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UFC - Ultimate Fighting Championship Training, Fights, And Tickets
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Published: August 27, 2007
The days of gladiators battling to the death in massive arenas may be ancient history. However the UFC, or Ultimate Fighting Championship, has preserved much of the same combative spirit for modern audiences. While the popularity and legitimacy of traditional fighting sports such as boxing has waned in recent years, the UFC has steadily grown in popularity and acceptance; even threatening to replace its classic predecessors in television ratings and attendance.
Emerging out of long standing international traditions of mixed martial arts, the UFC has since grown into a worldwide sporting phenomenon.
The UFC involves tournament style fights between martial artists of all nationalities and styles.
Challengers fight with few rules, little protective equipment, and win with almost any martial art training and by almost any means necessary. The types of martial art training include jujitsu, boxing, kung fu and wrestling, among others. While early versions of the UFC tournament involved no holds barred scenarios; the brutality, blood and violence of those events turned off mainstream audiences.
After an image makeover and massive marketing campaigns, the UFC arrived on the pop culture scene and has since won over fighting audiences in America and around the world. With celebrity champions such as jujitsu master and original UFC champion Royce Gracie as well as nine-time welterweight champion Matt Hughes, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has become a bonafide sport and marketing monster.
The UFC began as the idea of Art Davie, an ad executive in Southern California. After training with Brazilian jujitsu teacher Rorion Gracie, Davie eventually came up with the concept for an eight-man fighting tournament with fighters from all different disciplines and nationalities. After shopping the concept around to networks and cable providers, Davie found a partner in SEG, a pay per view production company, who came up with the name Ultimate Fighting Championship. On November 12, 1993, the UFC was born with an event in Denver, Colorado. Soon after, the UFC became a pay per view mainstay and has not stopped growing since.
In the early days, the UFC was marketed as having no rules. Its reputation as a frighteningly brutal and bloody display won over certain audiences, but prevented its mainstream success. UFC tournaments did not even have weight classes, attempting to prove technique could ultimately overwhelm size. Royce Gracie, the original ultimate fighting champion at only 170 pounds, often defeated much larger opponents with his jujitsu training.
Gradually, promoters began implementing limited rules such as no hair pulling, eye gouging, biting or groin strikes. UFC events began to focus on the mixed martial art styles themselves and on the techniques of fighting. The eventual implementation of weight classes allowed for more fights and more marketable champions. Matt Hughes, a wrestler from rural Illinois, came to dominate the middle weight classes and stands as a nine-time champion, and one of the most recognizable stars.
The UFC has come a long way in the past 15 years. Now events garner live audiences of up to 20,000 people and are some of the highest selling pay per view events available. The UFC is recognized and regulated by the most respected sports regulatory bodies in the country, and is still developing into an accepted sport. The fighting arena is even known popularly as ‘the octagon,' where impressive fighters of all styles and origins do battle to determine who is the Ultimate Fighting Champion. While based in Las Vegas, the UFC promotes events all over the US. Tickets are available online at UFC.com and any normal sports ticket outlets. See combative fighting in its purest form, mano e mano, with the title of Ultimate Fighting Champion on the line.
Sources:
"History of the Ultimate Fighting Championship." UFC.com. 2006. Zuffa LLC. 21 Aug. 2007. http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=LearnUFC.History.< br />
"Biography and Testimony." 2007. Matt-Hughes.com. 21 Aug. 2007. http://www.matt-hughes.com/blog/matt-hughes-biogra phy-testimony/.
"Ultimate Fighting Championship." Wikipedia.org. 20 Aug. 2007. Wikimedia Foundation Inc. 21 Aug. 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Fighting_Cha mpionship.
The UFC involves tournament style fights between martial artists of all nationalities and styles.
Challengers fight with few rules, little protective equipment, and win with almost any martial art training and by almost any means necessary. The types of martial art training include jujitsu, boxing, kung fu and wrestling, among others. While early versions of the UFC tournament involved no holds barred scenarios; the brutality, blood and violence of those events turned off mainstream audiences.
After an image makeover and massive marketing campaigns, the UFC arrived on the pop culture scene and has since won over fighting audiences in America and around the world. With celebrity champions such as jujitsu master and original UFC champion Royce Gracie as well as nine-time welterweight champion Matt Hughes, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has become a bonafide sport and marketing monster.
The UFC began as the idea of Art Davie, an ad executive in Southern California. After training with Brazilian jujitsu teacher Rorion Gracie, Davie eventually came up with the concept for an eight-man fighting tournament with fighters from all different disciplines and nationalities. After shopping the concept around to networks and cable providers, Davie found a partner in SEG, a pay per view production company, who came up with the name Ultimate Fighting Championship. On November 12, 1993, the UFC was born with an event in Denver, Colorado. Soon after, the UFC became a pay per view mainstay and has not stopped growing since.
In the early days, the UFC was marketed as having no rules. Its reputation as a frighteningly brutal and bloody display won over certain audiences, but prevented its mainstream success. UFC tournaments did not even have weight classes, attempting to prove technique could ultimately overwhelm size. Royce Gracie, the original ultimate fighting champion at only 170 pounds, often defeated much larger opponents with his jujitsu training.
Gradually, promoters began implementing limited rules such as no hair pulling, eye gouging, biting or groin strikes. UFC events began to focus on the mixed martial art styles themselves and on the techniques of fighting. The eventual implementation of weight classes allowed for more fights and more marketable champions. Matt Hughes, a wrestler from rural Illinois, came to dominate the middle weight classes and stands as a nine-time champion, and one of the most recognizable stars.
The UFC has come a long way in the past 15 years. Now events garner live audiences of up to 20,000 people and are some of the highest selling pay per view events available. The UFC is recognized and regulated by the most respected sports regulatory bodies in the country, and is still developing into an accepted sport. The fighting arena is even known popularly as ‘the octagon,' where impressive fighters of all styles and origins do battle to determine who is the Ultimate Fighting Champion. While based in Las Vegas, the UFC promotes events all over the US. Tickets are available online at UFC.com and any normal sports ticket outlets. See combative fighting in its purest form, mano e mano, with the title of Ultimate Fighting Champion on the line.
Sources:
"History of the Ultimate Fighting Championship." UFC.com. 2006. Zuffa LLC. 21 Aug. 2007. http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=LearnUFC.History.< br />
"Biography and Testimony." 2007. Matt-Hughes.com. 21 Aug. 2007. http://www.matt-hughes.com/blog/matt-hughes-biogra phy-testimony/.
"Ultimate Fighting Championship." Wikipedia.org. 20 Aug. 2007. Wikimedia Foundation Inc. 21 Aug. 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Fighting_Cha mpionship.
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