 208.

def. Holly Holm
Brooklyn, NY, US
def. Tonya Evinger
Anaheim, CA, US
 3
Inglewood, CA, US
(incumbent)
2. def. Megan Anderson at UFC 259 on Mar 6, 2021

### Women's Bantamweight Championship

Prior to its folding and absorption by the UFC, Ronda Rousey was the Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion. Rousey was awarded the inaugural UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship on December 6, 2012, at a UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Diaz pre-event press conference.

### Women's Flyweight Championship[edit]

*116 to 125 lb (53 to 57 kg)*

The inaugural title was contested on December 1, 2017, in Las Vegas, NV, US at The Ultimate Fighter: A New World Champion Finale. The inaugural title fight was between two fighters who appeared on the 26th season of The Ultimate Fighter.

def. Roxanne Modafferi
Las Vegas, NV, US
def. Joanna Jędrzejczyk
Toronto, ON, Canada
(incumbent)
2. def. Liz Carmouche at UFC Fight Night: Shevchenko vs. Carmouche 2 on Aug 10, 2019
3. def. Katlyn Chookagian at UFC 247 on Feb 8, 2020
4. def. Jennifer Maia at UFC 255 on Nov 21, 2020
5. def. Jéssica Andrade at UFC 261 on Apr 24, 2021
6. def. Lauren Murphy at UFC 266 on Sep 25, 2021
7. def. Taila Santos at UFC 275 on Jun 12, 2022

### Women's Strawweight Championship[edit]

106 to 115 lb (48 to 52 kg)

Previously the Invicta FC Strawweight Champion, Carla Esparza defeated Rose Namajunas for the inaugural title on December 12, 2014, in the tournament finale of The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned.

#### Jon Jones

Jon Jones was banned for 2-years tested positive for Turinabol, an anabolic steroid on January 6, 2015 banning him until January 6, 2017. His KO (head kick and punches) win against Cormier at UFC 182 was overturned to a no-contest.

On July 21, 2019 Jones received a Class B misdemeanour after committing battery for an alleged incident in April 2019 involving a cocktail waitress at a strip club in Albuquerque, the waitress claimed that Jones slapped her, put her in a choke hold and kissed her on the neck, and touched her after she had asked him to stop. He was fined $2,000 and was jailed for 180 days being released on January 17, 2020

On August 22, 2019, Jones tested positive for 2 banned substances; clomiphene (an anti-estrogen substance) and letrozole (an aromatase inhibitor) resulting in a 8-year suspension due to it been his 2nd drug violation and taking 2 banned substances. His suspension will be uplifted on October 28, 2027. Jones announced his retirement from MMA.

Jon Jones however was in trouble once again with the law this time committing the crime of domestic abuse, In the early hours of September 24, 2021, police were called to the Caesars Palace resort hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, responding to a domestic incident. According to a police report obtained by news site MMA Fighting, a 911 call was made by a hotel security guard when Jones' youngest daughter requested help, claiming there was a domestic incident between Jones and his fiancée, Jessie Moses. Cops arrived in minutes, cutting Jones off as he was attempting to flee the scene. Officers detained Jones and began to investigate the situation. While officers detained Jones, others went to the room to further investigate and get Moses' side of the story. When they arrived to the room, they observed her with blood on her face and clothing, and with a bump on her lip, consistent with someone who had been struck. Moses stated that Jones had left the hotel to go out with friends while Moses and their children went to sleep, and that when Jones returned, he was belligerent, became agitated, and pulled her hair. She claims that the hair pulling was the extent of the physicality between the two, and claimed that the blood on her face and clothing was from chapped lips. She also declined a temporary protective order against Jones. Police stated that while he was being detained, a belligerent Jones headbutted the hood of the patrol vehicle, leaving a dent, they claimed Jones had made threats and challenged the arresting officers to a fight, and that Jones had said he could break free from of the handcuffs. No attempts at a fight were followed through on, however, and Jones was placed under arrest peacefully after the investigation concluded.

Jones' domestic abuse charge was upgraded from a misdemeanour to a felony charge due to child or minor witnessing the abusive conduct (Jones' daughter admitted to seeing the offence) and being a repeat criminal offender (committing 5 previous offences outside Nevada but Nevada state laws suggest it does not have to just be in Nevada), he was placed as a Category C felony and sentenced to 5 years in prison service in Nevada State Prison and fined $5,000 he will be released on September 24, 2026. Jones' fighting ban was increase by another 5 years meaning it will be uplifted August 22, 2032

#### **Other**

* Carano beat Sarah D'Alelio on June 18, during the Overeem vs. Werdum Strikeforce event in Dallas
* Carano fought in the UFC in 2014
* Miles Bridges of Charlotte Hornets is fined $2,000 and imprisonment in a county jail for 1 year